3.06.2008

How Does This Affect Rusty?

I've never been to a Target before. Will it make things better or make things worse? It'll make things better for the city and for Columbia Heights property owners. Not so much for tenants. But, what about me? A young adult living in AU Park. Does having groceries and televisions under one Metro-accessible roof actually that much more convenient? Is Target any better or cheaper than making separate visits to Best Buy and Safeway?

The most comparable store to Target is probably Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, that comparison is moot since I've never been inside of a Wal-Mart either.

So, should I be excited, cautiously optimistic, or angry that a mega-store is going to have so much influence on a single neighborhood? What's Target like?

20 comments:

  1. I'm sure Target will make it onto Stuff White People Like at some point. It has to be on there.

    That should be all you need to know.

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  2. Yes, the amount of things I enjoy on Stuff White People like is disconcerting.

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  3. Shaine, just checked the site and they had this:

    "When engaging in a conversation about corporate evils it is important to NEVER, EVER mention Apple Computers, Target or Ikea in the same breath as the companies mentioned earlier. White people prefer to hate corporations that don’t make stuff that they like."

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  4. I have to say, one of the things I'm most excited about, having just moved to Mt Pleasant, is proximity to Target. It's pretty freaking awesome.

    And actually, it's sort of funny to me that it has a rep on the East Coast for being a yuppie sorta phenomenon. In Minneapolis, where I used to live and where Target is based, every ghetto AND every suburban area has one. This is the beauty of Target: if you need cheap shit, like DVDs or cleaning supplies or whatever, Target is your BFF. If you want that same cheap stuff, but also nicely designed kitchenware and other "Stuff White People Like" ephemera, you're also in luck.

    Target has something for everyone.

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  5. That's awesome, Rusty....and completely accurate.

    Target is like the ultimate crackhouse for Caucasian consumerists. You go in for toothpaste and lightbulbs and you walk out with a basketball, a mop, a few DVDs and an armfull of $12 shirts.

    Target has a way of illustrating to you just how weak you really are....

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  6. eww, safeway...

    i prefer the not-so-Giant.

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  7. For this little Shaw-ite, I'm excited to not be trapsing up to the TarGhetto at PG Plaza every time I need socks or getting gouged at CVS. I'm also a Minnesota native & am happy to support a Minnesota-based company instead of Wal-mart, who just built what is now the biggest Wal-Mart superstore in MN in my hometown, it's even brown & green to fit into the nature.

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  8. It's important to note that there have a been a significant number of robberies and muggings already accusing outside of this new Target. You can say shoppers are being "target"ed as soon as they leave the building. I wish I had the direct source, but it has been reported somewhere.

    Sorry for the pun, but it just goes to show you that the full DC gentrification of Mt. Plesant has not yet been completed.

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  9. Target's okay (I've bought some pretty decent clothes there before, I'll admit) but just about every store I've been to has a popcorn machine in a small food court within 30ft of the main enterance. My mind now equates Target to stale popcorn smell.

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  10. How is it that you've never been in a Target? You're not from Manhattan or Borneo.

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  11. They Never Know Unless I Write: The Target in question is technically in Columbia Heights, not Mt P. Just wanted to throw that out there....

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  12. M. Minkoff, one of the pleasures of being a coastal elite from Cape Cod is never having to buy my boat shoes at a Wal-Mart or a Target.

    We do have a K-Mart though. I love it. K-Mart and the Basement are the only places on Cape that I'll buy clothes.

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  13. rusty, are you pronouncing it "targit" or "tarjay"?

    when you make it sound french, it becomes infinitely more sophisticated than any walmart, kmart, or caldor.

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  14. I would get your hiney over there while it's still nice and shiny and the workers aren't jaded by the grind anymore.

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  15. Hey Rusty, I'm white and don't care for Apple Computers :-P

    I will only go to target because it's closer, but if I happen to need something and I'm already driving by it, I'll drop into a KMart. I refuse to set foot in a Wal-Mart for various reasons.

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  16. Follow_Up: In regards to the rampant stories of Target robberies, here is a story from DCist.com.

    Late yesterday we published a short post attempting to clear up the rumors that a number of people had been robbed as they exited the Target in Columbia Heights on Monday. A police inspector had written a note to a 3rd District email list explaining that no one had been robbed, and rather that a number of Target employees had been caught stealing from the store, resulting in a call to the police. Well according to the City Paper, the same inspector, Edward Delgado, is now saying he was wrong about the thieving employees, and regrets sending the 3rd District email. "Nothing happened at the Target store,” he told Jason Cherkis. Apparently Delgado had gotten some bad information from another officer and repeated it without verifying it. He also said he has not seen any evidence of a spike in crime around the new Target.

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  17. the week a cd comes out you can get it for 9.99 at target. thats all i got.

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  18. have you gone down there on a Saturday yet? It is mass shopping chaos... I freaking love it. Makes me want to buy a half million dollar condo in the Kenyon building.

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  19. AnonymousMay 02, 2008

    Rusty is a douche ....

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  20. Rusty is a douche ....

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