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The latest trend from anti-LGBTQ+ right-wingers takes aim at the new line of merchandise celebrating inclusivity at Target stores and whining about how "out of control" it all is.
The haters–claiming retailers like Target are grooming children and indoctrinating them with a gay agenda–have been posting videos of themselves at Target stores, gasping over Pride-themed kids and baby clothing with rainbow designs.
Ethan Schmidt, a known MAGA-supporting far-right extremist from Arizona, has been the worst offender of this type of stunt.
Last June during Pride, he excoriated Target and threatened to "expose" the “Satanic Pride shrines for children”–his take on Target Pride displays– and LGBTQ+ supportive Target team members.
This year, Schmidt harassed more unwilling participants at Target to spread his message of hate.
In a shared clip, he held up a shirt that read, "Pride, Pride, Pride" and touted it as pedophilia.
He approached two female customers and asked if they supported it, to which they responded by saying they were going to call the police on him.
Schmidt called them “super trigger liberals” and went on to find another customer to get a reaction from the Pride shirt he was holding.
He attempted to lead a male customer with:
"But isn’t it pedophilia?”
The man replied:
“I don’t think so.”
\u201cIt's getting closer to June & y'all know what that means, Ethan Schmidt is going to go harass random people inside of Target (one of the businesses he's banned from) because of rainbows.\n\nDude is going to get arrested for trespassing again at this rate.\u201d— ChudsOfTikTok (@ChudsOfTikTok) 1684268672
Twitter users had plenty to say.
\u201c@ChudsOfTikTok You know what specializes kids? Beauty pageants. And how about competitions where the girls are wearing tons of makeup because of the lighting, but the boys don\u2019t. And their outfits are a scrap of fabric compared to the boys. Then girls are dress coded at school, mixed messaging.\u201d— ChudsOfTikTok (@ChudsOfTikTok) 1684268672
\u201c@ChudsOfTikTok Still waiting for someone to take out a can of pepper spray and go for the eyes\u201d— ChudsOfTikTok (@ChudsOfTikTok) 1684268672
\u201c@ChudsOfTikTok I\u2019m thinking he\u2019s the one who is triggered.\u201d— ChudsOfTikTok (@ChudsOfTikTok) 1684268672
\u201c@ChudsOfTikTok I would trust a guy with a pride shirt with my nephews over Ethan\u201d— ChudsOfTikTok (@ChudsOfTikTok) 1684268672
Alison Steinberg, an anchor with the far-right media outlet One America News (OAN), also posted a video of herself being furious over Target's Pride merch.
She observed that it was the “worst than I ever imagined."
Steinberg pointed to a pair of socks in the pink and blue colors representing the trans flag and said it was “just out of control.”
Next, she found herself in the greeting cards and stationary section and grumbled over the cards celebrating same-sex marriages and parenting.
She repeated:
“This is completely out of control."
\u201cOAN anchor Alison Steinberg flips out over Target\u2019s pride section and inclusive greeting cards.\u201d— PatriotTakes \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@PatriotTakes \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1684718403
Twitter thought the same of her.
\u201c@patriottakes Damn, going to the store has to be exhausting for these folks \ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffd\u200d\u2642\ufe0f\u201d— PatriotTakes \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@PatriotTakes \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1684718403
\u201c@patriottakes Damn, it\u2019s crazy you\u2019re being forced to buy something when entering a Target. So much for your Free Market!\u201d— PatriotTakes \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@PatriotTakes \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1684718403
Assumptions were made about her.
\u201c@patriottakes Clearly can\u2019t recover from the rejection of the gay man she fell in love with.\u201d— PatriotTakes \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@PatriotTakes \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1684718403
In another video, a woman leading the charge to boycott Target said she was going to see if the retailer was featuring:
“Weird, creepy, uncomfy stuff on children’s clothing."
Unsurprisingly, she was mortified at seeing shirts saying "Pride" and baby onesies featuring graphics of rainbows and hearts.
She also held up clothing tags with descriptions like, “Thoughtfully fit on multiple body types and gender expressions,” and another indicating swimsuits having a “‘binding effect’ on the chest” and a “tuck-friendly construction” in the crotch area.
"They're giving it to your kids," she warned viewers.
She continued to accuse the retailer of "targeting your kids and it's time to do something about it."
\u201cIt\u2019s worse than we even imagined. Target is a den of G\ud83c\udf08R\ud83c\udf08M\ud83c\udf08R\ud83c\udf08S\u201d— \ud83c\udf37LIZZIE\ud83c\udf37 (re/formed) (@\ud83c\udf37LIZZIE\ud83c\udf37 (re/formed)) 1684708994
Twitter told her to calm down.
\u201c@farmingandJesus Queer people have children and some children are queer. Wake up.\u201d— \ud83c\udf37LIZZIE\ud83c\udf37 (re/formed) (@\ud83c\udf37LIZZIE\ud83c\udf37 (re/formed)) 1684708994
\u201c@farmingandJesus If you don't want your kids wearing rainbows, then stop buying rainbow clothing for your kids\u201d— \ud83c\udf37LIZZIE\ud83c\udf37 (re/formed) (@\ud83c\udf37LIZZIE\ud83c\udf37 (re/formed)) 1684708994
\u201c@farmingandJesus With all the products to buy, I can't see why anyone cares. Some people might buy it and a lot won't. I am not against a vitcott if you want, but the energy seems too much.\u201d— \ud83c\udf37LIZZIE\ud83c\udf37 (re/formed) (@\ud83c\udf37LIZZIE\ud83c\udf37 (re/formed)) 1684708994
\u201c@farmingandJesus You literally have the personal choice of whether to buy these items for your children\u2026 don\u2019t like it? Just don\u2019t buy it, like a normal person.\u201d— \ud83c\udf37LIZZIE\ud83c\udf37 (re/formed) (@\ud83c\udf37LIZZIE\ud83c\udf37 (re/formed)) 1684708994
If there was any silver lining to all of this uproar from riled conservative shoppers, it's that their hate-fueled griping on video inadvertently gave Target's marketing team free advertising online.
\u201c@farmingandJesus You are a clown\u2026I will be doing all my shopping at Target now\u2026thanks for enlightening me about the wonderful options that Target offers\u201d— \ud83c\udf37LIZZIE\ud83c\udf37 (re/formed) (@\ud83c\udf37LIZZIE\ud83c\udf37 (re/formed)) 1684708994
Who knew that rainbow-colored onesies and swimsuits would be all the rage in 2023?