Current Events > I'm extremely upset by this Target Pride Month backlash

(+) Yeah! (+)

TMOG posted...

Just a reminder that Gob has gone on record in the past as saying trans people who are offended or hurt by Dave Chappelle and J.K. Rowling need to "quiet down".

Only if they want the publicity over their statements to quiet down. If they didn't get such an uprising from every publication in the world every single time one of them said something controversial, their statements wouldn't mean much.

That's what I mean to say.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


I'm not trolling.

Trump won the 2016 election, declared that there were "plenty of good people on both sides" when one side was comprised of white supremacists, allowed David Duke and the Klan to fawn over him, and only begrudgingly and insincerely denounced white supremacy when called out on it several times. That absolutely syncs up with the timeline.

I'm not trying to coopt murders or death threats for a political vendetta. I'm simply speaking what has historically been proven time and time and time again. When a leader speaks hatred, bigots become emboldened. When Woodrow Wilson became president of the United States, the nation saw the resurgence of the Klan and lynchings spiked. When Hitler spoke anti-Semitism, Jewish shops were attacked before the first concentration camp was built.

When a leader speaks hatred, violence follows. Every single time in history.

We had social media before Trump.
We had sites like 4chan before Trump.
Why is it that anti-LGBT violence increased dramatically the year that Trump entered the Oval Office?

It's because leaders who speak hatred enable violence. That is a historical fact.

*Trump loses an election, anti-LGBTQ bigotry spikes*

"Maybe if millenials and Gen Xers voted instead of crying on the Internet, people like Trump would lose and this would end"

I'll try voting harder in 2024. Maybe I didn't do it right in 2020.

Gobstoppers12 posted...

Only if they want the publicity over their statements to quiet down. If they didn't get such an uprising from every publication in the world every single time one of them said something controversial, their statements wouldn't mean much.

That's what I mean to say.

You don't know shit about shit and should consider shutting the fuck up

"Ignore it and it will go away" is bullshit and I think you know it's bullshit. This ever increasing oppression and genocide is the direct result of not taking bigots seriously enough.

Gob was also a mod on the SPQR board (MAGA)

hockeybub89 posted...

"Ignore it and it will go away" is bullshit and I think you know it's bullshit.

Yep. All ignoring it does is allow bigots to spread bullshit unchecked, and then they're the only ones speaking, then they control the narrative.

If you can't even disown the MAGA relatives in your life, how do you expect to defend yourself against the wretched fascists ruining this country?

Humble_Novice posted...

If you can't even disown the MAGA relatives in your life, how do you expect to defend yourself against the wretched fascists ruining this country?

Probably the usual strategy of making hysterical posts on GameFAQs Current Events.

Queer communities need to arm themselves.

hockeybub89 posted...

*Trump loses an election, anti-LGBTQ bigotry spikes*

"Maybe if millenials and Gen Xers voted instead of crying on the Internet, people like Trump would lose and this would end"

I'll try voting harder in 2024. Maybe I didn't do it right in 2020.

What we have now is a continuation of an increase which, according to shockthemoney's own data, began in 2017. Trump lit the fuse. He may have done it more from bigots fawning over him than his own direct hatred, but there's a reason that started in 2017 and not 2007. We had social media in both decades.

It's not so much a matter of "voting harder" as it is making sure to be there and to beat these bigots back at every turn. Show them that this nation doesn't belong to hatred. Like most problems, it's more easily created than resolved. You can break a bone in an instant and spend months recuperating.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


Are you truly incapable of believing that someone could disagree with you on the cause of a problem? Is accusing someone of malice the only you have? Two kinds of people in the world: those who know shockthemonkey is right and those who are lying.

I think I've had this discussion with you before. Anything you disagree with, even if it's being spoken by someone on the same side of you, is met with undo hostility and accusation. I'm not a right-winger. I'm not a Trump or DeSantis supporter. I'm not anti-LGBTQ. And I'm not trolling. History has shown that when leaders speak bigotry, or even enable bigotry, violence follows those whom they speak against or allow others to speak against.

AnsestralRecall posted...

Queer communities need to arm themselves.

I wholeheartedly agree. The Black community is already doing this. Plus, one drag queen event did not get canceled because the far right protesters were too intimidated by LGBTQ+ members wielding firearms to protect visitors.

hockeybub89 posted...

You don't know shit about shit and should consider shutting the fuck up

shhhhh

deoxxys posted...

What I don't get is why it gained traction recently. LGBT stuff has been promoted for years but it's not till recently that cancel culture seems to be effecting it heavily

Maybe it hasn't? The conspiracy theorist in me was wondering if they're just using the threats as a excuse to stop selling those items.

