We all know that pride comes before the fall. And when it comes to big business, you would think that the last thing they want is corporate collapse.

There is a psychological phenomenon known as “belief perseverance.” A lot of the time, this is manifested in what is known as the” backfire effect.” This is when people double down even when information comes contradicts it. In fact, those beliefs may even be strengthened.

In one real-world example, there is a common misconception among big corporations that is far too common these days. This belief perseverance is the idea that woke merchandise delivers shareholder profit.

And no one has doubled down as hard as Target this Christmas season.

It looks like Target has officially strengthened its promotion of radical ideology despite another negative report following backlash to it featuring a "tuck-friendly" swimsuit.

According to an X post shared by Libs of TikTok, Target selected a man named Erik Thompson as its Senior LGBTQIA+ Segmentation Strategist and Pride Lead. Thompson, who goes by “GayCruella” online, shared on Instagram that he was “honored” to accept the role.

What is even that?

“Time to whip out the Glitter & Hellfire flamethrowers and rip that old world to shreds darlings,” Thompson shared. “Let’s flip that script and rewrite that narrative. This time for ~ALL Guests, ALL Humans & ALL Hearts.”

Estimated losses due to boycotts related to pride merchandise are reportedly around $15 billion.

"I Want to Make Art, Artie. And I Want to Make Trouble : ;)," Thompson wrote in another caption.

According to The Post Millennial, Thompson's LinkedIn bio stated, "On a mission to lead in the effort of working to flip the script and rewrite the narrative of CPG retail industries to better serve all consumer segments and thoughtfully & authentically cater to *ALL guests, ALL humans, & ALL hearts* who enter our stores and across the nation."

It also included hashtags for "#BlackLivesMatter, #TeamFeminism, #PrideforAll, #MentalHealthAwareness, and #DisabledAlly,
according to the outlet. He also noted in one entry that he has "Led Target’s 2019 Pride Business & inclusivity strategy to better serve our guests through diverse and inclusive collection offering, & remain as a loyal industry-leading leader within total Pride+ market, establishing brand love and credibility for total Target."

At the very least, Target has made it very clear they do not plan to endear itself to Christians anytime soon. Disabled Santas and LGBT nutcrackers are already on the shelves.

Most people reading this already know that marketing woke ideology does not produce much success when it comes to creating consumer value. But despite what all the data shows, Target just keeps doubling down.

Obviously, this is not nearly as bad as the swimsuit debacle. But it is probably safe to assume this will not be doing much for them at the cash register.

That said, how is this not the most profound example of “cultural appropriation?” I guess you can say that Target has really “missed the mark” here.