by Holly~Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History~ C.
Member since:
August 25, 2006

Here's What You Do If You're The Mother Of A Gay Son After Target Gives Money To An Anti-Gay Group

July 28, 2010 09:33 AM UTC
views: 0 | 13 people recommend this | comments: 51

Randi Reitan is a mother of a gay son and grandmother who shops at Target but won't anymore because of its anti-gay donation to Minnesota Forward PAC, which contributed to ads for anti-gay gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer.

She took her protest directly to the store, and shot this video.

 





Comments: 51

Peter Joseph Swanson Jul 28, 2010, 9:36am UTC
Good for her. BOOO TARGET!
BOOO TARGET! Apparently they are as stupid and nasty as WalMart.So disappointing. And before they made this donation they were held in high regard by the Human Rights campaign for creating a fair and equitable workplace for all employees.
Peter Joseph Swanson Jul 28, 2010, 9:43am UTC
We are all going down the right wing corporate toilet.
Peter Joseph Swanson Jul 28, 2010, 9:42am UTC
And everybody follow that link and you'll see how corporations are already donating to campaigns, since the activist judges on the Supreme Court gave them the same free speech rights as people.
It's disgusting. Corporations have more rights in this country than individual citizens.
Because the more money you have the more speech you can buy.
Vivian P. Jul 28, 2010, 10:20am UTC
Amen Holly
Peter Joseph Swanson Jul 28, 2010, 9:49am UTC
And this Tom Emmer wants to cut education and health care and cut taxes on the richest corporations and C.E.O.s.
Peter Joseph Swanson Jul 28, 2010, 9:49am UTC
TARGET DOESN'T WANT TO PAY ITS FAIR SHARE IN TAXES!
And you think Emmer is bad? Their CEO has also given money to Michele Bachmann. Eeeek!
Peter Joseph Swanson Jul 28, 2010, 10:15am UTC
OH MY GOD!
Peter Joseph Swanson Jul 28, 2010, 9:57am UTC
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-0728-target-politics-20100728,0,6274128.story

Target says it still supports gays, even though it supports a candidate who is against gay marriage. yeah right.

(They just don't want to pay their fair share in taxes)
So they put taxes ahead of human rights?! Super!
Deb J. Jul 28, 2010, 10:00am UTC
Good morning Peter!
Peter Joseph Swanson Jul 28, 2010, 10:16am UTC
hi - ha ha
B.Christopher Grindell Jul 28, 2010, 10:10am UTC
Companies like this should stay out of politics and just focus on selling products and taking care of their customers-- all of their customers with no exceptions.
Vivian P. Jul 28, 2010, 10:19am UTC
I will no longer shop there
I just got off the phone with one of the managers at our local Target. I told him why I would no longer be shopping there. He didn't know what I was talking about but I'm going to write a letter to their corporate office too.
Kathryn Flynn Jul 28, 2010, 12:22pm UTC
good for you!!
Kathryn Flynn Jul 28, 2010, 10:26am UTC
Wowe. I wouldn't shop there, either. Not that I really shop there much, anyway. But I would boycott.
M O. Jul 28, 2010, 10:46am UTC
It amazes me that corporations can cry poor due to the economy - lay off workers, put people on PT, reduce salaries - yet contribute millions of dollars to political interests. Just what does that say about the people who run these companies?

I usually don't go into these types of stores, but now I'll avoid Target completely.

No Gather Target giftcards chosen!
Exactly. If a corporation is cutting hours and wages then they shouldn't be donating money to any political cause. Their employees should come first.
Kathryn Flynn Jul 28, 2010, 12:21pm UTC
exactly.
Ryan Reid Oct 14, 2010, 2:50pm UTC
haha, employees are just a hurdle in the way of profit. no company thinks of their employees anymore. we are a annoyance in between them and their cash.
Kathryn Flynn Jul 28, 2010, 12:21pm UTC
Featured in the Renewed Activist.
I've never been a Target shopper, but I will certainly be even less of one now. Would it be alrgith if I put this on my FB wall? I have several friends who shop there and who are gay, or support gay rights.
Sure you can put this on your FB wall. I googled more on this story and apparently there are at least two "boycott target" groups up on FB because of this.

