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Friday, December 6, 2024 - 08:15 AM

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

First Published in 1994

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

Rainbow Pride Flag

It’s that time of the year again where the left tries to force companies and Americans to bow down to the so-called “Progress Pride” flag. Over the years, “Pride Month” has crept into our lives with companies flying the rainbow flag, posting a rainbow sticker in store windows, or changing their logos to rainbow-themed. Now it has taken an even more aggressive turn by stores selling products encouraging children to mutilate their bodies. Americans are disgusted with this agenda and are using their voices and money to fight back.

Recently, Anheuser-Busch learned a hard lesson. One of their beers, Bud Light, is usually marketed to and consumed by young men – especially those in blue-collar jobs and rural areas. Then, they made the decision to go “woke” and partner with transgender Tik-Toker Dylan Mulvaney to be more “inclusive.” This idea backfired immediately causing the company sales to drop by over 28% compared to last year. Restaurant and bar owners have expressed frustration that customers are refusing to buy Bud Light so the company offered to buy back their expired inventory. Even country stars are replacing lyrics about drinking the beer.

Despite this huge controversy, Target decided to ignore the views of the people and take their advocacy of the LGBT agenda much further. Besides the typical rainbow flag t-shirts and stickers, Target has been marketing products to adults and teenagers like chest binders to flatten breasts and undergarments that aid in tucking male genitals. They have been selling children’s clothes, as small as newborn onesies, that don statements celebrating the Alphabet Activist agenda.

This year, Target teamed up with a self-proclaimed “gay trans man.” Erik Carnell is a British designer who has sold products that say, “Satan respects pronouns,” and “trans bodies are holy,” with drawings of a naked satanic creature with mutilated breasts. He has also made comments about eliminating those who oppose transgenderism. Thankfully, moms and grandmothers are standing up to the company. Target’s sales have tanked by $10 billion since the collaboration began, forcing them to cut ties with the designer and pulling that brand from shelves.

Amidst the Target controversy, the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team found themselves in hot water. For their upcoming “Pride Night”, an invitation was sent to The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence asking them to perform during the game and accept their Community Hero Award. This so-called “comedy group” dresses as drag nuns, has performed as strippers around Jesus hanging on a cross, and blasphemed sacred Catholic rituals. During the initial backlash, the Dodgers withdrew their invitation, but shortly after reinstated the invitation with an apology.

Even though these companies are making their own decisions to push the LGBT agenda, there is something even more sinister behind the scenes. Big investors have colluded with each other and the Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity (SOGI) cabal in deciding to only place their money in businesses agreeing to support environmental and social, and corporate governance (ESG) principles. These terms encompass far-left political stances such as abortion-on-demand, Green New Deal policies, equity measures, and sexual orientation accommodations (even for minors). Major fund managers, such as Blackrock, have ownership in many of the largest Fortune 500 companies in the United States. If this cabal chooses to pull their funds, non-compliant companies would suffer greatly, such as being forced to significantly downsize or close altogether. Instead of finding ways to fight back, companies just comply with this egregious ideology.

The pressure from the SOGI overlords on businesses is just the tip of the iceberg. The Biden administration has instituted a rule allowing retirement investors to consider these types of policies when investing other people’s funds. Over a dozen states have passed legislation to prevent their state contracts, pensions, and investments from being harmed by ESG. Both the U.S. House and Senate passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 30) to stop the rule from going into effect; however, President Joe Biden vetoed the effort. President Biden is happy to have these big investment firms do what he cannot – decide for all of us the definition of “social good” and force that upon every individual and business.

But we must not give up hope – there are many ways in which American families can fight this agenda – whether it’s by contacting company leadership, spending money at anti-woke stores, or pulling investment funds from ESG players. Eagle Forum has created an action alert for you to reach out to Target’s CEOs to let them know how harmful their products are to children and families. We are also asking celebrity home designers and Target partners Chip and Joanna Gaines to contact Target management on whom they may have more influence. We already have thousands of people who have taken action. Glenn Beck praised our effort, saying, “American families are leading the way again. Together with Eagle Forum, its state affiliates and many other state and national groups, they have mobilized to stand for God, Country, Families, and common sense.  Americans do not burn cities down, threaten or silence those with differing views. However, they do demand common sense and decency. That is why I support the Align Act to petition the leadership of Target to reconsider their promotion and placement of the divisive “Trans Pride” products in their stores. All you need to do is visit TellTargetStop.com to join us in this effort.