Target Ain't People

Protests are more interesting when they involve live theatre, instead of standing around with signs which may or may not give a chuckle if they are witty. Seriously, if you are that desperate for attention, you might as well put on a show.

This was about as interesting as a guy taking a dump in a public bathroom.

Tyranny of the minority.

What most people don't know, or seem to forget, is Target is the upscale store owned by Walmart (yeah I know..Upscale?, compared to Walmart, yes).
Now I can go either way in the many arguments for and against Walmart, but, it's always had a political agenda and this article shows that it's business as usual.

I am sure all of these people were avid shoppers of target before this video anyway...

As someone else pointed out, this is more interesting (and entertaining) then people standing around with signs. Clever.
Plus any protest which doesn't block traffic can't be all bad.

Target is not owned by Walmart - the stores are owned by Target Corporation

Corporations shouldn't have freedom of speech. Do they have other freedoms as citizens? Do they suffer the same consequences as citizens? THAT is the problem. Corporations, with infinitely greater resources than individuals SHOULD NOT be allowed to buy elections.

Yes, corporations do suffer consequences of the actions of government. So why shouldn't they have a chance to help candidates get elected which will not adversely affect their business. If you don't like the candidates they support don't support the business. Why should unions be the only ones allowed to "buy" elections?

How embarrassing for the protesters...

Really, a corporation has gone to prison for breaking the law? The government has bailed out an individual to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars because the individual was irresponsible and foolish?
Unions should not be allowed to buy elections anymore than Target, and they were not granted unlimited contributions until the S.C. ruling earlier this year. Now it's a free-for-all for anyone with too much money to buy elections. I support REAL democracy, not this Plutocracy.

And I absolutely do not shop at Target anymore. As soon as I heard of their contribution to Emmer, I made that decision and plan to stick to it. All the people in this video were doing was spreading the word.

1: Creative, if misguided, protest.
2: Free speech means these people have the right to protest, Target being private property means they will likely be dispersed, or arrested, by the police. Free speech also allows Target, and any corporation, to have any opinion it wants. The only group we shouldn't hear an opinion from are our newspeople, though we all know how that turned out.
3: I don't have a three, I just wanted to justify numbering my points.

I noticed some singers pronoucing the store as Tar-jay to make the song rhyme better. fail

Hopefully, Target has learned its lesson and will not do anything without checking with the LBGT community first. Happy to hear they apologized for the contribution, they should now contribute at least a like amount to gay-friendly charities and interests.

I am TOTALLY surprised that the majority of people participating have long hair, and hairy pits. (insert sarcastic tone)

Why does neatorama cater to this crap? It's not neat or interesting by any stretch of the imagination... Whoopity doo, a bunch of people who haven't bathed in months got together to protest and sing.. This is neat how!?!?! Go get a job and pay for your own candidates.

Target can do whatever it wants! If you don't agree with their politics, then don't shop or work with them.. end of story...

The fact that they have to APOLOGIZE for their owners/chairmens beliefs... LAME!!!!

OMG, Chic fil a, has a christian agenda! LET'S ALL PROTEST!!! You protest, I'll enjoy my chicken sandwich!

Wow, look at these comments. Have the freepers invaded neatorama? Say it ain't so.

What is most pathetic is that the protesters and some of those that commented feel such a bond/identify with a corporation (in this case a big box store). And that when it 'betrays' you for taking a political stance, it makes you shun it and pout like spoiled child.

Target doesn't represent anything. It's not anti-Walmart...shopping there doesn't defeat the Republicans. It's a damn corporation like so many others that only exist to make money. Eating Archer Farms or wearing a brand off their racks isn't going to save the world from tyranny.

-_-

Rccola20, you should really listen to what they are saying. It's not about a bond with a corporation, it's about the fact that powerful corporations put money into our political system to influence the elections. When people get massive amounts of campaign money, they are better able to market themselves and sway the opinion of the people. These well-financed and well-backed people WIN the elections and influence our lives. I do have a problem with people with bottomless coffers influencing politics that influence my life.
No one, except the very naive, expect truth & honesty from a corporation, so why do we want them to influence our government?
I'm confused by your assertion that somehow WalMart can be used as a political tool to defeat the Republicans but somehow Target is different because it doesn't represent anything.

Really grocco? I count exactly two women who were wearing sleeveless shirts. How exactly can you see through everyone else's shirts to see their hairy pits?

How dare there be two political parties!

How childish. As a mature, responsible adult if someone does/say something I disagree with I make note of it and go on with my life. To harass, ridicule, protest, or single out someone I disagree with in an attempt to force MY opinion upon them is utterly ridiculous. Being adult means being able to understand that folks are entitled to their own opinions even if *gasp* I don't like them. People on the left just need to grow up.

The GLBT (or whatever) want to make sure that they have the right to do/say what they want. Freedom! Equality! Yay!

But don't you DARE try and enjoy the same privilege on the other side of the debate! They will shut you down.

You can just tell by lookin' at 'em that they have serious B.O.

