On MSNBC, Equality Florida's Brandon Wolf asks Target if its “stated values are nothing more than a marketing slogan”
Wolf: “Target is simply a proxy for the war that extremists are waging for control in this country”
Published
Citation
From the May 25, 2023, edition of MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports
ANDREA MITCHELL (HOST): Joining me now is Brandon Wolf, the press secretary for Equality Florida, the state's LGBTQ civil rights organization. He’s also a Pulse Nightclub shooting survivor. Brandon, it's good to see you. This has just been a really difficult time for the community, given what is happening in legislatures across the country. And now Target, a widely used store, of course, being targeted this way and, the community says, caving in to harassment.
BRANDON WOLF (EQUALITY FLORIDA): Yes, well, we have to call these acts of vandalism and threats of violence what they are. They are attempts to terrorize businesses, and as a result country, into submission. It is important also to name that Target is simply a proxy for the war that extremists are waging for control in this country. But their fury is animated by the fact that the right-wing has already lost the culture war. The fact is this country is browner and queerer than ever before and, for the most part, people are perfectly fine with that so they rely on intimidation and fear to move the country into a backslide. And really I think that means companies like Target are at an important inflection point. The easy choice in this moment is to capitulate, to negotiate with these unhinged extremists. But there is simply nothing you can give them that will satisfy their lust for control over people. You give them an inch and they'll be demanding ransom for a mile. So, the real question for businesses like Target is, do your values actually mean something? Do your statements of inclusion and diversity have weight? If so, you have to walk the walk. You have to tell these bullies that there is a hurricane of legal consequences waiting for the first clown that topples a pride display or threatens an employee. You have to make an example out of them and you have to stand firm in your commitment to a community that you’ve sworn to be an ally of. If your values really mean something, if you really mean it when you say that you're a company that goes to bat for our community, you have to take this moment to affirm that with your whole chest. Otherwise, those stated values are nothing more than a marketing slogan.