Target Bans The Salvation Army [Sign Petition Saying You Won't Shop At Their Stores]

Dont's Shop Target ^ | Nov. 23, 2004 | Unknown

[conservativecorner]

Please help the Salvation Army by letting Target know it's not OK for them to go secular to appease the leftists and Godless in this country.

From Blogs For Bush:

Target, as we've all heard, has for some bizarre reason decided to not allow the Salvation Army to put it's bell-ringing Santa's outside it's stores this Christmas season - likely, this is due to some sick and cowardly desire to appease the anti-religious left. The Salvation Army, as it's name implies, is a Christian organization and has this annoying (for leftists) habit of strictly adhering to Christian moral principles. Maybe you don't agree with them - and then you're perfectly free to pass the collection tin without dropping a penny...but I think even the most atheist among us considers the Salvation Army a holiday fixture in the United States...and Target has banned it.

We've had for years now a relentless attempt to re-Christianize Christmas; from bans on singing Christmas carols in schools, to legal fights to remove religious imagery from holiday decorations, to attempts to call our Christmas a "Winter Festival", the militant secularists have been very busy...and now they've gotten to Target. A store I used to shop at - but now I've joined the boycott. You can, too; by going here and signing the petition.

Some people have pointed out that Target and other retailers are also banning anyone else from soliciting donations - the story goes that if they allow one, they must allow all...and, I guess, their worry is that they'll have an application from the Association of Nude Satanists to solicit. To me, this is nonsense - among the many things I'm heartily sick of is how everyone is supposed to run scared from tiny groups which seek to exploit the rules to their own advantage. Target, like any other private enterprise, has a right to control it's storefronts and if Target feels that a particular type of activity is ok for one group but not ok for another, then they should act accordingly - but don't punish the good because the bad might make trouble.

[AppyPappy]

Technically, didn't they ban EVERYONE from soliciting.

Maybe we could start a thread that says "TARGET BANS ACLU FROM SOLICITING AT STORES".

[FreedomGuru]

Target decided to not allow ANY solicitors outside their stores. Its a resonable decision,they would rather stick to selling retail, then constantly be in court being sued by every wacko group out there, if they let 1 group they have allow every group.
Just as I block spam whether or not it might be something good, and just as I don't answer phone calls that are unidentified.
So enjoy your boycotts :-)

[conservativecorner]

So what happened to property rights? Are you saying they have no say regarding who they let on their property? I don't believe that is the case, but please post a reply where you show me wrong on the issue. It's funny because I don't remember 20 bell ringers from multiple organizations in front of Target in years past, but maybe my memory is playing tricks on me. It's an attempt to take Christ out of Christmas, but rationalize it any way you see fit.

[Manic_Episode]

Bell ringers are a Christmas tradition.
No bell ringers=political correctness.
Political correctness stinks.
Target stinks.

[Blue Jays]

Good Morning All-

Posted by Eagle Eye:
"...Thanks. I'll double my time shopping at Target. If they allow the SA, how can they forbid any other solicitors? Personally I find the bell ringers obnoxious and find stores that don't have them..."

Target has appealed to me as a store as comfortable in which to shop: good layout, well-stocked, broad aisles, excellent lighting, and fairly nice personnel. In short, they deliver on pretty much everything a retail customer would need from an afternoon of shopping.

The decision to prohibit ALL solicitors is even-handed and fair, so I hope they "stick" with that plan. Is their company in locked-step with my political ideology? Probably not, but I like a place that remains neutral rather than a firm like Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream that actively supports liberal political candidates along with "causes" like gun control and confiscation. Target is selling merchandise and only selling merchandise...so I can respect their decision to prohibit solicitors.

~ Blue Jays ~

[Mr. Lucky]

Your post implies a federal court ruling that permitting the Salvation Army to solicit donations at Christmastime requires the property owner to then permit all sorts of other groups.

I am unable to find any post (or Lexis-Nexis reference) which actually identifies such a court decision.

Is there really such a case?

[Blue Jays]

Hi Manic_Episode-

Posted by Manic Episode:
"...No bell ringers=political correctness..."

I wouldn't be too hasty with that assessment. The television commercials from Target in my market are "all about" Christmas with no mention of other so-called "Winter Holidays" like that absurd Kwanzaa or even Festivus.

~ Blue Jays ~

[JaguarXKE]

BUMP! We MUST keep this thread at the top! We need LOTs more signatures on the petition!

Jag

[conservativecorner]

Go ahead and repost the story if you like. It deserves the attention of conservatives. Several have mentioned the right of Target to keep all orgs. off their property, and support it because of the issue of property rights, but isn't that argument a complete falsehood? If you are for property rights, wouldn't you agree that Target can be selective on who they permit on their property as land owners? I think it's a way for Target and other chains to continue to make Christmas a holiday without having the birth of our Savior recognized in any way.

[Eagle Eye]

Merry Holidays and Happy Kwanzaa to you.


Christmas time...the two weeks a year where Christians act like they should act all year long.