Boycotts...

So Target and Best Buy made some donations to anti-gay candidates because they favored their pro-business stance.  Now there are calls for boycotts of both big retailers from within the LGBT community.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.

I go back and forth on this all the time...with any type of boycott. Traditionally Target has been a big supporter of LGBT rights, and now they've made one questionable contribution. Should we boycott them and put our considerable money where our mouth is? I don't honestly know. What are our reasons for the boycott?  Are we boycotting for this one decision or a larger pattern?  I don't see uprisings and movements to boycott Fox News and the advertisers that advertise on them and they are clearly more virulently anti-gay than Target, even given this one contribution.  Have we taken a look at the big picture?

Take for example, Bill Clinton - a huge supporter for LGBT rights and yet he passed DADT and DOMA.  We didn't and still don't boycott him. Which was, in the long run, more detrimental to the LGBT community - Targets one time contribution or the DOMA and DADT enacted under the Clinton administration?  President Obama has cut funding for AIDS and arguably done nothing for the LGBT community other than say he is a fierce advocate - we aren't standing up in protest with every voice in out community calling for more action or a boycott, are we?

All of this aside, this isn't to say I agree with Target or Best Buy's contributions, but where do we start drawing the line?  What would you do if the community called on you to boycott your employer?  What are the members of our community that work at either Target or Best Buy supposed to do?  What would you do if you had to make the decision between standing with your community in protest and boycott or your financial independence because you work for the employer that is being protested?

We must also take into account or other options and alternatives.  For example, we are boycotting Target, so where else can you go for lower cost supplies?  Wal-Mart?  Nope, they are sexist, racist, homophobic and don't treat their employees with dignity or respect.  What other national low-cost retailers there?  Not all of us in the community can afford to shop high end all the time.  And, quite honestly - when Target is selling me body wash for 2.14 and it's 3.99 or higher elsewhere - why would you shop elsewhere?  Best Buy is out now too, where can I go that's a national electronics retail chain?  Circuit City is gone.  Hmmm.  The TV I bought months ago at Best Buy is still under warranty there.  If something breaks, can I take it into Best Buy for service since it's under warranty or am I supposed to shell out money elsewhere since we're protesting now?

Again, I'm not taking sides - I'm asking the question.  I have been right there on the line before in protest and boycott, and as I've grown older I have started to question a little more before I become the lemming off the cliff.  What are we really accomplishing with the boycott?  Are we boycotting Target and Best Buy equally?  What about every other company that has made anti-gay campaign contributions - where can we shop anymore if all of a sudden we are protesting everyone?  Just askin...



UPDATE 08/05/10: Target CEO issues an apology. Are we done boycotting now and moving on? Can we shop there again or is this not enough? If not, what's it going to take? Not judging, just asking the questions.

UPDATE 08/06/10: And apparently it gets worse for Target. Where does the boycott stand now?

UPDATE 08/10/10: Apparently, I am not the only one questioning what the motives and motivation behind this boycott are. Again, not saying I agree or disagree, just asking the questions.