So, I recently heard about this boycott on Target.....if you haven't, you can read it here.
Basically, Target gave $150,000 to a group, MN Forward, that is supporting a gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota (home to Target's corporate HQ) that has said he supports the traditional definition of marriage as "one man and one woman". This, naturally, has angered gay rights groups and sparked the boycott fervor.
Full disclosure: I have gay friends, and know gay people. I don't live their lifestyle, but I don't see the need to tell someone they are wrong because they don't believe in what I believe. Do I support gay marriage? No, not actively, but I don't not support it, either.
Looking at this issue strictly from a business aspect:
1. Target Corp. donated money to a PAC. Not specifically to a single candidate. The PAC gives money to said candidate for print and television ads, but it also backs 6 other candidates for different positions in Minnesota (3 of which are Democrats, 3 are Republican).
2. MN Forward as a PAC states that they exist to "elect a governor and state legislators who understand the importance of creating private-sector jobs and economic opportunity in our state."
3. Target Corp. touts their diversity, and some involved in the boycott acknowledge Target's hiring of gays and the benefits provided for same-sex partners.
From a business perspective, was it wrong for Target to give money to a PAC that drives tax reform and pro-business legislation? Nope, more businesses will most likely do the same soon, the benefit of a recent Supreme Court ruling. After Target donates the money, it has no say on where it goes. Is it bad form? Possibly, but the candidate in the center of the controversy is also very pro-business and in favor of certain tax reforms that will benefit large business. If Target is going to donate to pro-business candidates, why wouldn't they give him money?
Again, from a business perspective, the boycott of Target stores is a bad move. Why? If Target is an employer of gays and lesbians, and they are team members in the local stores, wouldn't a boycott by pro-gay right activists actually hurt the retail store that employs (possibly) the same gays and lesbians they are fighting for? Look, employees at the store level have no say about what executives spend the company's money on. If they happen to be shareholders, they can bring it to a vote at the next stakeholder meeting, but most likely, they are just trying to get by like most of American workers.
Look, I get the controversy. It is probably not the wisest or well-researched donation in history. But it certainly isn't the worst, either. It's not even the only donation that is controversial! Wal-Mart recently donated $30,000 to Bob McDonnell, the incumbent Governor of Virginia. Recently, McDonnell has written letters to Homeland Security asking to allow State Troopers to act as immigration and customs agents. Sounds like.......no wait, I've heard this.......AHA, sounds like SB1070 in Arizona, right? The backlash over SB1070 caused a fervor throughout the country, but I guess just asking for it instead of making it law is okay.
Plus, Mr. McDonnell is apparently pro-life, vowing to make restrictions on abortion clinics in Virginia tougher and more regulated. However, no boycott of Wal-Mart? Not even a public YouTube video of someone protesting inside a Wal-Mart? Hmmm..........
Playing politics is dangerous. Target and other businesses know this when they donate to PACs. (P.S. Best Buy, also headquartered in Minnesota, donated $100,000 to MN Forward). The boycotters have a right to make their feelings known, but a little investigation and balanced thinking may have either expanded their effort or they may have proceeded in a different direction completely.
Both sides are standing up for what they believe in, and that's what matters. Again, a country that allows for dissent, disagreement, and debate is a country that is intellectually rich. And that's the only kind of rich Soop is ever going to be. :)
Sooper Rants
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
A Brush with Mortality
So, an interesting year so far....
In February, I got laid off from my job of 14 years. My youngest daughter had to have an earring back removed from her inner ear surgically, and then later needed to have a pretzel removed from her nose (at home procedure). Other financial hardships, stressful situations, and poor lifestyle choices led up to August 1st.
On August 1, I went to the hospital with chest pain. What I thought was gall bladder pain or indigestion turned out to be a massive heart attack. A quadruple bypass and 2 weeks in the hospital later, I left the hospital a changed man. What changed? Besides my obvious physical changes (30 lbs. lighter and a kickass scar), I've had my own epiphany. I don't have time for bullshit.
Most of the time before my "incident", I was able to not let too much bother me. When something did bother me, however, it festered in my gut. I rarely made how I felt about something known, and internalized a lot of pain, fears, and thoughts. Now I see that doing so was all bullshit. Too bad it took heart surgery and more to realize.
Waking up in the hospital bed after surgery, I already felt better. My wife and mother were in the room with me, and looked relieved. The days after waking were filled with different doctors and nurses coming in to tell me how much "better" I looked. At first, I was confused about these people who I had never seen telling me about things like they knew me. After a few days of this, my wife filled me in on the fact that it was actually 4 days later than I thought, and I had coded (flatlined) in the hospital about 5 times.
