Readers Write: Pride merchandise at Target, the ERA, Kristi Noem’s dog

Opinion editor’s note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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So ”Target limits Pride items in its stores” (May 10). Well, Target is just conforming to that old saw, “The customer is always right” — even when they’re wrong. Target couldn’t ignore “confrontational behavior.” When confronted with the dilemma of dealing with this, it took the low road. (Opinion editor’s note: Star Tribune Opinion covered this issue when a controversy over Pride articles first erupted in 2023 in articles including the editorial “Target puts safety first — as it must” and the column “Target finds waffling bad for business.”) Never mind that Target must have had some prior experience with unruly customers when it peddled a product that was so trouble-ridden that it had to pull it from the shelves. This was different. This was homophobia. Never mind that Target never forced these people at gunpoint to buy these Pride products. It was just easier to cave. And one can only imagine the agonizing in Target’s boardroom. How to put a pretty face on placing profits ahead of principle? Well, geez! From the article: “Target leaders said they would develop a more curated [emphasis mine, read: hater-acceptable] assortment for not only Pride celebrations but other cultural commemorations such as Black History Month as well.”

And as for gay team members? Well, I’m absolutely certain that their distress has been soothed by these kind words from the front office: “[W]e want to create a welcoming and supportive environment for our LGBTQIA+ team members.” Yeah. Right.

Nothing to be proud of here.

Well, as our society is faced with “confrontational behavior” in the form of antisemitism, I know that even if Target complies with antisemitic complaints and removes Hannukah cards from their stores, I’ll be able to purchase them from Target online.

Richard Masur, Minneapolis

I am writing in response to Target’s decision to offer its Pride merchandise only in “select” markets. This decision legitimizes the discrimination that LGBTQIA+ people in smaller cities and rural areas already face. Target is telling all of us that it’s only acceptable to be queer (or support the community) in select markets. Shame on Target! The previous presence of Pride merchandise in all markets normalized Pride even in smaller communities. We should be teaching our children acceptance and tolerance of all people, no matter where we live.

Viktoria Davis, Madelia, Minn.

If the majority party in the 2024 Legislature has its way, an Equal Rights Amendment will be up for vote in November 2026 (”Legislature must clarify sex, gender before putting an ERA before voters” and “Minnesota needs an ERA that includes gender and reproductive freedom,” Opinion Exchange, May 10). It is not what you think. Rather, it provides anything but equal rights. If you read carefully, “creed” and “religion” have been surreptitiously removed from the list of protections.

Who isn’t for equal rights? Most classes are already protected and have no need to be voted on here. So why are we voting again?

This time around, the term “sex” refers not to males/females but to abortion “rights” (including barbaric partial-birth abortion) and “gender identity” and thereby could require the affirmation of pronoun choice and whatever “identities” a person may choose to adopt. Intentionally, the clause to protect one’s creed and religion are now absent from this ERA version, eliminating the right of any faith-based institution to remain true to their deeply held beliefs/values. Those who recognize only two genders would be forced to affirm another’s perceived gender status above and beyond reality. Faith-based institutions would not be able to hire based on their values/creeds but be forced by law to give equal consideration to hiring those radically opposed to the same.

We cannot frame injustice by statute. Having to give account before the absolute truth, we must stand against this idiocracy lest we bow to delusion.

Vote “ERA — no!”

Susan Lopez, Minneapolis

I thank Kristi Noem for doing me a favor. I live in Minnesota and was aware of her governorship of South Dakota. However, I did not know her leadership capability for a nationally elected role. The excerpts of her from her new book, “No Going Back,” provide me with enough information should I need to make a voting decision (”Kristi Noem’s disturbing revelation,” editorial, April 30).

It isn’t the facts about shooting her dog Cricket and her goat for behavioral issues. (By the way, there is an operant training book called “Don’t Shoot the Dog!” Recent revisions are available. Its reasoning: If you shoot the dog, you do stop the behavior. However, now you have a dead dog.) Her lack of reflection and insight into the incidents and their impact over the years shows her lack of compassion for the animals (she left their carcasses in a gravel pit for the scavengers; let’s hope she didn’t use lead shot) and her children. These incidents do not show leadership decisiveness. They show someone reflexively making decisions amid anger and embarrassment and choosing the most extreme option for her benefit.

I found myself contemplating Noem’s possible leadership style. Not servant-leadership. Authoritative? Possibly. I’m going with autocratic because she’s telling us (and I paraphrase), “If you don’t do what I want, the consequences are high and punitive.”

Thank you, Kristi Noem. I have all the information I need to decide whether to support you or not. I will not.

Margaret Overland, Blaine

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When I was about 10 years old, after doing my morning chores on the farm, I was having breakfast with my father when there was a knock at the door. It was a neighbor who was very upset. Zipper, my pet dog, had been at it again! Overnight, Zipper had visited the farm down the road and killed several of the neighbor’s chickens. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time Zipper had been accused of murder. He had previously killed some of our chickens. Dad’s attempted rehabilitation method was to tie a dead chicken around Zipper’s neck for several days hoping that my pet would get the message. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. Dad assured the neighbor it would not happen again! After breakfast, we walked outside the house and Dad told me to tie Zipper up to a farm implement. When I heard the shot, I knew that Zipper was no longer with us.

I agree very little with Noem’s politics. I suggest that all of us should be more concerned about the possible vice presidential candidate’s position on major issues such as climate/energy, democracy/rule of law, abortion, immigration, Israel/Gaza, NATO/Ukraine, tariffs/trade and taxes. Oh, and maybe also for her support for capital punishment!

Don Haberman, Orono

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I think I’ve figured out the Noem saga. In ancient Rome, there was a festival called Lupercalia held each year to purify the city. At an altar, a male goat and a dog were sacrificed as offerings to the gods. We have no report of Noem’s forehead being anointed with blood from the dead duo, but this was also part of the ritual. I wonder if there are any photos showing us how far she went?