This is my 4th letter to Target, and I'm still waiting for a considered response as to why I should keep shopping at Target despite your contributions in support of a vehemently anti-gay political candidate. Because, believe me, I really really REALLY want to shop at Target. The past month has been miserable. I never realized how often I went to Target until I stopped going to Target! At least 3 or 4 times a week, I find myself needing some small thing around the house and I think, "Oh, I'll just run to Target and..." POP! My bubble bursts and I remember that I can't.

I almost caved last week. I got some really enticing coupons celebrating the fact that the Target 5 blocks from my house just remodeled, adding a grocery section. I also saw a really cute ad for your clothes in the Fall Fashion issue of Glamour, and I thought, "I'd like to own a brightly colored plaid shirt!" And my mind drifted dreamily to thoughts of Summer Clearance. And I read an alarming article that said Target stock had dropped 3.5% in the wake of the boycott threats, while Walmart's and Costco's had gone up. Now, I don't believe for a second that Walmart or Costco are MORE gay friendly than Target, so I posted a Facebook status announcing I was going to give up my letter writing campaign/boycott and go back to my favorite store. And the response from my 950-plus friends was outraged! (I guess I got a little taste of what you're feeling). They reminded me that change requires sacrifice. They reminded me that giving up now would send you the message that you could just wait it out. But best of all, one of my parents reminded me that there is nothing in "that store" she loves more than her gay son, her gay step-daughter (me), our partners, or our children. And that was important. Because as much as I love buying stuff at Target--and I do LOVE it--I love myself more.

I know you're in a difficult position. By donating money to MN Forward, who in turn gave the money to Tom Emmer, you meant to support a big-business candidate who would help you advance your corporate interests. I get that. It makes sense. But you also donated to a candidate who is so explicitly anti-gay he's donated money to an organization that says executing gays is a "moral" action. (And by the way - Tom Emmer is pretty anti-immigrant too, which a lot of the gay organizations aren't talking about, but I think is important to mention.) So what can you do? If you donate money to a pro-gay candidate or an organization like HRC, your "conservative" shoppers are going to freak out, too. I mean, playing politics seems like a no-win situation for a company that relies on trying to make a broad base of shoppers happy. I wish you'd thought of that earlier, but you didn't, and now I'm stuck. In order to feel good about shopping at Target, I need to know that you've not only apologized for your donation (which you have) but that you've thought of a way to balance the damage that donation is going to do to my life and the lives of people like me. Until then, I can't shop at Target! And I would like to shop at Target!

Since I last wrote to you, I've had to purchase the following at other stores: diapers, coffee, socks, two lip glosses, an eyeshadow, barrettes, a potty, and soap. It was a slow shopping week for me, but here's where I'm really going to miss you: I just moved into a new office and I need all kinds of things to make it feel like "home" - a lamp, four frames, a desk calendar, a pencil holder, pens, folders, binders, paper clips, etc. I don't even know where I'm going to get that stuff - Office Depot does not have Target's flair for style and color.

There is some good news though. I've been posting these letters on my website, on Facebook, and on Twitter and I've been invited to be a guest blogger at VelvetParkMedia.com, a site devoted to "dyke culture" and LGBTQ issues. So, I'll be reaching out to even more people on this issue. I hope I'll have something good to tell them soon, even something as small as you actually responded to my concerns with something other than a form letter (hint, hint).

Until then, I'm dreaming of Target.

Love (?)

Coya Paz

This is my 3rd letter to you. I don't mean to seem like a deranged stalker or someone with too much time on my hands, but I really want you to tell me something that will help me feel better about shopping at Target. Really. And not just some form letter. A tangible reason.

To recap previous letters: Target is my favourite store. There is one 5 blocks from my house and I shop(ped) there at least 3 times a week. I'm also gay. I have a female partner and a beautiful 18-month old daughter who already knows how to say Target. The news that Target had donated money to MN Forward, which in turn used it to support Tom Emmer, hater-of-gays and actively-intent-on-denying-us-out-rights was REALLY UPSETTING. Target is supposed to be awesome, not just for its clean lines, hip-yet-affordable clothing selection, and lack of Muzak playing in its stores, but also for donating to community-based charities, offering LGBT partner benefits, and marching in the Gay Pride parades.

