Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

I remember my first time with Target. It was 1995, a college town in Western Tennessee called Clarksville. I lived across the state line in a much smaller town that barely had a Dollar General. A new friend told me about this store that was Wal-Mart equivalent, but so much more.

It was so pretty and sleek, the trappings of a department store from my childhood filled with items I could afford. I bought trash bags and socks, picked out birthday cards, and allowed myself to feel lofty that I was no longer slumming at the hellscape known as Wal-Mart.

When I returned to Pittsburgh a few years later, Target followed – the Waterfront, Ingomar. Not incredibly close or overwhelmining. More of a tantalizing reason to make the trip much like my ancestors had made a trip Downtown or to McKeesport to shop. Target became ubiquitous, still fun and good and charming. They added Starbucks. Groceries. At some point they located near Giant Eagle stores, reminding me of my childhood trips to the grocery store and Murphys Mart or Kmart or Hill’s Department Store. A matched set to meet all of your middle class needs. But Target was fancy, glossy, and lacked the trappings of the five and dime.

Target was the good alternative to Wal-Mart, proof that good capitalism existed and was affordable. Or so we allowed ourselves to believe. We were so naive or willfully ignorant of end stage capitalism that wee traded our souls for a cute dog logo and discounts. And the comfort that our aspirations to have more nice things, more things wasn’t wrong or hurting anyone.

To reel us further in, Target put together a line of Pride accessories and celebrated Black history. Then they capitulated to the Nazi regime currently in charge of the Federal Goverment and stopped. Or slowed down, trying to lull us into a false sense of camraderie, like a secret lover who promises to go public one day soon.

I may be a capitulator, but I’m not stupid. So I stopped shopping at Target. Cold turkey. I thought my pittance of a gesture could send a message. Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t. But I did learn that I could live just fine without Target. Sure, I made other moral compromises but not returning to Wal-Mart. There had to better options and a Target-purge motivated me to searh for them.

But all these gift cards. I had stockpiled digital gift cards for years, $5 and $10 rewards for big purchases. At one time, I saved them up to buy my wife things I knew she liked, just like I haunted the REI discount bin all year long to buy her her favorite socks at Christmas. I was savvy, I was a good shopper, then I was homeless. I left the cards in my account perhaps hoping one day this nightmare would end and I’d have my life back.

But it felt wrong to consume Target anything, until I realized the money had already been spent and my hoarding of cards kept the revenue in Target’s hands. I didn’t want to use them on everyday items, perhaps clinging to the hope of having a decennt quality of life post-divorce, a life where gift cards were still a possibility.

A few weeks ago, my dentist recommended I buy an electric toothbruse, highly recommending Oral B. The was definitely out of the budget for post-homeless-might-be-homeless-again Sue. Then I remembered the gift cards, over $250 worth of small increments.

I let go of a piece of my past life and did something for me. After a careful search on Consumer Reports, I found the most recommended highest scoring Oral B and then found it online at Target. It was a sign. I also bought toothpaste, 168 kcups, and two pairs of gloves. One is bright orange like Gertie.

I still have $15 remaining. I’ll keep them for awhile just to remind myself of the awestruck young woman in Clarksville who went down a red brick path tinged with shame and delusion. Then I’ll stumble upon a card to get me up to the free shipping limit and be completly unmoored from this hollow space.

Not going to Target is pretty easy as I don’t have a car. Even easier is not going to Starbucks. It isn’t just that I support DEI or a fair workplace, it is that I have learned my lesson. I don’t want to trade my soul for cheap anything. But I’m poor so my options are limited, just like millions of Americans. Target became the late 20th century Macys and Kaufmanns and Gimbels so dear to our parents and grandparents.

It disappoints me people who loathe Trump still go to Starbucks. But I do understand that the loss of this way of life is terrifying. As someone who literally cannot support herself, I get it. I’m hoping for decent housing with my cats and an internet connection. And that’s shooting high because I can’t afford rent alone on my SSDI allotment much less furniture or anything Target sells. Forget about Starbucks.

If feels like we should compile a list of Democrats, Indivisible members, and others who go to Target and Starbucks. They aren’t violent Nazis, but they are stomping on the bones of the yet unburied neighbors. Ouch.

My bluetooth enabled toothbrush arrives next week. I’m not exactly sure why it needs to be blue tooth laden, but I’m sure it is part of the dossier on my health that’s accruing somewhere for UPMC to find a way to exploit.

At the end of the day, I understand that feeling superior because I choose Door #1 over Door #2 is exactly part of the plan. My gestures probably won’t do much. But my words might.

Use your gift cards and bonus points for good. Buy something you actually need. Buy supplies for a shelter or a street outreach program (or a pet good pantry.) Then cut the cord. It is a small, but important step away from who the Koch Brothers want you to be versus who you want to be.

And there is no need for Starbucks. There are dozens of local coffershops.They aren’t union shops, but they seem like a better choice. Make your own beverages at home.

I predict the Starbucks Union will galvanize and revolutionize labor organizing. Target is hopeless without union organizing. But the Starbucks folx are impressive, strategic and operating in natural cells based on their store clusters. The Teamsters are standing with them. Other trade unions should follow suit – no electrical work, no construction, no plumbing, no nothing.

They even have union-made merch for you to purchase if you are eager for a new shirt or coffee tumbler.

We have the power to break the spell late-stage capitalism has wrapped around our entire generation. There are alternatives. We don’t need so much suff to thrive and enjoy our lives. The January white sales are not a day of obligation. Your sheets and towels are likely better than most people in the world, or even just America.

Start with two steps – no more Target and no more Starbucks.