Target: My Two Dads Ad

They say some things never change, but some things do … like Target.

It was just a couple of years ago that the retail giant sparked the ire of many in the LGBT community when they began donating money to the political campaigns of anti-LGBT candidates, and that ire turned into fury, and a boycott, when Target responded with a ‘So what’ attitude.

Now, however, Target has evolved, just like Barack Obama. In fact, they have come down on the side of marriage equality by joining the fight in Wisconsin.

Naturally, this has sparked the ire-turned-fury of the anti-equality folks who once said that the LGBT boycott of Target was “homo-fascism” but their boycott of Target was God’s will. Or something.

Anyway, on with Target’s change; they have released a new commercial for their “Made to Matter” line of goods that features two dads painting with their child. The ad was first posted to YouTube and is seen by some as an answer to several of those anti-LGBT groups’ boycott.

An answer that says, “Yeah? So?”

A Target spokeswoman responded to the uproar:

"Target is committed to diversity and inclusion in every aspect of our business, including our marketing efforts. The casting of this couple and their son is in line with previous marketing that Target has created including our wedding registry ad campaigns that have been running for the past several years."

YouTube response to the video s overwhelmingly positive:

"Thank you, Target, for standing against the sinful anti-gay lobby who seek to redefine discrimination as a 'sincerely held religious belief.' Despite their efforts to redefine traditional values such as equality, family and love into something ugly and sinister, we know that most Americans reject their evil agenda! God bless you for standing up for what is right, good and American!"

Naturally, though, anti-LGBT groups have been less happy with the ads. Matt Barber, vice president of the Hate group the Liberty Counsel Action, said Target's decision to sign the amicus brief — which federally challenged Wisconsin and Indiana's same-sex marriage bans — was a “slap in the face to millions of pro-family customers."

You know, cuz The Gays are anti-family.

But Target won’t back down. In a blog post published last month, Jodee Kozlak, Target's executive vice president of human resources, said:

“It is our belief that everyone should be treated equally under the law, and that includes rights we believe individuals should have related to marriage. We believe that everyone – all of our team members and our guests – deserve to be treated equally. And at Target we are proud to support the LGBT community."

Things can change; people can change’ retailers can change.

Sure, you can say that perhaps Target changed their policies because they realized they are shunning a segment of society that is rumored to be overflowing with disposable income, and in this economy, you wanna make the coins, but my feeling is, however you change your mind whatever brings you to equality … good.

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Have A Coke ... Tener Un Coca Cola ... يكون للفحم الكوك ... 有一个可乐 ... Есть кокс ... Haben eine Coke ...

I sometimes think I’m the odd man out; not just for being gay, though there are some who think that makes me odd; not for being a snarky queen, though others disagree. I think I’m the odd man out because when I see someone who looks different than me — me, being a middle-aged … gosh that hurts … white man — I like what I see. If I pass a person on the street who is a different color than I am, I find it interesting; when someone speaks another language than the English I speak, I find it appealing; if someone dresses differently than the so-called norm, I find them charming.

Which was why I loved the Coke ad that played during the Superbowl; that one-minute commercial that featured children and adults, gay and straight, from all walks of life, from all across America, singing "America the Beautiful" in multiple languages. I loved the different ethnicities and genders and orientations and families and languages in the ad because it made me remember that, despite the fact we are all so different, we are all Americans, and I think that’s cool. I like living in a country where we don’t all look and act and think and speak and dress and love the same; I live for different.

And so I am the odd man out because that little Coke ad up there at the top seems to have really pissed some people off; it sent a great many into hysterical reactions, racist comments, and just plain idiotic responses.

At first people jumped on the idea of the two gay dads in the ad — and it was a kind of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it segment — because, I guess, in their America, two gay dads don’t exist. News flash: they do. Still, I expected a little outrage over those dads because we rarely see gay couples featured in mainstream ads on mainstream shows, much less the most watched Superbowl in history-ry-ry-ry-ry-ry. Echoing is mine.

Michael Patrick Leahy at Breitbart.com was not happy to see gay dads roller-skating, with children, and Coke:

"When the company used such an iconic song, one often sung in churches on the 4th of July that represents the old 'E Pluribus Unum' view of how American society is integrated, to push multiculturalism down our throats, it's no wonder conservatives were outraged."

