Yeah, as a liberal democrat myself, in Westchester NY (which I suppose makes me quite liberal, hah), I find the target boycott very strange. It’s an extremely popular store in my area and employs a very diverse workforce.
As an ultraliberal white graduate I despair at what my peers have created. Do the Democrats really have that much to lose by alienating these idiots and their incoherent bourgie issues? So they all vote Green or Libertarian for two cycles... maybe that's what it will take for the rest of the public to take Democrats seriously again.
In trying to understand liberal insistence on trans ideology I have come the conclusion that for people who are not directly affected by it, belief in the ideology is a class marker that sets them apart from working class folks who are not as enlightened as they believe themselves to be. In other words, it is an obstacle to wider electoral possibilities. So long as we condescend to people who do not believe as we do we will lose. Righteously. But lose nonetheless. I don't see anyway around this without a painful reckoning.
Or they could, you know, just stop taking such unpopular positions on social issues. There are multiple issues where vast majorities of the electorate favor one side, and Democrats have taken the other. Most voters think that people with a penis and testicles can’t be women. Most voters think that decisions about admissions, hiring, and promotion should be colorblind. Most voters think that restricting abortions to the first trimester, with exceptions for rape, incest, and the health of the mother, is pretty reasonable. Most people believe that mass, unchecked immigration from the third world is disruptive to the culture and economy of the nation. The Democratic Party has taken the unpopular side of all of these issues. To some extent, politicians have even gone against their own voters. No one makes them do this. Expect for TDS.
I sense the reaction to Target stems from a sense of betrayal at the capitulation. Not a logical reaction to say the least, especially if they go to Walmart instead.
What I cannot wrap my head around is those flying into a tizzy bc someone flies a pride flag or some other symbol of their identity. It’s not about you, dude. Their existence should not trigger an emotional response.
Or that a man getting a boob job is a somehow a desecration of his body but a woman isn’t? Weird.
What Democrats have failed in is getting the electorate to agree that if that trans person or immigrant or woman lacks rights, so does everyone else. Their messaging is atrocious.
The historic Democratic icons FDR, and JFK would laugh at what passes for policy in their beloved party. Although they were upper class they understood that victory for their party depended on appealing to working class voters. Current party leaders distain the “deplorable” and “racist” members of the working class.
A laundry list of things for Democrats to keep and to dump if they ever want to actually win again nationwide.
Keep a woman’s right to choose for the first trimester.
Dump abortion until birth unless the mother’s health is at risk or the fetus is not viable.
Keep a concern for climate change and the environment and grow nuclear power.
Dump intermittent, unreliable renewable energy that requires backup continuous generating capacity which is then used intermittently. A ridiculously expensive approach. Even more important, realize that the stifling maze of environmental procedures that now must be followed to build anything has raised the price of necessities like mass transit and housing that the working class needs to survive. Figure out how to build stuff quickly.
Keep and develop new effective vaccines.
Dump vaccine mandates.
Keep equality of opportunity for all.
Dump equity of results based on discriminating against men, whites and Asians in a futile attempt to compensate for past discrimination against women and blacks. Recognize that D.E.I. Is unconstitutional.
Keep the protection of gay and lesbian rights.
Dump men in women’s sports, private spaces and prisons. Oh, and mutilating children who might grow up to be gay.
Keep an opportunity for selective high value immigration.
Dump sanctuary cities and open borders.
Keep helping the homeless find jobs and a place to live.
Dump camping in cities, shitting in the streets and allowing open drug use.
Keep a concern for due process in criminal justice.
Dump letting shoplifters and other petty thieves off the hook and releasing predators back on the streets without bail to kill and maim again.
Keep support for unions and fair wages
Dump “free trade” policies that have devastated our manufacturing sector.
Do all of the above and start governing like you know what the fuck you’re doing and you might just find your way back to power.
The measles vaccine is about 98% effective, and the antivaxers still hate it.
By the way, the less effective the vaccine is, the more important to have everyone take it. (Although you also have babies and the immunocompromised to protect. The antivaxers see chemo patients' dying not of cancer but of measles as a bonus.)
Target's policies and inventory management over the last ten years largely drove out Gen X/Y and older. They are now hostage to the replacement customer base, who appear incapable of applying logic. This was predictable.
The drop in targets share price can probably be explained by uncertainty about this very supply chain dependent company being at risk from Trump’s moronic indiscriminate trade war. I don’t know how much a tiny woke elite is really having that much of an effect
I love a trip to Target' right now! The aisles are stocked and there are NO lines! Go to Walmart and the shelves are bare and the lines are looooong to buy cheaper and more poorly made merchandise. Funny how the Dems used to dump on WalMart (they treat employees like shit, they have crap merchandise, customer service is iffy etc) but are now shopping there in spite. The hypocrisy of it is hilarious! I'm a bad American because I am NOT a shop til you drop kinda gal, but I hope that if I have to go to Target during the upcoming Pride Month, I won't be assaulted by the JoJo Siwa collection hitting me in the face every time I turn down an aisle.
Yeah, as a liberal democrat myself, in Westchester NY (which I suppose makes me quite liberal, hah), I find the target boycott very strange. It’s an extremely popular store in my area and employs a very diverse workforce.
