I would like to apologize on the behalf of all of the angry people who disagree with your inclusive bathroom policy. Let me start by saying that I'm not associated with those people whatsoever, but, somehow, I still feel the need to apologize for their behavior. Maybe it's because I know some people who work at Target or because I know what it's like to work in retail. Or maybe it's because I'm really happy that Target is the only retailer – that I know of – that has been brave enough to get the ball rolling on the journey to overall inclusiveness and a slightly better world for a marginalized group of people.

I have seen too many videos of self-righteous people who consider themselves the saviors of young girls either harassing Target employees and customers or trying to get people to stop shopping there. Search “Target” on YouTube and you will find a plethora of videos of men going into Target conducting what they probably think is some kind of investigative journalism.

Take this video for example, in which the man films himself walking into Target and speaking to a manager about their new policy. He's very polite and approaches the situation as if he just wants some clarification, which makes this video probably the most harmless you'll find. The manager handles the situation well; she calmly answers his questions as one would when answering questions about something as mundane as a return policy, even though she's dealing with a subject more complicated and more widely misunderstood than a return.

And take this video for another example, in which the man films himself doing almost the same thing, but after asking a customer service representative about the policy, he asks a manager for permission to go into the women's bathroom. Like the man before, he seems to be trying to prove something to his audience. Like the manager before, this manager does what his employers have asked of him and gives the man permission without asking any invasive questions. He also says that if any of the women in the bathroom have a problem with him being there, the employees will speak to them. Sounds like a diplomatic answer to me.

The second video was a little less harmless because the man more or less pretended to be transgender by asking to use the women's bathroom, which is exactly what opponents of Target's bathroom policy are afraid of: men who aren't actually transgender pretending to be trans women so they can prey on women. While it may have felt like investigative journalism to him, it just seems counterproductive to me.

And now, the worst of all – in this video, a woman, presumably followed by some of her family, parades through a Target with a Bible in her hand, yelling about how Target has opened their bathrooms to “perverted men” and it is hateful towards families, mothers, and children. She warns the customers in the store about letting “the devil rape [their] children” in possibly the most insane jumping to conclusions there has ever been.

I can't imagine being a Target employee, working for the man every night and day, and one day something like that happens in my store. It would upset the customers and give every employee in the store a headache, all because of a policy that corporate announced.

Here's the thing: the inclusive bathroom policy isn't exactly a new policy. Most of us have been in the same bathroom as a transgender person before. Target is just taking the step to publicly announce that they will not hinder a trans person from using the bathroom they feel most comfortable in.

So as a Target employee, it must be so frustrating and exhausting to deal with the curious, the investigative, and the irate who respond to the announcement in whatever way they choose, with no consideration for the people just trying to get through the work day.

Target employees, I'm sorry if you've been subjected to any nonsense you've had to deal with about something that you had nothing to do with. Just remember that this will be over soon, people will find something else to get enraged about, and your store will have been at the forefront of a movement anyway.

Sincerely,

A sort-of faithful Target shopper (I like Walmart too, okay?)