The Art of Politics

Off Target

What kind of punk deserts from the Salvation Army?

In a move of corporate PR insanity, Target stores will no longer allow the Salvation Army to ring their bell for charitable collections in front of Target stores during the Christmas season.

Target had long made the Salvation Army a lone excpetion to the no-soliciting rule at their stores. Now this is the thing about exceptions - it's easy to have just one. They get more difficult as you make more of them, because the criteria between exception and rule becomes convoluted and subject to more breakdowns. But Target had stuck with just one - and it's an organization doing unqualified good work.

Until now, that is. Apparently, a great number of requests - scratch that. Requests will be made, regardless of the policy. No, apparently cowardice and cowing to legal department prattle has driven Target to stop allowing the Salvation Army on it's premises.

Target is, in a sense, a victim of the axiom that we are often punished for our kindnesses. Stores like Kohl's, Home Depot, etc. don't allow anyone to solicit, and hence aren't in a position to remove a nicety that was once granted.

However, a kindness retracted can be worse than one never extended. Kicking some guy to the curb for ringing a bell to collect money for charity is corporate Scroogism at it's worst. And with the culture war creating a hair-trigger response on both sides, anything that seems to sanitize Christmas against charity and meaning, and oh by the way, Christ, is going to create a skirmish.

Some have mentioned that they've "heard" that some people find the bellringers intrusive somehow. Intrusive? A guy ringing a bell? It's hard to believe someone will spend 5 minutes finding a parking spot at Target only to be irritated to the point of red, itchy inflammation by having to walk by a guy ringing a small bell. But far be it from us to deny someone their right not to hear a chime...

This was brought home in my house directly. My wife, a devoted Target shopper for years who finds proximty to Wal-Mart anathema, isn't the sort to join email chains or the latest fad protest because someone used a bad word on TV. But when she heard about this, and received an email linking to bantarget.org, she decided a one-family ban would do. So, she paid off our Target card, and returned recently with a carload of Wal-Mart items. She despised the experience, but expressed that if not her, then who? For us, Target is mercada-non-grata.

If Target is facing a suit, then fight it. The public goodwill would be in their favor. But the bullseye is on them now, and they put it there...

Posted by MEC2 at December 8, 2004 08:18 PM