Thread by @cmclymer

If you're a corporate marketing officer concerned over what's happening with Target, let me make something abundantly clear: you will never appease anti-LGBTQ extremists. They don't want *some* concessions. They want all of them. But there's a colder truth at play here.

(thread)

You think this is about a few items, and it's not. I promise you it's not. These are the same people who were livid that Pink Floyd used a rainbow in their 50th anniversary logo for "The Dark Side of the Moon" -- think about that for a second. They are not reasonable.

When the Bud Light controversy erupted, the CEO of Anheuser-Busch made the unwise choice to cave entirely. He essentially apologized for the company recognizing that trans people exist and put the marketing execs on leave.

It didn't work. They're still boycotting Bud Light.

You need to understand something about these people: their objective is not really to gain any ground but to find an outlet for their rage at the world changing around them. They are starving for outrage all the time. They would rather be perpetually angry than be mollified.

They are furious that anyone would ask them to learn about others because it de-centers their experience as the unassailable, unaccountable default. And deep down, they know we're never going away. The closet has been permanently opened.

These people long for an America that always catered to those who look and act like them -- that is: white, heterosexual, traditional families. They use religion as a shield for their bigotry. They don't really care about what Christ taught; he's just a convenient vehicle.

But that America is long gone, and it's never coming back. We are witnessing the very long and painful *last gasp* of that world. And boy, are they furious. Enraged. They've had to keep quiet about it for so long, but in the past several years, the quiet part became very loud.

If they can't get that world back, what's the next best thing? Finding community in outrage. These people go out of their way to be angry. They'll share rightwing clickbait articles they know to be false because it gives them permission to be spitting hot mad.

They are angry, and beneath that, they are very, very scared. They will claim they're not scared. But they're terrified. None of this works without fear. Fear of what? Uncertainty over their place in a changing society that increasingly doesn't defer to them.

For rightwing grifters, Christmas is every day right now. All they have to do is feed these people things to get irate over and rake in the cash. Click and subscribe. Buy their book. Buy their bullshit wellness product. "I will make you angry." It's a paid service.

Target thinks this is going away, and it's not. Target could pull all their Pride merchandise and sever every relationship they have with the LGBTQ community, but anything short of a corporate statement of "Yeah, we hate LGBTQ people, too" will not end this.

Companies need to understand what's happening right now. You cannot mollify bigots whose primary desire is to be angry. You've already lost them. They're gone. If you cave to them, you're sacrificing the loyalty of other consumers for a sad, small group that will never like you.

On the other hand: if Target and other companies refuse to play this bullshit game with enraged bigots, they will solidify their loyalty with reasonable adults and their families.

Don't give in to these hateful people. You will never satisfy their craving for outrage.

/thread

I decided to turn this into an essay. Please share widely, and please do subscribe: charlotteclymer.substack.com/p/what-target-…