The unconfirmed allegation is raising concerns that the coffee chain is the latest corporation to cave to far-right attacks on LGBTQ people.
lots of people here seem to be indicating that target and starbucks are doing this because it’s not profitable to do rainbow capitalism. it still is, as much as rainbow capitalism is kinda revolting conceptually. nothing has changed except the following:
far right nazis, emboldened by the increasing political power of nazi homophobes like trump, desantis, and like 60% of gerrymandered state legislatures, are sending death threats to places that put up pride decorations and products. they’re also showing up to harass and scream at employees about it.
it’s terrorism. this is what conservatives do. and starbucks and target are full of cowards for letting terrorists dictate their behaviours.
quickly editing in sources since some homophobe in other replies tried to lie about it:
target receiving bomb threats about LGBTQ+ merch: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/06/12/target-bomb-threat-pride/
starbucks internal comms and rumours specifically mentioning target bomb threats as rationale for removing decorations: https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/starbucks-denies-unions-accusation-banning-pride-decorations-rcna89043
DHS warning about far right terrorism targeting LGBTQ+ and Jewish folk, for context and validation: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/dhs-warns-terror-threats-lgbtq-jewish-migrant-rcna59426
Reminds me of the cowardice shown by national movie theater chains when they refused to screen The Interview many years ago.
Honestly, even as a bi trans person, I’m horribly concerned and quite mad at how exponentially shamelessly sexualized LGBT (especially Q) merch has gotten over the years. It just feels tacky and like it wants to paint all LGBT people as hypersexual fetishist nymphomaniacs.
Do you think Starbucks is selling dildos? We’re talking about rainbow coffee cups. I’d like to see a coffee cup that paints an entire group of people as “hypersexual fetishist nymphomaniacs”
@HaleyHalcyon absolutely, your post reminds me of this too: https://youtu.be/fiOMbqPHFwo?t=29s
Oh, so we’re gatekeeping which bi trans people get to be LGBT people just because they don’t agree with everything the mainstream does? I thought we agreed that it wasn’t an okay thing to do.
“Why can’t people let me tell others I don’t want them to express themselves”
Also since when are Starbucks LGBT decorations even remotely sexual?
impostor alert lmao
I understand why a domestic beer company would sympathize with the far right-- that’s pretty much their customer base. But why are companies like Starbucks and Target doing it? Doesn’t seem like a smart financial move.
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“Normal” people aren’t bigots who go around saying that companies who dare to acknowledge the basic fact gay or trans people exist in the world, as ‘Sexual immortality getting shoved down our throats’.
It’s hateful religious crap like you are spreading right now that gets shoved down our throats more than anything else, that’s the real bullshit right there.
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No hate so pure as Christian love.
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Hahaha this motherfucker believes in “demons”. What an idiot!
jesus was actually gay and there’s proof throughout the new testament.
oh damn i forgot, i also received a divine revelation about it. god was pretty chill about the whole thing.
Jesus also had long hair, a very feminine trait according to the right!
Also for those of you downvoting the comment above me, I am almost certain that it was a joke. Mine however wasn’t, just adds to the funni
God is not real, and even if he was he would be a real asshole that I would have no interest in listening to. Your idea of morality is nonsense and irrelevant, not to mention disgusting. You are a hypocrite, too, rejecting everything that your supposed savior preached.
If Jesus was real, I sure hope he wouldn’t love you.
Who’s more insecure: you, or your antiquated god with all your weird-ass rules you worship?
God isn’t real, you simpleton.
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There definitely is a god, and she just spoke to me that you’re an asshole and you’re going to Tartarus when you die.
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im glad people like you are becoming increasingly marginalized
Can you relax? Having your beliefs is one thing, but equating gay people to thieves and murderers is another. Most people from the time they are born have had their sexual attractions set in stone. Most men are attracted to women and vice versa. It is literally the same way for gay people.
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Some people start feeling attraction at a very young age. It may not be sexual but the attraction is there. I’m a straight man and I’ve literally found girls to be beautiful for as long as I can remember.
You were being influenced by social norms long before you were old enough to form memories, and likewise not being aware of societal expectations does not mean it is not happening or does not have an effect.
I had my first real crush on a celebrity with sexual feelings associated when I was 8 or 9 years old. I’ve heard similar stories from others first hand. It’s normal.
Nobody mentioned children and sexuality in the same sentence until you did.
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Ignoring the religious elements, this is factually incorrect. Nobody likes to talk about it, but it’s common for pre-pubescent girls to masturbate. George Carlin even had a bit about it!
Now, that’s generally not talked about for good reasons–we don’t want to rile up the pedophiles, and we don’t want to rile up the people who are so aggressively religious that they can’t acknowledge biology. But the fact of the matter is that people don’t become sexual the instant they reach their country’s age of consent or the instant they get married.
