CPTnet
January 8, 2005
CHICAGO: CPTers remove violent video games from toy store shelves
Members and supporters of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) gathered at a
Toys "R" Us store in Chicago on New Year's Day 2005, to publicly raise
concerns about the marketing of violent war toys and video games to
children.
Three CPTers formed an inspection team and conducted a thorough review of
the video games inside the store. They removed many of the "M" or
"mature"-rated video games from the shelves before meeting with the manager
to express their complaint.
According to military psychologist David Grossman, many of these games are
strikingly similar to the simulated reality programs used by the military to
train soldiers to kill. "Do we want to prepare our children from the
earliest age to pull the trigger?" CPTers asked the inspectors.
"I was horrified to find so many 'M'-rated video games for sale in a
children's toy store," said CPTer in training, Kimberly Prince. "Our
inspection revealed that there is no system in the store to sort and display
video games according to their classification. Adult-rated, violent video
games, meant for those ages 17 years and over, are displayed on the same
shelves as games for young children."
The store manager agreed to meet with the inspection team, who asked that he
remove the remaining M-rated video games from the shelves, and discontinue
the sale of this classification of games. They also gave the manager a
letter detailing CPT's concerns. The manager listened respectfully to the
inspectors' requests and accepted the letter, but explained that he did not
have the authority to remove the games from the shelves. However, he agreed
to alert his supervisors to CPT's concerns.
Participants outside the store drew public attention to the direct
connection between ongoing violence in the Middle East and the impact of
violent toys on children. The witness included a prayerful vigil in which
CPTers read the names of U.S. soldiers from Illinois together with names of
some of the thousands of Iraqi civilians who have died over the last two
years in Iraq. As the names were called out, one participant pantomimed a
child playing a violent video game, symbolically represented as a coffin.
Training group member Justin Alexander completed the emotional roll call
with the names of three personal friends killed in Iraq.
Participants in CPT's winter, 2005 peacemaker training who planned the
witness were Justin Alexander (Chipping Norton, UK), Jan Benvie (Fife,
Scotland), Noah Dillard (Tempe, AZ), Paco Michaelson (Huntington, IN), Hee
Eun Park (Seoul, South Korea), Kimberly Prince (Carrollton, GA), Amy
Knickrehm (Chicago, IL) and Luna Villota (New York, NY.)
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Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of the historic peace churches
(Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, and Quakers) with support and
membership from a range of Catholic and Protestant denominations.
Supporting violence-reduction efforts around the world is its mandate.
Contact CPT, POB 6508 Chicago, IL 60680; Telephone: 773-277-0253 Fax:
773-277-0291; e-mail: peacemakers@cpt.org.
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