 |
| Target CEO Brian Cornell |
“We want to make sure we provide a welcoming environment for all of our guests,” Cornell said. “One that is safe, one that is comfortable.”
“Everyone deserves to feel like they belong,” Target said in its initial statement. “And you’ll always be accepted, respected and welcomed at Target.”
“We took a stance,” he said. “We’re going to continue to embrace our belief in diversity and inclusion, just how important that is to our company. But we’re also going to make sure our focus on safety is unwavering.”
He noted Target took a lot of criticism in the 1960s when it was one of the first retailers to use black models in its advertising.
“Back then, it wasn’t well received,” he said. “We had a lot of tough feedback. But sitting here today, we know we made the right decision.”
After more than 1.1 million people pledged to boycott Target, celebrities and corporations alike are having second thoughts about crossing Americans on such a consensus issue. The decision by the retail giant is not only sparking massive backlash, but it’s helping the country get a real picture of the controversy in North Carolina. It’s also shown liberals that without the big media’s cover, twisting the facts of the law, they’re all by themselves.
There’s even more evidence of that this week, as more singers are keeping their concert dates in North Carolina than canceling them. Even more telling, not one business has threatened to leave the state after seeing what happened to the retail giant — which has taken a $2.5 billion hit since letting grown men in women’s restrooms and dressing rooms. After executives announced the change, shares dropped 6 percent in just 10 days.
Recent debate around proposed laws in several states has reignited a national conversation around inclusivity. So earlier this week, we reiterated with our team members where Target stands and how our beliefs are brought to life in how we serve our guests.
Inclusivity is a core belief at Target. It’s something we celebrate. We stand for equality and equity, and strive to make our guests and team members feel accepted, respected and welcomed in our stores and workplaces every day.
We believe that everyone—every team member, every guest, and every community—deserves to be protected from discrimination, and treated equally. Consistent with this belief, Target supports the federal Equality Act, which provides protections to LGBT individuals, and opposes action that enables discrimination.
In our stores, we demonstrate our commitment to an inclusive experience in many ways. Most relevant for the conversations currently underway, we welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity.
We regularly assess issues and consider many factors such as impact to our business, guests and team members. Given the specific questions these legislative proposals raised about how we manage our fitting rooms and restrooms, we felt it was important to state our position.
Everyone deserves to feel like they belong. And you’ll always be accepted, respected and welcomed at Target.
That dynamic played out in particularly rogue fashion on Target's Facebook page this week. As the retailer received a steady stream of nasty comments from people upset about its move toward gender-neutral in-store labeling, Facebook user Mike Melgaard posed as Target with a fake Facebook account—Ask ForHelp, with a bull's-eye profile pic—and began excoriating the haters with comically sarcastic replies.
He got away with it for about 16 hours, too, commenting on about 50 posts before the fake account was shut down.
“I think Target may be forgetting who has made their stores strong.
"It’s not gender-neutral people out there—it’s working American families, fathers and mothers with boys and girls they love.
"What’s next? Are they going to try to make people believe that pink or blue baby showers are politically incorrect?
"I have news for them and for everyone else—God created two different genders. Jesus said, ‘Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female’ (Matthew 19:4). You can’t get any clearer than that.
"If you agree, share in the comments below—and let Target know what you think. Let them know that you are perfectly willing to shop where the genders God created are appreciated. (1-800-440-0680) Target is way off-target on this one!”
“A friend of ours knew the casting director was looking for expecting couples and she emailed me and asked if I would be interested in sending our stuff over,” Amanda said.
“We both thought it would be amazing to have so much of our nursery needs taken care of (kids are expensive!) and also loved the idea of showing an authentic lesbian family in a mainstream commercial. Obviously, Target dug that too.”
On Tuesday, the retail giant Target signed on to an amicus brief for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in two pending cases challenging the definition of marriage in Indiana and Wisconsin. Target joins with a number of other companies in signing the brief, including the Starbucks Coffee Company. But it is the spirit behind the brief, and its language, which are most noteworthy.
The brief uses extremely charged language to refer to laws defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. It calls them "the states' bans [on same-sex marriage]" and, even more radically, "marriage discrimination" laws! Without providing any rationale at all, the brief states bluntly that "Same-sex couples should have the same right to marry as opposite-sex couples," and refers to Indiana and Wisconsin's traditional marriage laws as "an unproductive, inequitable, and unjust status quo."...
Target and other companies need to be forced to realize that it is their alignment with the radical cause of redefining marriage that is "bad for business"--not states' marriage laws that uphold and protect the common-sense idea that kids do best with a mom and a dad! So I'm announcing a new boycott today, against Target, for insulting consumers like you and me. The brief they signed in court this week insinuates that people like you and me, who would vote to uphold traditional marriage, as akin to segregationists and racial bigots. Would you want to shop at a place that viewed you in that way?...
Target and its peers in the corporate world need to realize that the countless Americans who believe in marriage as the union of a man and a woman will not stand for being insulted and demeaned.
As our leadership team discussed signing on, we took time to consider the bigger questions at hand. This brief is important, as the issues it addresses have significant impact on businesses. But it is more than that and we agreed that now is the right time to more directly share our views on this issue.
It is our belief that everyone should be treated equally under the law, and that includes rights we believe individuals should have related to marriage.
Without getting into the specifics of a court case, this brief evaluates the issues created by states that both prohibit same-sex marriage and also refuse to recognize marriages that were conducted legally in other states. This position is particularly challenging for a large organization that operates nationally, such as Target. At Target, we have long offered comprehensive, competitive benefits to our LGBT team members and their families, often above what is legally required. We continue to do so today because we believe doing so is right for our team and for our business. But current laws — in places like Wisconsin and Indiana that are addressed in this brief – make it difficult to attract and retain talent. These disparate laws also create confusing and complicated benefits challenges across multiple states.
We believe that everyone – all of our team members and our guests – deserve to be treated equally. And at Target we are proud to support the LGBT community.
"The leadership team has been weighing a complex issue, and I want to be sure everyone understands our thoughts and ultimate decision.
"As you’ve likely seen in the media, there has been a debate about whether guests in communities that permit 'open carry' should be allowed to bring firearms into Target stores. Our approach has always been to follow local laws, and of course, we will continue to do so.
"But starting today we will also respectfully request that guests not bring firearms to Target – even in communities where it is permitted by law.
"We’ve listened carefully to the nuances of this debate and respect the protected rights of everyone involved. In return, we are asking for help in fulfilling our goal to create an atmosphere that is safe and inviting for our guests and team members.
"This is a complicated issue, but it boils down to a simple belief: Bringing firearms to Target creates an environment that is at odds with the family-friendly shopping and work experience we strive to create."
An "inexpensive" malware program called BlackPOS written by a Russian teen is what was used in the attack that compromised Target, as well as possibly Neiman Marcus.
It is not believed that the teenager orchestrated the attacks, but simply that he wrote and sold the script that made it possible. Per IntelCrawler, the program was purchased by at least 40 cybercriminals, primarily in Eastern Europe. Earlier this week, Wired reported that the original BlackPOS coding was strengthened so that it would not be detected by antivirus programs.
