How Target & The Left Abandoned Abuse Victims & PTSD Sufferers

Unless you live in a very deep dark cave in Antarctica, you’ve heard about the controversial stance Target has taken in permitting anyone to use any bathroom they choose. They claim they only want legit transgender people allowed to use whichever bathroom they feel the strongest emotional connection with. However, practically speaking, unless the government starts certifying transgender people (kinda like the the way disabled people are granted handicapped placards, or 21+ folks are hand-stamped at concerts where boos are being sold), Target employees are just going to have to let every Tom, Dick (no pun intended), and Harry into their ladies’ room for fear of being smeared as transphobic or bigoted.

That’s the issue at hand. If you don’t understand the logic presented in the above paragraph, please stop reading. Just stop. Because nothing that follows will make any sense to you either.

Seriously, it will not matter if there’s a 12 year old girl in the restroom all on her lonesome; if a big hairy man with a beer gut and a criminal record follows her in, no one can stop him, as long as he claims to feel female today.

While the policy was made in hopes of accommodating the transgender community, I don’t think it was well thought through. There is a much larger community who will be potentially put in emotional and physical danger as a result of it.

How Target Puts Abuse Survivors & PTSD Sufferers At Risk

How do you think an abuse survivor will feel walking into a Target bathroom, hoping for privacy, and seeing a man there? How do you think a domestic violence victim and PTSD sufferer will feel walking into a bathroom, hoping for solitude and safety, and seeing a man in there?

Imagine noticing a creepy looking guy slinking around the isles, so you retreat to a bathroom to avoid his gaze, but he follows you right in. And no one stops him. Because “equality” … or something … Do you feel “progressive” in this scenario? Because I don’t.

No, abuse survivors weren’t “born this way.” We weren’t always damaged. We didn’t always feel preyed upon. We weren’t always so aware of the depths to which a perverted mind can delve to. But we didn’t choose to be this way either.

You see, I’m a child abuse survivor. I’m 31 years old now, and I can tell you, walking into a woman’s bathroom and seeing a man would definitely make me grip my pepper spray, and could even give me a panic attack.

Of course, if my toddler daughter was with me, I’d walk right back out that door and call security (who probably wouldn’t do anything to treat our feelings as equal, because our feelings aren’t as important as other people’s according to pop culture). We’d probably end up using the unisex restroom.

Let’s pause and consider the irony of that.

So stop lying to me about people’s “feelings” and “equality” and “fairness.” Life isn’t fair. Feelings don’t dictate rights. Abuse victims know that very well, and we are VERY familiar with being treated unequally.

Target & Lefties, you’re not considering our feelings whatsoever. You’re only considering your own infatuation with an arbitrary PC idealism. Not only are you doing this at the expense of abuse victim’s feelings, but you don’t even care that you’re potentially putting children at risk. Kudos to you. Way to be “progressive” and “inclusive.”

Call me crazy (or bigoted, or whatever), but victimization is one thing I’d rather we not risk being inclusive about. Nobody needs to know what it feels like. No child should ever understand the things I understand. I care much more about the safety of even one innocent child, than about the feelings of 0.03% of the population (who, BTW, are mostly adults who should be mature enough to deal).

How Target Is Putting Potential Abuse Victims At Risk

Transgender people make up 0.03% of the population. Women make up 50%. 1 in 4 women are victims of domestic violence. That’s 25% of all women in the US, and 12.5% of the US population. And that’s just female domestic violence victims. Google rape, stalking, assault, and male abuse statistics. They’ll turn your stomach.

As a woman, I don’t want to use a bathroom knowing that any man – even a registered sex offender – can follow me in, and no one can legally stop him. Sure, if he attacks me or films me he can legally be charged. But why let things escalate to that point?  Why not hinder abusers by making opportunities for abuse less frequent?

As a mother, I don’t want my daughter using a bathroom knowing some creeper could be lurking in a stall. Apparently, even if they knew about it, no Target employee or “progressive’ liberal would warn her, because he might be transgender.

This is not homophobic.

This is not transphobic.

This is not _______phobic.

This is common sense.

Take it from someone who has been abused. Abusers look for loopholes. They’re opportunistic. That’s why they call them “sexual predators.”

It’s rare that an abuser will harass or assault a victim in public. Usually they’ll wait until the victim is alone. Like, in a bathroom. And if no one thinks it’s odd to see a man entering the ladies’ room, well HEY PRESTO! I present to you the perfect opportunity.

Trust me. If a fairly clean-minded, stay-at-home, Christian mom can think up scenarios like this, then so can a scheming, predatory, filthy-minded, opportunistic pervert.

In fact, this is all so dreadfully obvious and basic, that I’m starting to wonder whether supporters of Target’s bathroom policy just don’t care about the safety of women and children. I can’t decide if my argument is lost on them, or if they think that the feelings of 0.3% of the population are more important than the physical safety of even one precious child.

You see, for most women, restrooms aren’t just where you pee. They’re private sanctuaries where you can freshen up your makeup, check your hair, and chatter with other ladies.

For many women, they’re also a place where you can retreat from stress triggers, stalkers, and creepy ogling guys. Thanks so much for taking that away from me and my children. { <— That last bit is sarcasm.}

Not even kidding, when I was in college (and even recently when I was at the grocery store), if a strange guy started looking at you funny or following you about, you’d often duck into a busy women’s bathroom and wait until he went away. You might even ask another gal to go check and see if he was still out there, loitering about. Not so anymore. At least, not at Target. He’ll just follow you right on in!

On the bright side, there are many wonderful little family owned shops and stores near our house, and they’ll now be getting all of my business. Bye, Target!