Walmart defiantly sticks with Pride Month merchandise, even for children

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Customers are making themselves heard when it comes to retail stores selling merchandise acknowledging Pride Month for children, especially very young children. What is the reason for selling a onesie for an infant with a LGBTQ-friendly slogan other than to virtue-signal on behalf of an adult in that baby’s life? Walmart doesn’t care why a customer is buying an item, it just wants the sale. The products sold for Pride Month will remain on the shelves and there have been no provisions for extra security in case customers protest merchandise in the stores.

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Walmart has children’s pride-themed clothes. Other retail stores are coping with customer backlash for what they view as offensive merchandise. Target is taking a huge financial hit over its decision to hire a transgender designer to do a line of Pride clothing. Customers and Target employees have had some dust-ups that are not productive to anything. Extra security is needed in some stores. Walmart is not hiring extra security. And all of the merchandise stays put.

Walmart is the largest retailer in America. Chief Merchandising Officer Latriece Watkins said the more than 4,500 stores sell products throughout the year that support different groups and causes. So, for Pride Month, she said, ‘in this particular case, we haven’t changed anything in our assortment.’ Walmart’s Pride merchandise includes rainbow-adorned flags, clothes, and accessories. Anti-woke boycotts are springing up because retailers have gone too far in some cases. Customers don’t object to rainbows and unicorns. It’s shoving a message that goes against the norm in a customer’s face that offends customers. For instance, what did Dylan Mulvaney have to do with Bud Light beer. Does anyone believe that Dylan was a Bud Light beer drinker before the company teamed up with him? It was a purely salacious decision by a woke marketing executive hoping to appeal to other wokesters. It didn’t go well.

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What is notable is that Walmart seems to be focused on a traditional LGBTQ campaign, not veering off into trans activism. It isn’t changing up things from past years.

There are backlashes now because it is no longer the LGBTQ agenda. It is all about the transgender agenda. The percentage of the population that is transgender is miniscule but you would think they were in the majority these days from media stories and merchandising efforts to convince the public that this is perfectly normal behavior. You will be forced to care. You will be forced to support the movement.

Walmart is defiant.

Its ‘Pride & Joy’ collection includes a $7.98 set of enamel pins with messages such as ‘Be you. Be Proud.’ and ‘You are enough’ as well as children’s pride themed clothes such as a shirt that says, ‘I love my 2 moms.’

Walmart’s Watkins said the retailer hasn’t changed its security measures in response to the confrontations Target cited at its own stores, adding that Walmart hasn’t seen similar issues.

‘In this particular case, when we think about security… we have not done anything in particular differently related to security in our stores,’ Watkins said.

In an email to DailyMail.com Walmart said its comment hasn’t changed from its previous statement adding ‘we have nothing more to add beyond Latriece’s comments.’

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Despite the economic downturn felt by many retailers due to Bidenflation, Walmart is doing just fine, according to its CEO. Doug McMillon told shareholders this week that stock is up more than 14%. This seems to embolden the company to move forward with its merchandising decisions.

As far as I can tell, Walmart hasn’t signed on with a designer who is a Satanist, as Target did before customers pushed back on that anti-Christian bigotry.

Walmart says they have not experienced any threats or backlash over any of its Pride merchandise.

One Walmart shopper posted a video as she mocks the LGBTQ clothing line for babies.

Will Walmart receive the same treatment that Target is getting from customers? It’s not likely. Walmart’s Pride merchandise seems much tamer than Target’s, which was much more in-your-face about its line of merchandise. The best solution for customers who are offended is for them to skip that section of the store and, if they feel strongly, address it with corporate headquarters with an email or call. Violence in local stores and dragging employees into it is wrong, not matter how you look at it. Store clerks aren’t making merchandising decisions. Let them do their jobs in peace.

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Walmart is as woke as any other corporation. That surprises some people since its base customer is more low-income and working class. It embraces DEI philosophy as well as other cultural movements, such as CRT. We’ll see how customers react this year to its LGBTQ-friendly displays. It’s a different kind of environment this year with the trans community as active as it is now. For a lot of people, trans activists are dragging children into their agenda and that is not acceptable.

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