Stores, Stores Everywhere, and Not a Place to Shop

Hey, does anyone know if they sell Bud Light at Target? I need to make a beer run.

But seriously, folks, consumers who are not particularly rainbow-minded will run out of places to shop if this keeps up. Either more stores are betting on their ESG scores over consumer traffic or people are just getting more attuned to the prevalence of the new normal not only in society but also in retail. Shoppers can add Kohl’s to the list of entities where they would never be caught dead, right behind Bud Light, the Dodgers, and Target.

In case you need clothes for your Gay or Trans 3 month old, Kohl’s has you covered pic.twitter.com/N9liAriCzD

— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) May 28, 2023

It’s been going on for years. I see this stuff in every store I go to. Michael’s, JoAnn’s, Macy’s, cvs, kohl’s, target, everywhere. Except hobby lobby. Thankfully, they don’t carry that kind of merch.

— (F)ourth of (J)uly (B)irthday 😉 (#FJB) 🇺🇸  (@doubleAbdalla90) May 29, 2023

Why is Kohl’s selling “Pride Merch” for 3 month old babies? pic.twitter.com/e2ErOzwYOT

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 28, 2023

Looks like Kohl’s didn’t learn a thing from Bud Lite and Target pic.twitter.com/qRzlmepW4B

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 28, 2023

Upon hearing the news that Target had joined the rainbow wave with wild abandon, many shoppers heaved a sigh of relief that they could still get the necessities, notions, and noshes they craved at everyone’s usual go-to store, Walmart. But alack and alas, the news has come to light that even that box store behemoth is on the proverbial bandwagon. The Epoch Times notes that Walmart offers breathable chest binders for “trans, lesbian, and tomboys.” Incidentally, Walmart also enjoys a 100 score from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. That requires not just donating to LGBTQ efforts, but also refusing to donate any funds to a non-religious entity that opposes said agenda. From the Times:

It scored 30/30 for Workforce Protections, including “sexual orientation for all operations” and “gender identity or expression for all operations.” Walmart scored 30/30 for Inclusive Benefits, which includes “equal health coverage for transgender individuals without exclusion for medically necessary care.”

The company scored 40/40 for supporting an “inclusive culture.” The score was the result of Walmart meeting two CEI criteria on LGBT—that three LGBT internal training and education best practices as well as three efforts of outreach to the broader LGBT community be implemented.

In 2021, Walmart donated $500,000 to PFLAG, the largest organization in the United States that advocates for LGBT and their families.

But wait, as the old late-night commercials used to say, there’s more.

PetSmart, yes, PetSmart has trotted out a line of merchandise for your non-binary best friend! A press release from the company states:

PetSmart is celebrating Pride Month with the all-new 2023 You Are Loved collection of Pride themed clothing, toys and accessories for pets of multiple species. First launched in 2019, the proprietary collection was created in partnership with the associate resource group, PetSmart PRIDE AT WORK, and is a representation of the company’s commitment to supporting associates and community members of all orientations, gender identities, and expressions. [sic]

I had no idea dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, and fish had gender identities. Oh, wait, this stuff is for the owners, er, I mean the human companions. PetSmart is rolling out some must-have rainbow-themed products such as pet toys, bandanas, dog bikinis (best not ask), costumes, reptile capes, and even a rainbow-colored unicorn-shaped swim-through aquarium ornament. You can see the whole catalog here.

Who wants to tell PetSmart that animals don’t have the slightest idea what a pronoun even is?

The powers that be are betting on one of two things happening or perhaps both. One is that eventually, everyone, including the most ardent and vocal boycotters, will cave and accept the propaganda. They will wear you down. The second is that no matter how committed you are, at some point you will realize that you have to shop somewhere. And they will get your money just the same.

Maybe the boycotts will work. Bud Light learned a hard lesson, and Target is certainly being taken to school. But the ESG cabal is betting that it has more staying power than you. And chances are, it is going to get tougher and tougher to find a company that isn’t under ESG’s thumb. You may not be able to completely eliminate your woke footprint, but you can continue to reduce it. You can continue to look for alternatives, and yes, you can also go without things that you used to consider necessities.

Let’s face it, Target, Kohl’s, and even Walmart may sell a plethora of useful things. They also sell plenty of crap you can do without. Conservatives love to talk about things like the Revolution, the Civil War, World War II, and The Greatest Generation. And they all have something in common. People made sacrifices for something greater than themselves. If men could lay down their lives at Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, Europe, and the Pacific, and if people could plant Victory Gardens and hold scrap-metal drives to defeat the Axis powers, we can surely do without that new duvet, wax melter or black-and-white picture of the Eiffel Tower.