Pride stickers and other rainbow trinkets have already been popping up at check-out counters at mom and pop shops and big box stores in anticipation of LGBT “pride month.” By June 1, gay, lesbian, trans, and “queer” merchandise will be at peak stock, signaling a great time to put your debit card on ice until it is over.
Because even if you don’t buy the rainbow-sole shoes at Converse, you still have to sit through a video of same-sex smooching and banal preaching, “Just exist as your authentic self.” And even if you don’t buy the stainless steel “pride-inspired” tumbler at Caribou Coffee to celebrate “the power to Be Yourself,” the company will still donate $5,000 to Rainbow Wardrobe, “which provides free gender-affirming clothing to help individuals express their true selves with confidence.”
Buy their coffee, fill their coffers, and now you are financially supporting genital mutilation culture. If you care about the mental or spiritual health of children, don’t shop where pride is sold. Recognize that you are being used. These companies care about you like a dentist selling cotton candy in the waiting room.
Want proof? Look at Target, which went full rainbow in 2023, with chest binding bathing suits for girls, and “tuck-friendly” swimwear and shorts for young boys. Target faced a backlash of boycotts and responded by moving some merch to less prominent places in its stores.
This year, Target sort of read the room. It has comparatively tamed its pride offerings to the point of ridicule, and the LGBT community is not happy. But the company is still pandering to the community with five pages of rainbow-themed junk, including bingo cards and a “Live your truth” shirt.
It is also offering a pair of cheap, imported “pride” bird figurines, named “Gal and Pal.” They are part of a collection of possibly cross-dressing drag queen birds? Both birds have long eyelashes, one has pink sunglasses, one appears to be touting the lesbian flag, but they both wear butch vests. Are these chicks romantically entangled, or just pals?
Target also offers the weirdest accessory ever: an almost-bird-sized moving truck for Gal and Pal featuring the lesbian pride flag colors and a “pride” license plate. The driver’s compartment is too small for the birds to fit, but one will fit in the back of the truck. Someone is going to buy that truck with no clue what it stands for.
The 2023 boycotts of Target and Bud Light — after the popular beer launched a marketing campaign centered on a man pretending to be a woman — show it is possible to fight back against the woke absurdity of pandering corporations. If you want respect, don’t let yourself be used. If you want to be special and unique from all other people, good news: not buying the same LGBT pride rainbow socks as 12 other people means you already are. It only lines the pockets of corporations who wanted a holiday between graduation and July 4.
If you want to live in harmony with other people — if you crave acceptance — don’t be prideful. That is self-absorbed. No group needs a month to celebrate the inherent human dignity within every person. Go chase the original rainbow, learn your true worth, and thrive without needing a T-shirt to prove it.