Boy this really burns me up. Why does the American Taliban (i.e. "religious" conservatives) and Target (i.e. Tarrrr-zhey) LOVE rapists so much. A woman gets raped and turns to Target to get her Plan B perscription filled, and what does the pharmacist do? Take a guess, and it has something to do with "family values."
Before I go any further I want to ask all PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT SHOP AT TARGET THIS HOLIDAY SEASON. And please tell all of your friends/family/co-workers ASAP.
I have been following this story on Americablog for several weeks now. A woman who was raped was frantically trying to get her Plan B Rx filled at Target and was turned away (and reportedly berated) by the pharmacist who claimed his religious beliefs prevented him from doing his job. Now, I'm not a woman, but the last thing in the world I would want to worry about after being sexually assualted is whether or not the pharmacy I choose to fill my EMERGENCY (read: time sensitive) perscription is going to fulfill it's obligation or publically humiliate me. I'm having trouble expressing in words how horrible it must've been to be that poor woman.
So expecting the follow-up story would be Target's most unmitigated and humble apology, what we actually find is the rapist-loving store chain SIDED WITH THE PHARMACIST and, get this, claim his denial-of-EMERGENCY-Rx-service is protected by the "Civil Rights Act of 1964 [which] also requires us to accommodate our team members' sincerely held religious beliefs."
Oh. My. God. Americablog's John rips good into the irony of allowing pharmacists to deny customers particular Rx drugs (i.e. "Ma'am would you please step on that scale before I sell you this bag of Salt-n-Vinegar potato chips"), so go read it.
So I suggest two things, both of which can make a difference.
1. CALL (or better yet write) your local Target and give them your mind on the their policy to discriminate against rape victims. Be sure to tell them this is your local store and you will not be shopping there until they rescind their rapist-loving policy and offer a public apology.
http://maps.google.com/
2. DO NOT SHOP AT TARGET. The holiday season is what makes-or-breaks the annual earnings for retailers, and with fierce competition and spiraling energy costs, this particular season is already shaping up to be a bruiser. This could not have come at a worse time for Target. They want to sweep this under the rug and be done with it. PLEASE BOYCOTT TARGET AND MAKE SURE YOU ALERT OTHERS TO THEIR HATRED OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS.
Lastly, I'm not really much of a believer in the screaming tree hugger proclaiming the latest boycott's-make-a-difference battle cry, however I believe the timing couldn't be better for this particular case, and the Kos community has grown so large it could actually be effective. Plus, I ** (umm... very strongly disagree with) the Ameircan Taliban, so let's take this down. And this is the last boycott-diary I will ever write I promise.