I should likely preface this to say this isn’t an explicit defense of that chain of stores and that I am as Polish-American as a pierogi. So…, super .

On a recent trip there for some reasonably priced clothes ₁ the overall vibe kinda set in. You pick up a coffee₂, grab a cart, and just wander through the aisles looking at the basic colors and neat little things. What this is effectively creating is a “sanitized” version of a Farmer’s Market or Flea Market.

The years of wastes composed of manicured lawns and bloodthirsty stroads, paired with decades of neoliberalism and nuclear family focus has left people wanting. People are spread out, alienated, and rarely if ever get the feeling of a third space or place to wander without spending money. While money is certainly being spent on Target, in a weird way I can see how it tickles a small part of the brain when you’re out replacing a jacked-up appliance or grabbing some school supplies for your kid.

Maybe you could argue this goes as far back as the enclosure movement or that the only time it felt pronounced was within the past 50 years or so, but it’s a weird flocking spot for those clearly experiencing an emptiness or lack₃. This is a case to maybe feel less anger and more pity₄.

1. Finally affording better than the Ace Hardware jeans, baby!
2. Though I won’t cause I’m not a Zionist and I’m picky enough that I own a 1 pound roasting drum.
3. I think I’m using this right.
4. Though I also know people who have worked Target and some of those suburbanites can only get off if they made some teenage worker cry.