I've been thinking about joining FB because so many people from Gather are on there but I already spend too much time "social networking", lol.
I don't spend a lot of time there, I mostly use it to keep in touch with people and to share things like this. I'm sure I have several friends and family members that are going to be quite displesed with Target.
Peter Joseph Swanson Jul 28, 2010, 2:50pm UTC
I put this on FB right away. I'll have to join one of their Boycott Target groups!
I think the Human Rights Campaign needs to change its ratings system to include who companies make contributions to.
Peter Joseph Swanson Jul 28, 2010, 5:39pm UTC
We need somewhere to look for that!!!
J. McDole Jul 28, 2010, 2:53pm UTC
No more Target for me.
I have a perfectly good Publix right down the street and a new farmer's market.
Carla G. Jul 28, 2010, 2:59pm UTC
Thumbs down to Target on this move. I do think that between them and Walmart, they are the more community-minded and generous in their donations. But they obviously screwed up on this one.
I've always thought that Target was a much more ethical corporation than Walmart but apparently when it comes to choosing between lower taxes and human rights they choose lower taxes even though the proponent for lower taxes is a bigot. So disappointing.
Peter Joseph Swanson Jul 29, 2010, 9:32am UTC
That's why we are so stunned. When Walmart does crap, we just add it to the list of their crap. We thought Target was better.

They need to be punished and corrected so they get a grip and improve.
Yeah it doesn't do much good make your workplace fair and equitable when you are giving money to people who are against equality for all.
Robert A. Jul 28, 2010, 5:03pm UTC
I like this woman!
I like her too. They should make her a grand marshall at next year's pride parade!
I've never been a Target shopper... the two times people took me with them into the store, the atmosphere of the place bothered me. I always thought it was the color scheme... I felt like I was trapped in a kid's Easter basket the one time, and inside a giant kaleidoscope the other.
While I am all for people supporting the candidates of their choice, I totally applaud Randi Reitan for exercising her speech rights in support of her family by letting the company know that she does not support their choice of candidate and does not want to contribute secondhand to his campaign. That is exactly how things are supposed to work; people being vigilant, knowing what is going on around them politically, and backing up their beliefs with action. It takes guts to go into a business with a camcorder, too - that was pretty darned cool. :)
trapped in a kid's Easter basket

That is too funny! I pictured someone trapped in one of those pre-packaged easter baskets with the cellophane wrapping trying to break out. You're right it is a bit of a sensory overload.

I agree that people have the right to support candidates of their choosing but they need to remember that we have the right to respond especially if we are paying for it second-hand.
I agree that people have the right to support candidates of their choosing but they need to remember that we have the right to respond especially if we are paying for it second-hand.

Exactly! It's vital that when a business owner or owners exercise his/her/their right to support something financially, the consumer makes a point to decide whether to include or exclude him/herself in that act of support, and backs it up with speech. I like the way Randy Reitan chose to do that, because it accomplishes two things; it lets the company know of her opinion and how her response affects their business relationship with her, and it lets others know of the specific support to which she objects so that we can make up our minds on the subject as well.
Ryan Reid Oct 14, 2010, 2:47pm UTC
this is sad...i worked for them for a couple years. they never did anything like this while i was there. the sad part is, its not the stores, its some head honcho handing out money for HIS agenda. and now he has branded them as a anti-gay establishment...
Target's shareholders have begun to protest the company's contributions. The head honcho may not listen to employees or consumers but he'll more than likely listen to the shareholders.
Ryan Reid Oct 14, 2010, 3:23pm UTC
oh crap! im a share holder (like half a share lol) i wonder what i could do?
Peg Doak Jan 20, 2011, 6:14pm UTC
I am late finding this. However late better than never. Kudos to this grandmother!!!
Jean R B. Feb 10, 2011, 3:00pm UTC
Well I am not a Target shopper. But I had a gay brother and a gay son, I object to anyone talking ill of them.
Lets not and say we did Jun 9, 2011, 7:30pm UTC
lol wow I was boycotting them without knowing!
amy r. Jun 22, 2011, 10:51am UTC
Gross! This really makes me want to take a walk down the street to Kmart and stop wasting gas to go shop at a store that doesn't support so many of my friends, and loved ones who are both gay, or bisexual. I'm sure this would certainly extend to transsexuals, who I also love, because God forbid anyone who doesn't support gay people could ever understand that. I am disgusted and appalled.
Target has since changed their donations policy but the changes seem to be on a cosmetic level and not a practical level. We'll see what happens when the 2012 campaign really gets into gear, especially now that anti-gay Michele Bachmann has thrown her hat into the presidential ring and they've given her money before.
Bubbeh Maisse (aka, G T) Mar 20, 2013, 1:43pm UTC
What a touching video. This is a person that I, for one, can easily identify with. I am a mother and grandmother who has a number of gay family members--probably like most Americans. I notice that this post is a bit dated, going back to 2010. I have generally preferred Target to WalMart (hardly lavish praise), and I will certainly be going off to check what the company's current practices are. Perhaps I'll just have to bite the bullet and settle on more regular trips to Costco.

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