Now, instead of shopping at Target, I am forced to go to other stores that are, frankly, depressing and boring. I need to buy some diapers, some Draino, some shampoo, some wash clothes, some body wash, lightbulbs, some tinted moisturizer, and some batteries. I would also like to buy a brightly colored dress I can wear to a garden party, some kicky flats, and a set of drinking glasses. What other store offers all of that in one perfectly organized shopping experience? NONE! I have to go to at least 3 other stores. Which sucks.

I love Target. Right now, I'm wearing a dress from Target, a bra from Target, and my ponytail holders are from Target. I'm sitting in a room where I see a lamp from Target, a printer from Target, a storage bin from Target, a stool from Target, binders from Target, a hat from Target, and on and on and on. I am a LOYAL customer.

So please, tell me something about what Target is going to do to balance its support for people like Tom Emmer. I get that you need to invest in people who support big business. I'm not even opposed to that - in addition to loving Target, I also love H&M and Ikea. But people like Tom Emmer have social policies that really and severely impact my life for the negative. So, I think it is only fair that Target do something (hint hint: donate money) to organizations that will work to make things easier for LGBT people. Then balance will be restored, we can all go back to duking it out in courtrooms and over family dinners, and I can shop at Target.

PLEASE give me an answer!

Love?

Coya Paz

Last week, I wrote you a heartfelt letter asking you to give me more information about how Target is going to counter its support for candidate Tom Emmer (via MNForward) by investing actual dollars into LGBT-friendly organizations or candidates. I told you that Target is my favourite store in the whole world, and that the idea of boycotting Target makes me really sad because I so genuinely love shopping at Target. I also told you that I had already read the statement from Gregg Steinhafel about why Target was supporting MN Forward and said "I get it... Target is a big business and it makes sense that it wants to support legislation and candidates that are friendly to corporations." Okay... those weren't my exact words, but that's the gist of it. I understand Target's point of view on that matter. And so that's why I asked about "countering support for Tom Emmer by investing in LGBT-friendly organizations or candidates..." etc etc... see first line of this letter. What did I get back? A form letter that responds to none of my concerns and gives me absolutely no reason to go back to shopping at Target.

I understand. You're busy. You're getting hundreds, if not thousands, of letters about this. But I'm busy too. I'm driving all over the city to buy things I would usually buy at the Target five blocks from my house. Since I wrote to you last week, I've bought the following at other stores: diapers, contact lens solution, sand toys, veggie burgers, an inflatable raft, candy, plastic cups, a baby rattle, and flip flops. I guess it is lucky for my budget that the drugstores and grocery stores replacing my trips to Target don't also sell cheap but stylish clothes, because I usually throw in a treat for myself when I go to Target. But still... It is a pain in my you-know-what, and I miss Target. I miss the convenience of a store where I can buy groceries, cute clothes, office supplies, video games, and contact lenses in one place. But I also miss the feeling of being at Target. It might sound crazy, but I miss the smell of Target. As I said in my previous letter, Target is the place I go when I want to feel better about things. I just like it there. And now you are implicitly supporting a candidate who rails against my gay lifestyle. My gay lifestyle, by the way, looks a lot like any other married couple's lifestyle, including spending tons of money at Target buying Must Have Needs for the Home, Like Sponges and Decorative Towel Holders.

So please, give me a tangible reason to go back to shopping at Target. And by "tangible reason," I mean concrete information about how you are countering your support for Tom Emmer's big business but anti-gay agenda with dollars to a different organization or candidate who understands that gay people can be a powerful consumer base, especially when we're not hiding from people like Tom Emmer or that band he loves, You Can Run But You Can't Hide, which calls for stoning people like me. And Target: BELIEVE ME... I would not have started boycotting my very favourite store without doing my research, so please don't send me back a form letter telling me that MN Forward is an equal opportunity supporter of diverse candidates.

I'm looking forward to hearing back from you. I'm hoping you tell me something so great I can go back to shopping at Target in time to pick up cute fall wardrobe staples. Until then, I'm going to keep posting these letters on my website, and drumming up support for the boycott. But I'd much, much, MUCH rather be shopping.

Sincerely,

Coya Paz

Concerned Shopper with an Awful Lot of Friends