What a fun day it was yesterday, pulling my mini-float of Target pup stuffies 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 MTM statue.
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 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 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!
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 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!
BEST response to Target protest (in support of boycott):
Classy
Black woman passing by looked at protester’s sign saying Send Target
"Leadership" away and my little signs and simply said,
“I’m tired of them too.”
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).