The weight of what she was telling me didn't hit me immediately. She showed me pictures after my surgery, after I had coded, and during my recovery. She showed me Facebook entries from past and current friends, family, and people I didn't even know. All the messages contained some kind of spiritual component.
I wasn't raised the most spiritual person. In my adult life, the only time I had gone to church is when my wife dragged me kicking and screaming. However, before the "incident", I began to enjoy going to church, and the interpretation of the stories in the Bible. During my time in the hospital, I FELT something. I don't know how to explain it, but I felt something keeping watch while I was unconscious. After waking up and really soaking in the information shown to me, I realized that my belief in a higher power was sorely lacking. Am I right with God now? No, not exactly. I'm almost well enough to go to church, but I do speak with Him through prayer a lot. I thank my friends who asked Him to help me out and bring me back to the living.
Are my friends the same religion as me? Nope. As a matter of fact, I don't even know what religion some of them are. The important thing was that they PRAYED to whatever they believed in. I believe that faith is lacking not only in my life, but in a lot of other lives as well, and I see now that that is a shame. It doesn't matter what higher power you believe in, as long as you believe.
If I am sounding a bit preachy, it's because I am. I'm not going to apologize for things anymore. I don't think anyone should have to apologize for their faith. That's the great thing about this country. You can say what you want, believe in what you want, and be who you want to be.
And there are great people in this country. Great friends that wish you well in your hardest time, visit you when you're better, and re-establish lost connections. Great family who pull together and show their love and affection to help the healing process. Great acquaintances who pray for someone they don't even know.
I don't know if I would be here without you.
God Bless You, and our great country.
Soop
In February, I got laid off from my job of 14 years. My youngest daughter had to have an earring back removed from her inner ear surgically, and then later needed to have a pretzel removed from her nose (at home procedure). Other financial hardships, stressful situations, and poor lifestyle choices led up to August 1st.
On August 1, I went to the hospital with chest pain. What I thought was gall bladder pain or indigestion turned out to be a massive heart attack. A quadruple bypass and 2 weeks in the hospital later, I left the hospital a changed man. What changed? Besides my obvious physical changes (30 lbs. lighter and a kickass scar), I've had my own epiphany. I don't have time for bullshit.
Most of the time before my "incident", I was able to not let too much bother me. When something did bother me, however, it festered in my gut. I rarely made how I felt about something known, and internalized a lot of pain, fears, and thoughts. Now I see that doing so was all bullshit. Too bad it took heart surgery and more to realize.
Waking up in the hospital bed after surgery, I already felt better. My wife and mother were in the room with me, and looked relieved. The days after waking were filled with different doctors and nurses coming in to tell me how much "better" I looked. At first, I was confused about these people who I had never seen telling me about things like they knew me. After a few days of this, my wife filled me in on the fact that it was actually 4 days later than I thought, and I had coded (flatlined) in the hospital about 5 times.
The weight of what she was telling me didn't hit me immediately. She showed me pictures after my surgery, after I had coded, and during my recovery. She showed me Facebook entries from past and current friends, family, and people I didn't even know. All the messages contained some kind of spiritual component.
I wasn't raised the most spiritual person. In my adult life, the only time I had gone to church is when my wife dragged me kicking and screaming. However, before the "incident", I began to enjoy going to church, and the interpretation of the stories in the Bible. During my time in the hospital, I FELT something. I don't know how to explain it, but I felt something keeping watch while I was unconscious. After waking up and really soaking in the information shown to me, I realized that my belief in a higher power was sorely lacking. Am I right with God now? No, not exactly. I'm almost well enough to go to church, but I do speak with Him through prayer a lot. I thank my friends who asked Him to help me out and bring me back to the living.
Are my friends the same religion as me? Nope. As a matter of fact, I don't even know what religion some of them are. The important thing was that they PRAYED to whatever they believed in. I believe that faith is lacking not only in my life, but in a lot of other lives as well, and I see now that that is a shame. It doesn't matter what higher power you believe in, as long as you believe.
If I am sounding a bit preachy, it's because I am. I'm not going to apologize for things anymore. I don't think anyone should have to apologize for their faith. That's the great thing about this country. You can say what you want, believe in what you want, and be who you want to be.
And there are great people in this country. Great friends that wish you well in your hardest time, visit you when you're better, and re-establish lost connections. Great family who pull together and show their love and affection to help the healing process. Great acquaintances who pray for someone they don't even know.
I don't know if I would be here without you.
God Bless You, and our great country.
Soop
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