Off Target

Some time last week I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and saw a few posts about boycotting Target. Then I got an email from moveon.org. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, apparently the mega store is based in Minnesota. They gave $150,000 to MN Forward, that in turn gave money to Tom Emner, a gubernatorial candidate from the Republican side. Mr. Emner is publicly anti-gay, going so far as to declare castration an appropriate consequence. Vile. Obviously. Somewhat less vile is the fact corporate money is going to support a candidate. But… well… we knew this was coming.

I forswore Walmart years ago. I’m never surprised when some little detail bounces onto the radar about how awful they are to employees, to manufacturers, to the small businesses they drive out of town. I never hesitate to poo poo friends and family when they say they got something at that place. And often times, they retort, well… Target is just as bad. 

It’s something I’ve long suspected. In fact, I anticipated with my growing disdain of the watered down, uber franchised industry of disposable crap, that eventually something would happen to embitter my bi-monthly shopping habits at Tarjay. Even without this, I knew they were just as guilty as Walmart of driving out small business. That they exploit the minimum wage employees. That… I was turning a blind eye because I like their prices, not to mention their selection of kitchen gadgets.

That said, my immediate reaction to this story was… well, I don’t know the whole story. And I don’t… really. It seems much more multi-dimensional than something I can read at my lunch break on the Internet. They are still better than Walmart I tell myself. I tell myself… because I don’t want to buy toilet paper any place else.

And let’s be frank… where do I go next? Stop n Shop? Yeah, they’ve probably got skeletons. Or CVS? Yeah, no. Even my favorite Trader Joe’s is a corporation that has challenged my ethics with food from China and frozen farmed fish.

So… what’s a girl to do? Make excuses as to why she is going to sell out and let a bargain blind her to both agreement with a homophobic bastard and the filling of Republican coffers? How can I do that and still have integrity? And still let myself flout political beliefs or nay say anyone else’s commercial behavior?

I tell myself that my politics are driven by a sincere desire to see other human beings survive… and maybe even achieve some level of happiness. That my leanings aren’t about my wallet, but about the belief that ALL people - no matter their race, their romantic preference, or their religion have that chance. But am I willing to just chuck that out the window because I want to go buy my dish soap for a half dollar less?

But then… how do I know the manufacturers of that dish soap aren’t guilty, too? Never mind the makers of the car or the gas that take me there. When does it stop? When does being a conscious consumer become self-defeating?

Or foolish? Because, who really gets punished by not going to these businesses? The people who get laid off and lose a job? The business whose product gets deleted from inventory? The people who can’t afford to have a conscience?

There is power in our wallets. I know I feel better about myself because I’m not supporting Walmart. But… at the same time… I’m not convinced that it makes any difference.