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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/emboldened-shoppers-threaten-target-workers-002604555.html
Emboldened shoppers threaten Target workers over Pride Month items

Brandishing her own scissors in front of guest services in a Target store in south Florida, the customer chopped up her store credit card while lambasting the retail chain for carrying Pride Month merchandise. "I am never shopping here again," she warned.

This episode - recounted by an employee to supervisors - was just one of several tense encounters that workers have reported over LGBTQ+ items at the South Florida location, said the manager, who spoke on the condition of anonymity over fear of losing his job. Target is the latest brand to be engulfed in culture wars, as polarizing social issues spill into store aisles and shoppers become more emboldened to engage in confrontational, even threatening, behavior.

Though Pride Month and other inclusivity initiatives have been around for years, they've increasingly become litmus tests for consumers, forcing companies to fully commit on social issues or yield to critics.

Retailers such as Kohl's, Walmart and PetSmart have also felt backlash from the far right for stocking items that extol equal rights and acceptance for gay, lesbian and transgender individuals.

In Target's case, though, it has pulled its Pride merchandise and promotional materials back from store windows in recent days after a string of threats and harassment against employees. The move then sparked multiple bomb threats, targeting stores in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Utah, from people claiming to be angry about the removal of merchandise.