As an ultraliberal white graduate I despair at what my peers have created. Do the Democrats really have that much to lose by alienating these idiots and their incoherent bourgie issues? So they all vote Green or Libertarian for two cycles... maybe that's what it will take for the rest of the public to take Democrats seriously again.
the Target boycott has been so weird to me- why not prioritize boycotting Amazon? Or Walmart?
In trying to understand liberal insistence on trans ideology I have come the conclusion that for people who are not directly affected by it, belief in the ideology is a class marker that sets them apart from working class folks who are not as enlightened as they believe themselves to be. In other words, it is an obstacle to wider electoral possibilities. So long as we condescend to people who do not believe as we do we will lose. Righteously. But lose nonetheless. I don't see anyway around this without a painful reckoning.
Or they could, you know, just stop taking such unpopular positions on social issues. There are multiple issues where vast majorities of the electorate favor one side, and Democrats have taken the other. Most voters think that people with a penis and testicles can’t be women. Most voters think that decisions about admissions, hiring, and promotion should be colorblind. Most voters think that restricting abortions to the first trimester, with exceptions for rape, incest, and the health of the mother, is pretty reasonable. Most people believe that mass, unchecked immigration from the third world is disruptive to the culture and economy of the nation. The Democratic Party has taken the unpopular side of all of these issues. To some extent, politicians have even gone against their own voters. No one makes them do this. Expect for TDS.
Did you miss the part where Target donated $1 million to the Trump "Inauguration" Fund?
I sense the reaction to Target stems from a sense of betrayal at the capitulation. Not a logical reaction to say the least, especially if they go to Walmart instead.
What I cannot wrap my head around is those flying into a tizzy bc someone flies a pride flag or some other symbol of their identity. It’s not about you, dude. Their existence should not trigger an emotional response.
Or that a man getting a boob job is a somehow a desecration of his body but a woman isn’t? Weird.
What Democrats have failed in is getting the electorate to agree that if that trans person or immigrant or woman lacks rights, so does everyone else. Their messaging is atrocious.
Here are some suggestions that might work.
The historic Democratic icons FDR, and JFK would laugh at what passes for policy in their beloved party. Although they were upper class they understood that victory for their party depended on appealing to working class voters. Current party leaders distain the “deplorable” and “racist” members of the working class.
A laundry list of things for Democrats to keep and to dump if they ever want to actually win again nationwide.
Keep a woman’s right to choose for the first trimester.
Dump abortion until birth unless the mother’s health is at risk or the fetus is not viable.
Keep a concern for climate change and the environment and grow nuclear power.
Dump intermittent, unreliable renewable energy that requires backup continuous generating capacity which is then used intermittently. A ridiculously expensive approach. Even more important, realize that the stifling maze of environmental procedures that now must be followed to build anything has raised the price of necessities like mass transit and housing that the working class needs to survive. Figure out how to build stuff quickly.
Keep and develop new effective vaccines.
Dump vaccine mandates.
Keep equality of opportunity for all.
Dump equity of results based on discriminating against men, whites and Asians in a futile attempt to compensate for past discrimination against women and blacks. Recognize that D.E.I. Is unconstitutional.
Keep the protection of gay and lesbian rights.
Dump men in women’s sports, private spaces and prisons. Oh, and mutilating children who might grow up to be gay.
Keep an opportunity for selective high value immigration.
Dump sanctuary cities and open borders.
Keep helping the homeless find jobs and a place to live.
Dump camping in cities, shitting in the streets and allowing open drug use.
Keep a concern for due process in criminal justice.
Dump letting shoplifters and other petty thieves off the hook and releasing predators back on the streets without bail to kill and maim again.
Keep support for unions and fair wages
Dump “free trade” policies that have devastated our manufacturing sector.
Do all of the above and start governing like you know what the fuck you’re doing and you might just find your way back to power.
The measles vaccine is about 98% effective, and the antivaxers still hate it.
By the way, the less effective the vaccine is, the more important to have everyone take it. (Although you also have babies and the immunocompromised to protect. The antivaxers see chemo patients' dying not of cancer but of measles as a bonus.)
Target's policies and inventory management over the last ten years largely drove out Gen X/Y and older. They are now hostage to the replacement customer base, who appear incapable of applying logic. This was predictable.
The drop in targets share price can probably be explained by uncertainty about this very supply chain dependent company being at risk from Trump’s moronic indiscriminate trade war. I don’t know how much a tiny woke elite is really having that much of an effect
None of this stuff will matter if Trump’s tariffs damage the economy the way it most likely will.
I love a trip to Target' right now! The aisles are stocked and there are NO lines! Go to Walmart and the shelves are bare and the lines are looooong to buy cheaper and more poorly made merchandise. Funny how the Dems used to dump on WalMart (they treat employees like shit, they have crap merchandise, customer service is iffy etc) but are now shopping there in spite. The hypocrisy of it is hilarious! I'm a bad American because I am NOT a shop til you drop kinda gal, but I hope that if I have to go to Target during the upcoming Pride Month, I won't be assaulted by the JoJo Siwa collection hitting me in the face every time I turn down an aisle.