Pigs Free to Fly Again at Target Stores
This is an update on an earlier Daily News Rush story: Are Muslims On Target To Take Over Minneapolis?
Bacon, Bacon, Bacon
Pigs used to fly through the checkout lanes at Minneapolis area Target Stores. Used to, that is, until a few Target cashiers who take their practice of Islam to extremes, clipped the flying pigs’ wings by refusing to scan any item containing the ‘sinful’ pork, including frozen pepperoni pizzas. This was reported in the news media earlier in the week and there has since been an appropriate uproar from Target customers who are irked at the petty nonsense they have to put up with just to bring home some bacon. This pettiness could cause some Target customers to shop elsewhere for their sinful pepperoni pizzas, an outcome Target Stores is hoping to avoid.
From today’s Minneapolis Star & Tribune - Target is Transferring Employees Who Avoid Pork
“Target received a wave of criticism earlier this week after the Star Tribune reported in a front-page article that some Muslim cashiers at Target declined to scan bacon and other pork products. They would call over another cashier to ring up the products, or in some cases, ask customers to do it themselves.”
Target Stores: 1
Target Customers: 1
Muslim Extremists: 0
But who’s keeping score? This week, Target Stores took reasonable action against Muslim employees who refuse to handle pork products on the grounds that it offends their religious sensitivities. Not wanting to offend customers, employees, or lose money; Target employees were hauled in by management this week and asked if they had a problem handling pork products, and if they answered yes, they were asked to wear gloves (an attempt at promoting reason, one would presume), or assigned to other parts of the store. Some employees were assigned to stock shelves and fold clothes, others were moved to the produce department where they would handle only fruits and vegetables.
Target Stores has concluded that it would be unreasonable to attempt to accommodate Muslim extremists in this circumstance. They tried, and it didn’t
work. Good for them.
From the same article - Target is Transferring Employees Who Avoid Pork
“Target asked Muslim cashiers who refuse to handle pork to wear gloves or transfer to other areas of the stores. In some cases, Muslim cashiers will be given the option of transferring to other stores. “We are confident that this is a reasonable solution for our guests and team members,” Target spokeswoman Paula Thornton-Greear said in a statement.”
This ain’t over, you just know it, don’t you?
Well, we gotta give Target credit for trying. But something tells us someone, somewhere, is not going to let sleeping pigs fly. Already, they’ve found a group, Somali Muslims, who think Target has blown this whole thing way out of proportion.
From the same article - Target is Transferring Employees Who Avoid Pork
“This is being blown way out of proportion,” [there an echo in here?] said Abdi Sheikhosman, a professor of Islamic law at the University of Minnesota Law School. “Pork products represent a very small percentage of Target’s overall products. ... Accommodations could have been made.”
Is Target overreacting and pandering to their customers? Imagine that, giving the customer what they want - a legal product being sold in a legal venue
to people who are licking their chops at the thought of sizzling some bacon or grilling some BBQ Country Style Pork Ribs over the weekend. How dare they.
Reaction from Imam Husain of the Islamic Center of Minnesota :
“We believe that the actions of some individuals should not be used as an excuse to judge the whole Muslim community and as such we would like to inform the American people that we disagree with these strict and unfounded interpretations of our tolerant faith. We further call for the leaders of other
Muslim based organizations in Minnesota and elsewhere to take it upon themselves to educate their patrons, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, on how to handle such matters.” From Buzz.MN
Thank you. Good for you. We appreciate hearing these words. Keep it up.
The bottom line:
How ‘bout we vote for integration into the society, not segregation? Muslim extremists don’t seem to understand that their policy of forcing an established, free culture to conform to Islamic fundamentalism is the opposite of freedom and democracy, and it isn’t going to work. Muslims may not want to be free, but the rest of us do. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. If religion forces one into submitting to extreme and harsh laws, then one ought not lead themselves into temptation. In other words, go work somewhere else. Or, when the management is considerate enough to move you to an area where you won’t be tempted or disruptive to their bottom line or offensive to their customers, then be grateful.
Be careful that you don’t allow Muslim extremists to twist this story so that you appear intolerant and racist. They may attempt to compare this issue to
other religious cases, such as pharmacists who prefer not to dispense the newly developed morning after pills, or Jewish people who refuse to serve shellfish
and other forbidden foods. Don’t let them do that. These types of examples are totally unrelated. A pharmacist is not required to add new responsibilities to the job he was originally hired to do, especially when it involves potentially ending the life of a human being. Reasonable people do not shove their religion down your throat by refusing to serve forbidden foods, they just don’t eat them themselves.
You know, Muslims could always shop at Kosher Meat Markets - they don’t eat pork either. ... is the Lincoln Del still in town?
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