What a fun day it was yesterday, pulling my mini-float of Target pup stuffies on the mall downtown, in support of the boycott of Target (for dropping DEI).
"They went back on their word," said the pups, who felt betrayed; they themselves being faithful, loyal, and true, as dogs tend to be.
"We want to see the sights," they said, so we started at the Mary Tyler Moore statue (on the spot where the opening credits of The Mary Tyler Moore Show were filmed in 1970).
There, we got the very first comment from a passer-by:
a young man stopped and inquired, and declared, "That is so funny."
Good, I got that right.
bink joined me soon after I got there, and we linked up with the young man, Quinn, who is picketing Target HQ every weekday afternoon, "as long as it takes". (Might be a while...)
A sincere, calm guy.
He'd thought "Guam" was the nickname for Guantanamo Bay... That's why his sign says
"Send Target 'Leadership' to Guam!!".
"I think you mean GITMO?" I said.*
(I don’t agree with that idea though!)
Hilariously, this proved to be an Unintentional Conversation Starter.
There was nothing Quinn could do at that point, so he made the best of it, replying to many puzzled inquirers.
One guy asked out his car window, "What have you got against Guam? I've been there. It's nice!"
"I meant, send them offshore," Quinn said.
Quinn stood facing oncoming traffic on a busy street crossing the mall--lots of drivers honked in support,
but some yelled mean things.
A carload of young people stopped at the red light.
"Do you really think people who are unqualified should be paid the same as qualified people?" one of the young men hollered.
I was about to say, "Why, yes, I do...",
when bink was on it like a terrier:
"Do you really think Donald Trump is qualified?"
Go, bink!
Of course it's like a tennis game: enjoyable, maybe, but pointless.
They replied, "What did Biden ever do?" before driving off
. . . in a BMW.
"Are you surprised that was a BMW?" I asked Quinn.
"Not really," he said.
___________
bink and I strolled with the float up and down the sidewalk between HQ, where Quinn stayed, and the Target store one block away, the Fisher Price xylophone clanging as it rolled.
Several people asked to take photos of the pups.
They were so cute! (The pups. But also, the people.)
I don't know how to talk to rich young men.
I did better talking with a group of young Evangelical men from Bismark, North Dakota, in town for a week.
One of them had never heard of DEI.
I said, "It's like Jesus said: 'Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.'"
And we prayed ('for unity') in a circle, holding hands, with the stuffies in the center.
Now, I expect these guys may hold beliefs that are even further from mine than the boys' in the BMW,
but I have the story-language to meet them (for a minute).
And, you know? You never know what seeds you plant.
I always think of the young woman, Megan Phelps-Roper, from the "God Hates Fags" church who changed her mind because of conversations on Twitter, back when that happened.
This is the New Yorker article "Conversion via Twitter"--
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/11/23/conversion-via-twitter-westboro-baptist-church-megan-phelps-roper
(To read it if you don't have a sub, enter the url into https://12ft.io )
Lots of people made supportive comments.
One woman said to Quinn's Bring Back DEI,
"I agree with you, but do you think it's going to happen?"
"Probably not", he said, "but I had to say something."
Yes! Make some noise!
Yesterday Big Boss had said to me,
"You're not going to get hit with a fire hose, are you?"
In fact, Target was silent.
People going in and out of HQ mostly wouldn't return our hellos or even look at us.
Who could resist these cuties?!?
Come back to the 5 & Dime, Target!
_______________
Marz is home for spring break. Yay!
She's out walking around the lake this morning. I wish I could join her but my knee is aching--definitely overdid it at work + protest. Worth it.
PT tomorrow!
Hilariously, this proved to be an Unintentional Conversation Starter.
There was nothing Quinn could do at that point, so he made the best of it, replying to many puzzled inquirers.
One guy asked out his car window, "What have you got against Guam? I've been there. It's nice!"
"I meant, send them offshore," Quinn said.
Quinn stood facing oncoming traffic on a busy street crossing the mall--lots of drivers honked in support,
but some yelled mean things.
A carload of young people stopped at the red light.
"Do you really think people who are unqualified should be paid the same as qualified people?" one of the young men hollered.
I was about to say, "Why, yes, I do...",
when bink was on it like a terrier:
"Do you really think Donald Trump is qualified?"
Go, bink!
Of course it's like a tennis game: enjoyable, maybe, but pointless.
They replied, "What did Biden ever do?" before driving off
. . . in a BMW.
"Are you surprised that was a BMW?" I asked Quinn.
"Not really," he said.
___________
bink and I strolled with the float up and down the sidewalk between HQ, where Quinn stayed, and the Target store one block away, the Fisher Price xylophone clanging as it rolled.
