As he walked toward the entrance of the Park Street Target store in St. Pete, Andy Park put his phone in his shirt pocket, which captured lopsided video while he ambled toward the customer service desk.
Once there, he asked a store associate if he could use the women's restroom.
"Sometimes I get uncomfortable in the men's room and I wanted to just make sure I was allowed to go in the women's room," he said.
The associate sought a manager, who said that was permissible.
That video (which you can view in its full glory here) was captured Friday and has since gone viral.
Park told News Channel 8 he decided to take the video because he initially thought Target's new policy allowing customers to use the restroom of the gender with which they identify was a hoax.
As he apparently found out, it wasn't. And apparently, he doesn't know how to do a Google.
"In our stores, we demonstrate our commitment to an inclusive experience in many ways. Most relevant for the conversations currently underway, we welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity," reads a statement posted on Target's website April 19.
He told News Channel 8 he took the video not out of a "crusade" against transgendered individuals, but out of concern for public safety.
“I don’t have a problem with the transgender community,” he said. “I have no problem with transgendered people using the women’s bathroom. My problem is with a possibly overbroad policy that may be putting older people or children at risk.”
Transgender community activist Nathaniel Bruemmer told News Channel 8 those fears are absolutely unfounded.
“So this idea that somehow crimes are being committed by transgender men and women in the bathroom, which statistically we know that’s false,” Bruemmer said.
He added that he thought Park misrepresented himself.
After all, something is kind of fishy here.
If you look at Target's statement, it clearly specifies gender identity as the basis of his policy. But Park implied he was male.
One might surmise that a) Park's appearance suggested he was trans or transitioning (which he denies) or b) that Target store really, really needs to have an all-staff meeting in order to outline how to answer that question, especially if some dude waltzes in with his smartphone sticking out of his pocket asking questions about a controversial policy.
One thing's for sure: Target ought to have a company-wide training on how to handle a situation that could, if online petitions are any indication, crop up across the country as the far right continues to view the transgender community and its challenges with the sensitivity and nuance of a wild boar.
This article appears in Apr 21-28, 2016.