There’s nothing wrong with you disliking those facts, but they are what they are.
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You’re part of the reason your religion is dying, and I’m so glad to see it.
you realize that most people in the world aren’t christian, and would take issue with your particular world view?
they have a different faith than you. and you have no real justification that your faith is more right than anyone else’s- even if it’s one of the larger ones.
and your faith certainly doesn’t give you the right to terrorize anyone. or actually use violence, which is absolutely happening. Which is why people are saying you are being hateful. because your defending hate and violence and bigotry.
Theres nothing immoral about homosexuality, bisexuality, or being transgender you degenerate freak
According to a Gallup poll 71% of Americans support same sex marriage but don’t let facts get in the way of your bigotry.
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How’s anyone gonna cancel you for answering a fucking anonymous poll?
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There’s also the fear of being fired or brutalized for being gay, so you win some you lose some.
But the fear of getting canceled for being homophobic is very real and widespread.
[citation needed]
Do you think the opposite is not true? Is it not possible for people to feel pressured to oppose a popularly held view because their particular social circle might cancel them?
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More proof that corporations are nobody’s “friends.” When they latch onto a community it’s purely for profit and marketing motives.
this is fundamentally true
but rainbow capitalism still works for profit. the reason they’re backing away is terrorist threats from the far right, and harassment of staff and management. they’re literally scared that the death threats they get over this stuff is going to result in a mass shooting. and thanks to accelerationists in US nazi politics, it realistically eventually will
that’s no excuse to cave to these people. but that’s the reason it’s happening.
Oh please companies don’t give a flying fuck if their employees suffer, the only logical explanation for companies stopping being on board with the LGBTQ crowd is that the profits aren’t big enough to be worth the trouble of supporting them.
do the research yourself you lazy lying scum, target directly explained why they pulled merch and there’s no reason to believe we’ll find anything different if starbucks talks to the media about it.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/06/12/target-bomb-threat-pride/
also re: far right domestic terrorism, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/dhs-warns-terror-threats-lgbtq-jewish-migrant-rcna59426
re: starbucks, nothing is clear bc starbucks corporate isn’t even admitting that they’re pulling decorations yet, but internal communications and rumours specifically mention the threats against target
to summarize, you’re perfectly and completely wrong about everything, and fuck you, you homophobic rube.
As a left-of-center BT, the vast majority of companies indeed don’t actually care about these causes. Unless it’s like Ben & Jerry’s where the founders and leaders love to do activism and change the world with their business, which is not the norm.
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BT as in LGBT—bi and trans.
Patagonia is still controlled by the guy that supposedly gave the company away. Their commitment to their warranty is admirable, but it’s by no means an entirely altruistic operation.Removed by mod
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shut the fuck up nazi, gay people receiving healthcare and existing in public is not radical. nor is starbucks at any risk of going broke
they’re just scared, like target was, that you chud braindead ass nazi terrorists are going to show up and scream at their staff or shoot someone.
Lol at this guy thinking he can shut up people off the internet
Lol where did they even say they think they can run people off the internet.
You nazis are dumb as fuck.
shut the fuck up
Maybe learn to read?
Saying shut the fuck up doesnt equate to “im going to run you off the internet” does it?
I didn’t say “run you off the internet”, i said “thinking he can shut up people off the internet”
Shutting people up off the internet and running people off the internet are 2 separated statements with different meanings.
Still though telling someone to shut up doesnt mean that you think that they will. just that you would like it if they did.
And
thinking he can shut up people off the internet
Kinda implies shutting people off of the internet but what do I know
ay just checking in to say, shut the fuck up and get the fuck off of the internet you loser antisocial nazi pieces of shit
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i think your fox news commercials can tell you where to get gold
“We should stop marginalising gay and trans kids, people have the right to live their own lives” = RADICAL LEFTIST AGENDA.
You MAGA morons do love your little slogans though, beats independent thought I guess.
Social movements like equality and abortion are extremely popular, both amongst the voting population and the public in general.
Why do you think massive corporations jump on this stuff? They want the free PR so they can make more money! Corporations do not have political ideologies unless they are privately held and run by individuals–any company that has public investment is legally obligated to increase profits above all else.
Look up “rainbow capitalism” and you’ll realize that the actual activists, the real leftists you are so scared of, don’t like what they see any more than you do, but because of the empty slogans and meaningless marketing gestures. Because it’s not real progress!
Why do you think massive corporations jump on this stuff? They want the free PR so they can make more money! Corporations do not have political ideologies unless they are privately held and run by individuals–any company that has public investment is legally obligated to increase profits above all else.