Several people asked to take photos of the pups.
They were so cute! (The pups. But also, the people.)
I don't know how to talk to rich young men.
I did better talking with a group of young Evangelical men from Bismark, North Dakota, in town for a week.
One of them had never heard of DEI.
I said, "It's like Jesus said: 'Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.'"
And we prayed ('for unity') in a circle, holding hands, with the stuffies in the center.
Now, I expect these guys may hold beliefs that are even further from mine than the boys' in the BMW,
but I have the story-language to meet them (for a minute).
And, you know? You never know what seeds you plant.
I always think of the young woman, Megan Phelps-Roper, from the "God Hates Fags" church who changed her mind because of conversations on Twitter, back when that happened.
This is the New Yorker article "Conversion via Twitter"--
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/11/23/conversion-via-twitter-westboro-baptist-church-megan-phelps-roper
(To read it if you don't have a sub, enter the url into https://12ft.io )
Lots of people made supportive comments.
One woman said to Quinn's Bring Back DEI,
"I agree with you, but do you think it's going to happen?"
"Probably not", he said, "but I had to say something."
Yes! Make some noise!
Yesterday Big Boss had said to me,
"You're not going to get hit with a fire hose, are you?"
In fact, Target was silent.
People going in and out of HQ mostly wouldn't return our hellos or even look at us.
Come back to the 5 & Dime, Target!
_______________
Marz is home for spring break. Yay!
She's out walking around the lake this morning. I wish I could join her but my knee is aching--definitely overdid it at work + protest. Worth it.
PT tomorrow!
________
* Sending anyone to Gitmo is a terrible idea, I really like Guam better. I hope he thinks of a different thing to say altogether –like “send them offshore” – – which is more appropriate anyway (bad working conditions, but not actually rounding up innocent people in concentration camps).
i’ve been talking to both M. in Copenhagen and P. in France. Both of them have needed reassurance that not all Americans side with Trump!
ReplyDeleteP. in particular has asked about if/where the dissent is coming from so I crafted not one but four (!) separate emails to her yesterday laying out all the different avenues from which American resistance is coming.
And I included your Target protest as part of the larger action against that particular corporation.
I sent her photos and a link to the guardian article about the toy protest in Siberia. ⭐️
—Sister
Wow, I am honored that I can be part of that chain of links! Thanks for telling me – – and for using me as an example to hearten (?) our friends
DeleteThat is the cutest protest parade I have ever seen! ANd your red shirt is fabulous. I love the interaction with Guam man, though his protest looks like he may be challenged about geography...his heart is in the right place at the right time. Well done, Cost Co has not buckled yet and that is Dennis's go to place- for everything ( annoying but manly). I only shop at indy grocery and thrift shops. Good for me. There was a march here on
ReplyDeleteSaturday , well attended. I did not go. You will find me in the corner of the basement felting snakes . I love your action- the prayer circle-Jesus has not skin int his game..., I guess, is just one of those "crosses to bear"....do what reaches the angels in us, to be better at this human gig.
Even though I made the float, I have to agree with you Linda Sue that it is
DeleteSO DAMN CUTE!
Guam Guy is only 25 and learning—his mistake was glaring, but kinda adorably so, given it led to such puzzled questions:
“What have you got against Guam? “Is a question that made my day.
As for Jesus, I think he is the original author of Congo’s “Article 15” I mentioned a couple posts back
– – the one that says:
you’re on your own,
figure it out yourself.
It’s sort of a cousin to Catch 22.
PS. And since actually I think sending anyone to Gitmo is a terrible idea, I really like Guam better. I hope he doesn’t change it to Gitmo
Deletebut thinks of a different thing to say altogether –
like “send them offshore” – – which is more appropriate anyway (Bad working conditions, but not actually rounding up innocent people in concentration camps)
pups at the MTM statue. what a great experience. i wonder if the employees are embarrassed or just silently agreeing with the actions of target. the comments of the bmw driver don't surprise me at all.
ReplyDeletekirsten
ps i thought that the IDS mall was enclosed as i stood there when i came to a Minneapolis for a job interview in the late 70's.
Definitely a good day x
ReplyDeleteps I think I figured out the Biden comment. the Biden administration did a horrible job of publicizing what he did. to some people anymore unless they see something physical in their pocket, then the president didn't do anything. they equate actions that personally help them as doing something. actions that help the city/state/county/country as a whole don't count. I can only speculate as to what they meant by "unqualified."
ReplyDeletek
A good day. You never know what lasting impression is left behind.
ReplyDelete