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Sunday, October 6, 2024 - 08:03 PM

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

First Published in 1994

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

Target Wokeness 2023

Mike Kalasnik/Wikimedia Commons

The ongoing culture war has awakened the silent majority of conservatives who have had enough of the immoral “woke” agenda. Corporations such as Anheuser-Busch and Target know this well, as they continue to face backlash over their attempts at transgender-themed marketing.  

Just days after the American public was subjected to the spectacle of a trans woman in a bubble bath sipping a Bud Light beer, the stock value of Budweiser’s parent, Anhueser-Busch, began to fall as consumers, mostly conservatives, reacted by boycotting the beer.  

“Steep drops in sales of Bud Light continued to worsen for the sixth consecutive week, plunging by nearly 25% since the ill-fated promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, the latest industry data shows,” reported the New York Post.   

Target stores nationwide had placed LGBTQ+ merchandise in prominent displays just ahead of Pride month to celebrate their open acceptance of the movement. Those displays quickly caused Target to remove some items and make changes to its LGBTQ+ merchandise after receiving intense backlash from some customers who confronted workers and tipped over displays. 

AP News reported

“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” Target said in a statement Tuesday. ”Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.” 

President Bill Clinton officially designated June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in 2000 to recognize gay activism. Since then, the LGBTQ+ movement has grown more radical, pushing acceptance of medicalized gender transitions, sexually themed schoolbooks, and biological males in women’s sports.  

According to History.com, in 2009, President Barack Obama gave the month a more-inclusive name: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month. History stated, “Gay Pride parades in many cities are enormous celebrations; the events in Sao Paulo, Sydney, New York City, Madrid, Taipei and Toronto routinely attract up to 5 million attendees.” 

The Washington Times noted,

“People are sick of Pride Month, and parents in particular are sick of seeing this pushed on their kids,” Trent Talbot, president and founder of the conservative publishing house Brave Books, told The Washington Times. 

His company has jumped on the Pride Month pushback. Brave Books plans to release “Pride Comes Before the Fall,” an illustrated children’s book by Christian actor Kirk Cameron, on June 1 — the first day of Pride Month. 

“I think that what we’re seeing with Target, Bud Light, is really just the tip of the iceberg,” said Mr. Talbot. “I think that the Christian conservatives, the sort of silent majority, they may be waking up and realizing that they have power in our culture, and they need to flex their muscles.” 

The public backlash has cost Target a reported $10 billion loss in market valuation over the last 10 days. The New York Post shared that “a week ago, Wednesday, Target enjoyed its stock value at $160.96 a share, but following the calls to boycott the Minneapolis-based retailer over its ‘PRIDE’ collection, the value plummeted and closed Friday at $138.93 a share.” 

The Post continued, “The nearly 14% drop in value for the blue chip stock roughly translates to a $10.1 billion loss in valuation to just $64.2 billion for Target, which has nearly 2,000 stores nationwide. The plummet stands as the retailer’s lowest stock price in nearly three years.” 

Daily Wire podcaster Matt Walsh added to the backlash by reportedly urging “conservatives last week to pick a few strategic targets and make them ‘pay dearly’ instead of trying to boycott every company selling rainbow-themed products.” 

“I think this Target boycott has real staying power,” Walsh tweeted. “Target has now branded itself as a far-left organization, to the point where it’s embarrassing to shop there. This is the branding that makes the boycott stick. It happened to Bud Light. I think it’s happening to Target.” 

To add to the boycotts, conservatives across the nation have supported their state politicians and representatives in fighting against the radicalized LGBTQ+ movement. The ACLU shared that during the 2023 legislative session, there was over 124 introduced bills “restricting LGBTQ people, targeting their freedom of expression, the safety of transgender students, and access to health care for gender dysphoria.” 

The culture war over LGBTQ+ is far from over, and now with the conservative silent majority openly pushing back with boycotts, corporate America needs to reevaluate its marketing plans or face the financial consequences.  

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