CPTnet
4 January 2008

CHICAGO: Mary, Joseph, and Jesus take stand against violent toys
by Christie Schmid


On New Year's Day, 2008, "Mary" and "Joseph" led twenty members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in a public witness highlighting the damaging effects of violent toys and video games sold at Toys "R" Us.

While a choir of supporters gathered outside the store entrance and sang adapted Christmas carols decrying violent toys, the Holy Family, accompanied by shepherds and magi, enacted a mock shopping trip inside Toys "R" Us. In search of a gift for their ten-year-old son Jesus, they found video games such as Call of Duty and Resident Evil. Aghast that Toys "R" Us sells video games with violent, racist and war-like content, the Holy Family asked to speak to the manager.

The store manager listened as CPT members shared their concern that Toy "R" Us, the nation's leading children's toy store, still sells violent video games with the "M" or "mature" rating, only intended for those age 17 or older. Monica Haas, playing Mary, challenged the store manager by saying, "You are aware, I am sure, that K-Mart and Sears have chosen to remove M-rated games from their shelves and we are hoping that as a leader in toy stores you will do the same." The store manager claimed to have no decision-making power regarding inventory. "Those decisions are all made by Corporate," he said. However, he did agree to read the educational materials the CPT actors offered him and to pass along the information to the corporate office of Toys "R" Us.

CPT celebrates a recently implemented Toy "R" Us policy that requires M-rated video games be kept behind the counter and only made available to shoppers who request the games and show proof of age.

However, CPT challenges the store to maintain its integrity in the Chicago community by completely removing these violent toys from their shelves. Former military psychologist David Grossman explains the effects of violent video games on youth in our culture: "Every time a child plays an interactive violent video game, he/she is learning the exact same conditioned reflex skills as a soldier or police officer in training."

Participants in CPT's winter 2008 training who planned the witness are Erika Friesen (Toronto, ON), Dan Gerber (Chicago), Phil Hart (Columbus, OH), Monica Haas (Monroe, NJ), Carolyn Hudson (Snow Road Station, ON), John Hudson (Snow Road Station, ON), Amanda Jokerst (St. Louis, MO), Alwyn Knight (Tenterden, Kent, UK), Lois Mastrangelo (Watertown, MA), Chihchun Yuan (Taipei, Taiwan), Rosemarie Milazzo (New York, NY), Sylvia Morrison (Brampton, ON), Christie Schmid (Seattle, WA).