Wait’ “America The Beautiful” is sung mostly in churches on 4th of July? So, that means no gays? How Leahy can talk about integrated society in the same breath as having multiculturalism shoved down his throat is the height of GOP and conservative pundit lunacy. See, try as we might, America is not yet fully integrated? Not for all of us, sir; many of us are still considered less than in this country. I know, because I’m one of them.

But then I heard people were going nuts because “America The Beautiful” was being sung in languages other than English even though we are not a solely English-speaking country no matter what anyone thinks. We don’t have an “official” language in this country, so stop thinking and acting as if we do.

Former GOP Congressman, and deluded asshat, Allen West was especially unnerved by having to hear a non-English commercial, and wrote on his blog:

"If we cannot be proud enough as a country to sing "American the Beautiful" in English in a commercial during the Super Bowl, by a company as American as they come -- doggone we are on the road to perdition."

But Allen, it was an American ad sung by American for an American company and aired during an American sports tradition, but if you want to hear the song sung in America’s “native” language then might I suggest that you pick a Native American group to sing it because everyone else in this country is an immigrant who brought their own language here.

And that’s what’s good about this country; that America welcomes everyone and respects their differences; we are, as that old saying goes, a melting pot of multiculturalism and we are every language and creed and religion and gender and orientation and for Coke to feature that in an ad makes me wanna shout, I’ll have a Coke please. But, while West’s condemnation of the ad was somewhat tame — if also somewhat stupid — conservative columnist and Fox News Radio host Todd Starnes could not contain his rage or his Twitter fingers:

This is the typical right-wingnut, conservative zealot GOP response: America, love it, and speak English, or leave it. Starnes only speaks English so then English should be the only language he hears. How American is that? How welcoming is that? How delusional is that?

And then we have Glenn Beck, who recently began speaking a little more intelligently about the LGBT community, especially in light of the Russian anti-gay laws, but now he’s reverted back to form:

“So somebody tweeted last night and said, ‘Glenn, what did you think of the Coke ad?’ And I said, ‘Why did you need that to divide us politically?’ Because that’s all this ad is. It’s in your face, and if you don’t like it, if you’re offended by it, you’re a racist. If you do like it, you’re for immigration. You’re for progress. That’s all this is: To divide people. Remember when Coke used to do the thing on the top and they would all hold hands? Now it’s, have a Coke and we’ll divide you.”

It’s funny, and sad, to me, that Beck thinks this ad is divisive because I think when you include everyone, all nationalities and genders and orientations who live in this country and call America home, you’re being inclusive, but then Beck probably only wants to include the white right people.

As I’ve said, we are a country made up of many different peoples; we don’t all look alike, think alike, speak alike, love alike, worship alike, but if we can’t agree on one simple fact … that we are all Americans … then we’re sunk. Why can’t we celebrate the differences? Why can’t people who speak Spanish be American? Why can’t two men raise a family together as a loving couple? Why can’t we wear certain clothes, and preach certain things, and sing in our native tongue?

I say embrace the differences; learn something new. Or sit back in your easy chair and grow more and more angry.

Oh yeah, and let’s not forget that Katharine Lee Bates, who wrote “America The Beautiful”, was a Lesbian.

Snap.

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This just in from Round-The-Way gay, and frequent ISBL contributor, Neal.
A brazilliant ad.

Knock It Off!

These videos just one the top awards at the Video Ad Council
It's one of the phrases I hate most, and I do a 'Wanda Sykes' when I hear people say it. I work in a restaurant and one night I heard one of the hostesses complaining about her parents; as I approached I heard her say, "They're so gay."
"Your parents are gay?" I asked.
"No," she said, "they won't let me go to this party."
"Oh, it's a party for gay kids?" I asked, nodding, Yoda-like.
"No!" she snarled. "My parents are gay 'cuz they won't let me go."
"They're gay because of that?"
"yeah. Stupid."
"Oh, they're stupid because they won't let you go to a party, not because your parents are actually gay?"
"No."
"Then say they're stupid. Rules aren't gay; music isn't gay; shoes aren't gay; things you don't like aren't gay. Gay is gay; it isn't stupid or dumb"
Knock it off!