Protest is a for of free speech too. Even if you don't agree with them being upset about other people having a differing opinion then them, one must also allow them to have a different opinion than you.

It's seems weird to me to tell protesters the equivalent of "Shut up because those you are protesting are allowed to have their opinions!"

MoveOn.org does not try to buy elections?

Incorporation is a legal fiction. Until you can put a corporation in jail, they're never going to be held to the same degree of responsibility as a actual person. The idea that they should be treated the same as real people is absurd, so I'm all for protesting any and all corporate intrusions into the public sphere regardless of whether I agree with the motives.

Song parodies are the lowest form of expression, aside from ugly people singing and dancing.

I pledge to shop more at Target whenever I get to the United States.

this explains it all.....the left relies on "astroturfting" via flash mobs to get a protest going. the TEA party does it without being told to. give me a break, freaking whiny, smelly liberals. go back to your bushchimphitler bashing and leave the running of the country to the adults!

Somehow I don't think moveon.org would be staging these rediculous protests if the money had gone to a gay candidate. They would be perfectly okay with corporate donations if that were the case. And to those that say corporations shouldn't be involved in politics, first work at eliminating corporate tax--or are you actually suggesting there should be taxation without representation? Corporate taxes are the highest in the US than anywhere else on the planet. They should be allowed to express there opinion, financially or otherwise. Funny--moveon.org, it's their name, but somehow they just can't move on, can they. Freedom of speech for everyone--as long as it is in line with the gays and liberals.

Lefties really need to cease their fascist tendencies. It's really really tiring now.

How many companies gave money to obama while he was campaigning? Shouldn't these people get upset about ANY donations, not just ONE donation?

Some people need to get some priorities in life.

Geez.

hairy pits. hairy pits. hairy pits. blaaahhh gross.

Please keep in mind: There are more of US than there are of them - One person, one vote is the foundation of Democracy.

This article should have been called:
Those weird, ugly chicks? They're protestors!

I see nothing wrong with telling people who Target donated money to, but to tell Target not to donate to a group because you don't agree with their ideas (as repugnant as are) is wrong.

Protests for the most part are juvenile, ineffective, and a poor reflection of the protestor.

Wow, just read the article and Target seems to be more proactive towards the LGBT community than a lot of places. They just don't want their taxes through the roof. Is that so bad? I think the LGBT community should get a big fat brow beating for not publicly correcting MoveOn in their knee jerk reaction.

I support gay marriage, I support same sex couples and I support gay rights, but asinine stunts like this push me one step closer to hating them. Seriously, if these self-righteous twits were less annoying with their "holier-than-thou" mentality the gay community would have a much easier time being accepted by society. As long as they continue with stupid stunts like this, they road will continue to be needlessly difficult.

Okay, show of hands, who here already knew that Target didn't directly donate money to Emmer, but instead donated to Minnesota Forward, a political group currently supporting seven candidates total.

Once upon a time, Neatorama did not post political content, but that seems to have changed in recent months. Why is that?

@Allen Garvin - actually, we've always posted political content but sparingly.

There are plenty of political posts on Neatorama - always pushing the Liberal anti-American point of view. It's not sparing. It's something I expect to see regularly.

Funny, the liberals always accuse us of the opposite ;)

I had no idea the Neatorama-reading public was swarming with so many right-wingers. Eww.

@Alex - I sympathize for you. I've been lurking around the blog for quite sometimes, and you are correct - you do get (unfairly) accused for favoring the opposite political views of whichever belongs to the random poster.

I could be wrong, but I think this was posted to neatorama mostly because it's a flashmob thing, and such 'surprise performances' of any variation do tend to be posted on neatorama.

Here's a good philosophy: Live your life, be happy, let others do the same, and quit griping. So much negativity and hating all the time from everyone, geesh.

Thanks, Video Game Dork!

That video is absurd, but these comments are worse. It makes perfect sense that people would protest a company that portrays itself as sensitive to LGBT issues donating money to a candidate that is anti-gay. These protestors aren't forcing Target to do anything. Target apologized because it wanted to. The person who said something about liberals having fascist tendencies- why don't you look up fascism? Maybe then, if you are bright enough, you will figure out why your comment made no sense whatsoever.

new low for neatorama. bummer

re: tarjay

target was originally a french company, so you can pronounce target in french as tarjay. they're just referencing the company's history.

This was a brilliant protest. my only question is, did the people on line continue with their purchases, or did they leave the store with the activists?

Also, whomever posted above that Target is owned by Walmart is incorrect. they're owned by the Dayton-Hudson Corporation (if you lived in the midwest you may recall the department store, Hudsons, who were bought by Marshall Fields, which was eventually bought/renamed Macy's). Target owns the rights to it's name as well. Walmart isn't in the picture.

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Better than the original song!

Thanks for posting this video. Though MoveOn supported this effort, the folks who designed and implemented it were from Agt-Pop and the Backbone Campaign. It was our finale after a week of artful activism trainings.

Bill Moyer
Backbone Campaign
Vashon, WA

In the words of Bill Maher:

"Facism is when corporations become the government."