Not saying there weren't threats of course, or that said threats weren't the main reason for this.

FortuneCookie posted...

What we have now is a continuation of an increase which, according to shockthemoney's own data, began in 2017. Trump lit the fuse. He may have done it more from bigots fawning over him than his own direct hatred, but there's a reason that started in 2017 and not 2007. We had social media in both decades.

It's not so much a matter of "voting harder" as it is making sure to be there and to beat these bigots back at every turn. Show them that this nation doesn't belong to hatred. Like most problems, it's more easily created than resolved. You can break a bone in an instant and spend months recuperating.

Ok but what do we do right now for people suffering right now?

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


Victim blaming? What the fuck kind of shit are you on?

I didn't say, "Gay people need to get out and vote."

I'm done with you.

Gobstoppers12 posted...

Only if they want the publicity over their statements to quiet down. If they didn't get such an uprising from every publication in the world every single time one of them said something controversial, their statements wouldn't mean much.

That's what I mean to say.

Thats dangerous and harmful. Jk Rowlings words have been used to help pass discriminatory legislation and she also has spent money towards promoting transphobic bigotry. Shes a leading voice in anti-trans hate and has blood on her hands.

Chappelle needed to be called out for his bigoted meltdown.

We will not be silent.

hockeybub89 posted...

Ok but what do we do right now for people suffering right now?

Reach out to whoever you're able to, and show support. It's about all we can do at the moment, is to organize and ensure that we have each other's backs when we need it most.

Gobstoppers12 posted...

Only if they want the publicity over their statements to quiet down. If they didn't get such an uprising from every publication in the world every single time one of them said something controversial, their statements wouldn't mean much.

That's what I mean to say.

So in your opinion how much success would the Civil Rights Movement or Women's Suffrage have had if all the black people and/or women just decided to quiet down and allow themselves to be repressed?

Also, you do realize that words like "gay" or "[ableist slur]" stopped being widely used as commonly accepted insults or punchlines specifically because people pushed back against their use? There's a common slur for dwarves that's on its way out too for a similar reason, should they quiet down and just let people keep using it rather than make a fuss?

hockeybub89 posted...

Ok but what do we do right now for people suffering right now?

I don't know any legal methods of insuring safety. And I'm not going to openly advocate any illegal methods.

The right to form a militia is technically legal. But, in practice, it only seems to be okay when the right does it. Maybe you could get people together to wait in the parking lot with guns and, if they hear shooting, run inside and get the shooter. That unsolicited protection could lead to several arrests with or without there ever being an attack. If there is a shooting, that could lead to someone capping the shooter only to be killed or arrested by the police. And their presence alone could deter shoppers. I bet you even Target doesn't want antiterrorist militias hanging out in their parking lots to ensure that no bigots are able to get away with mass shootings.

That again goes back to politics. What this country needs more than anything else is police reform. We have an organization whose members repeatedly prey on Black people and anyone else who is disenfranchised and whose members sometimes actively try and prevent progress. Neither party is running on a ticket of reforming the police, but that too is an obstacle toward progress.

Not every problem has an immediate solution. I guess, and I would like to do this except that I don't have a Target conveniently nearby, I would recommend shopping at Target to show support for them. Even if they promoted Pride merchandise for financial reasons, bigots don't care about that. They want to see anything LGBTQ gone from stores (or this country). And people should shop at Target to show that we will show support for those who show support for the LGBTQ and that we will not be intimidated by threats of violence.

I cannot believe this somehow caught on among the religious fundies and tiktok addicted aging millenials and gen-xers. The stupidity of it all is genuinely fucking baffling.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


No, not all.

hockeybub89 posted...

So should all of us LGBTQ just fucking die or something because anything including us will lose money? Just cut ourselves off from general society because bigots will slaughter us in public?

I'm starting to think Earth was a mistake.

"People should no that recognizing LGBTQ people in public is going to result in violent backlash!"

No. I'm saying Target, Netflix, Amazon, etc. don't give a shit about any of that. They just want to make money. Target was trying to make money with the LBGT clothing. When they lost money, they removed it.

It's pretty cut and dry. We can't look to corporations for recognition. They're all greedy fucks who should be boycotted as much as possible by everyone. Amazon has me by the balls and is pretty much the only retailer I deal with.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Which is why I'm glad more youths are leaving behind organized religion. The COVID-19 pandemic only accelerated that.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


The concept itself is not hard to believe. The fact that they tried this last year and it didn't create the reaction they were so clearly trolling for, yet somehow succeeded this time is.