Just a minor point here… corporations absolutely do have political ideologies. those ideologies are dictated, as you mentioned, by seeking profit. Which is why they interfere in politics so much- it’s less expensive for them to create a favorable regulatory frame work in place than it is to actually not be assholes. For example, one of the things that directly lead to trump’s victory in 2016, was an episode where the Koch plant in Corpus Christi, TX got dinged by the EPA back around 2000. (technically for not reporting benzene leaks. unofficially, they removed monitoring equipment and were letting that shit go. because the EPA relies on self reporting… they actually have no proof at all that they were leaking shitloads of benzene.)
this lead the Koch brothers to back republicans basically everywhere, including Trump, where some of the stuff he actually did… involved deregulation of environmental protections. Yeah. Because not leaking freaking toxic pollution into the air, directly harming residents in the area is too expensive and too burdensome.
edit to add: on the other end of the spectrum, you have companies taht are definitely afraid of things like climate change (and whose business won’t be adversely impacted by those regulations) absolutely lobbying for things to reduce the impact of climate change. (or, because their business is predicated on building solar or windmills, and such like.)
Very good points! I should have been more specific that corporations are usually not motivated by the social side of most political issues. Anything that impacts them financially, though, is certainly fair game from that perspective.
Mostly trying to clarify that Target almost certainly didn’t have trans-oriented swimming suits for adults because the corporation or even the CEO cares about that issue in an ideological, philosophical or moral sense. They had those products because there was a market for them and they saw a way to meet that demand. That’s it.
Just because it’s true in your little echo chamber doesn’t mean it’s true for “the vast majority”
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Just accept that some spaces aren’t welcoming of your ideology and move on.
Not all political spheres need to be “neutral and balanced” by accepting lies and bullshit spewing from useful idiots.
Uh, Politics downvotes. Conservative bans.
You think that because it appears as if there is a 50% split ideologically in the US that somehow you’re in the majority. Not only are you thoroughly not, but the 50% split is an allusion created by voter suppression and gerrymandering. And this is not opinion.
Cons being absolutely batshit crazy and condescending and wondering why nobody wants to treat them with respect
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“As for your assertion that I’m condescending, I’m sorry for whatever I said that came across that way. I am praying for you and everyone else in this thread, that we may all come to be one in Christ.”
bit of a cheeky cunt there then arent ya. i almost respect it lol
Traditional values like what? Be specific. I bet many of us would disagree that those values are worth preserving.
Can you cite any examples of physical violence committed by “the left” and what specific political objective those incidents achieved?
It’s ironic that you act like the other side is unreasonable when you start with the assumption that “the left” is inherently unreasonable and impossible to have a dialogue with. You aren’t leaving any room for conversation. I am willing to listen to your arguments, but we also need to be able to “agree to disagree” without dehumanizing each other.
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What has “the left” “violently destroyed” that you “hold dear”?
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No really, go ahead, have a rant. We will love it I promise.
Nope. I want you to answer it. I’ll read it. I’ll refute it.
I won’t convince you that your God isn’t real. Your heels are dug in and I respect your convictions.
But there is obvious room for you to learn and grow because no one cares that you’re gay for Jesus. We care that you are weaponized stupidity holding our country and the world back with your regressive world view.
You regularly ‘communicate’ with a man that has been dead for over 2000 years by talking to your ceiling, because you believe that (despite being dead) he has magical powers.
And then go around calling everyone else “crazy”.
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And dead people all over Jerusalem ‘rose from their graves and wandered around’… yeah… sure they did bud. Whatever you say.
These are Stories. Not facts, stories. Stories written for children, about magical wizards.
You are the literal equivalent of the kid that -actually- believes in Santa Claus and can’t stop telling everyone around him that he’s the smart one who is going to get all the presents.
But as you grow up, and become more conservative (like we all do with life experience)…
I don’t accept the premise that everyone gets more conservative as they get older. That does not stand up to study as far as I am aware. Here are some example sources to back up this claim: 1 2.
…you’ll learn that almost every adult is essentially conservative…
By what measure or definition are you using the word “conservative” here? What is the cutoff for an “adult”, is that the same as being able to vote or are you drawing an arbitrary line at an older age? Surely you are not suggesting that “almost every adult” is a GOP voter, because even Trump would not be so brazen as to pretend there are no Democrats at all!
…and striving to become more mature (ie more conservative and traditional) as we age.
I completely reject the equation of maturity with “conservative and traditional”. This is just nonsense that reveals the magnitude of your bias. I am not going to argue that almost every adult is naturally more liberal or progressive, that is just absurd and has no basis at all in reality or facts.
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This thread is the perfect example why this site is toss.
toss?
I’m a few weeks late in replying to your comment, but we didn’t have moderation when you posted this. A few of us have just started moderating, literally today, so please give us a bit to catch up.
Please check out the stickied thread about what kind of rules and guidelines you would like to see, if you haven’t already. We don’t have those guidelines to work with yet, but blatant bigotry, trolling, and spamming are our first targets while we work out the details.
Why?
