Target & Bud Light Be Damned
Let's Make All Corporate Sponsors Beg, Like The Dogs That They Are
Can we all agree that the LGBTQIA+ community is at a critical turning point after these idiotic corporate entities have shown their hands? Here's what I have to say about this. In the 1970s, when we initially galvanized to fight for our freedoms, corporate branding was not why we did that. We did it to proudly walk down 5th Ave. in solidarity at the Gay Pride March. I remember my first March in 1978, walking arm in arm with my at-the-time paramour, head held high. We need to go back to the beginning when we didn't beg for the scraps these corporate raiders seem to be throwing at us, like animals at the zoo.
What say we stop looking to the corporations for their phony support and let them contribute to our organizations and us, individually, with no expectation of logo placement on our behinds? If they won’t, fuck them. It’s time to start interviewing them to see if they deserve our time and dollars.
How about we stop being led by the nose by our corporate greed, too? We’re like heat-seeking missiles looking for acknowledgment based on some half-assed financial win-win situation, that in the end, the only benefactors are the corporate hacks.
Maybe it is on us, the gay and trans community, to go back to what made us great. We’re an incredible group of people willing to fight for our rights and a seat at the table. True grit. Who doesn’t miss those days?
I mean, Target? Please! That down-market superstore that we're all supposed to be acting like it’s a big deal just because they have every friggen item you ever need? OK, they’re a convenience. Big friggen one-stop-shop whoop! So you’ll go the extra mile to not deal with jerks.
And don’t get me started on that piss-and-vinegar Bud Light crap. Anyone who says they love it, I don’t believe anyway.
As a consumer, the products you choose shouldn't be determined solely by the fact that they sponsored you for some half-assed cocktail shmooze. We should all take a beat for a year and see which companies are worth exchanging goods and services with. Let’s see who earns our keep.
This is a turning point for us, and we should not let greed lead us down the path that has brought us to where we are now—seeing who our fair-weather friends are.
And to those few people getting sponsored by these companies, let’s not allow them to lead the charge. So may the few not be determining the outcome of the many.
Remember who we are, a community of millions of strong-minded, fantastic, incredible people. We're proud of who we are and the lifestyles we choose to make. But it’s not easy to come out and stay strong.
So this is my message to the LGBTQIA+ community: Rethink what you need from corporate America because, honey, they don't need anything but your dollars. And if these corporate clowns want to sell us their shit, fine. Let’s make them beg.
Peace…
Abe - Won’t Be Silent
Amen, now and forever!