Don't be so eager to interpret my comment as a denial of LGBTQ persecution, jesus.

LeoRavus posted...

No. I'm saying Target, Netflix, Amazon, etc. don't give a shit about any of that. They just want to make money. Target was trying to make money with the LBGT clothing. When they lost money, they removed it.

It's pretty cut and dry. We can't look to corporations for recognition. They're all greedy fucks who should be boycotted as much as possible by everyone. Amazon has me by the balls and is pretty much the only retailer I deal with.

And it's still unacceptable. If corporations decided women weren't profitable due to backlash by sexist men, that would be fucked up. People would have to fight back and force them to change course.

We need to be recognized by corporations and, in turn, general society.

The fact that they buckled goes to show that corporations only see the LGBT community as potential dollar signs and that they saw the people flipping out as more profitable in the longterm, proving that the meme about all the corpos only caring about the LGBT community in the month of June is 100% grounded in truth. If they had cojones and stood up to the people flipping out then I'd be ever so slightly more convinced they actually care about the community, but by buckling so quick Target showed they don't give a shit at all.

hockeybub89 posted...

And it's still unacceptable. If corporations decided women weren't profitable due to backlash by sexist men, that would be fucked up. People would have to fight back and force them to change course.

We need to be recognized by corporations and, in turn, general society.

Right, substitute the LGBTQ+ community for something else (women, POC, etc) and its super embarrassing that target acquiesced or even gave this blatantly hateful bigotry any consideration whatsoever

https://twitter.com/Esqueer_/status/1658541750925897729

ThePrinceFish posted...

Probably the usual strategy of making hysterical posts on GameFAQs Current Events.

Hush, anti-vaxxer. Your opinion is literally meaningless.

Jesus what a toxic topic, I don't want to track this shit anymore. Fortune cookie comes in suggesting what he might think is the source of the uprise in coordinated cancel culture against Lgbt stuff is and shock calling him a liar at every turn. Stop attacking someone on your side. Christ bye

The worst thing fortune cookie said apparently was that they didn't have what to have to stand in line to vote

Humble_Novice posted...

I wholeheartedly agree. The Black community is already doing this. Plus, one drag queen event did not get canceled because the far right protesters were too intimidated by LGBTQ+ members wielding firearms to protect visitors.

I'd love to see some pics of drag queens with assault rifles.

deoxxys posted...

Jesus what a toxic topic, I don't want to track this shit anymore. Fortune cookie comes in suggesting what he might think is the source of the uprise in coordinated cancel culture against Lgbt stuff is and shock calling him a liar at every turn. Stop attacking someone on your side. Christ bye

The worst thing fortune cookie said apparently was that they didn't have what to have to stand in line to vote

trump is just a symptom, not the cause. Although he undoubtedly played a role in enabling and empowering backwards thinking people with a fetish for bigotry.

Some of them even drank bleach for him

Notice how quiet Gob got once people pointed out how his "brillient idea" was clearly just a way of empowering the bigots to keep being bigots unopposed.

Yeah, if you ignore domestic terrorism of bomb threats to Target over t-shirts, it will totally go away.

hockeybub89 posted...

So should all of us LGBTQ just fucking die or something because anything including us will lose money? Just cut ourselves off from general society because bigots will slaughter us in public?

I'm starting to think Earth was a mistake.

"People should no that recognizing LGBTQ people in public is going to result in violent backlash!"

Earth is fine. It's humanity that was the mistake.

TMOG posted...

Notice how quiet Gob got once people pointed out how his "brillient idea" was clearly just a way of empowering the bigots to keep being bigots unopposed.

I realized that it's not worth arguing the same point over again if you're going to do the same thing you did last time. You're assigning motives to me that don't exist, and it's not worth engaging with people who do such things disingenuously.

But go off, king, you do you lol

Gobstoppers12 posted...

I realized that it's not worth arguing the same point over again if you're going to do the same thing you did last time. You're assigning motives to me that don't exist, and it's not worth engaging with people who do such things disingenuously.

But go off, king, you do you lol

Everyone sees through your fraud. Has to be exhausting being wrong about basically everything lmao

Turns out we didn't need to go into WW2.

If the allies just ignored Germany, they would have stopped.

hockeybub89 posted...

Has to be exhausting being wrong about basically everything lmao

I wouldn't know.

ooger posted...

If the allies just ignored Germany, they would have stopped.

Do you realize there's a difference between words and physical violence?

I know that you do, but are you willing to admit it?

Gobstoppers12 posted...

Do you realize there's a difference between words and physical violence?

I know that you do, but are you willing to admit it?

Do you realize that the GOP is inciting physical violence?