War Resisters League Urges, “Don’t Buy War Toys.”

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Activist Resources
The shopping season is in full swing.  The War Resisters League (WRL) has issued a call, urging us not to buy war toys.  WRL points out, “Playing with war toys and violent videos numbs people to the terrible truth: War means death and suffering, not fun and games.”
The statement continues, “Playing violent video games has been directly linked to increased aggressive behavior.”  WRL cites the research on this issue, and points out that the Army has spent millions of dollars developing a realistic downloadable video game that makes “war entertaining, so youth will want to join up and fight.”
War Resisters League also provides links to a number of resources that will help people working to discourage the purchase of war toys.
For information about WRL’s “Don’t Buy War Toys” campaign, click here.
For more information about the War Resisters League, a link to its website, and links to other resources that WRL offers, please see the War Resisters League entry in the Peace and Justice Online Directory of Resources.
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3 Responses to War Resisters League Urges, “Don’t Buy War Toys.”

  1. Pingback: War Resisters League Urges, “Don’t Buy War Toys.” (via Peace and Justice Online) « OntheWilderSide

  2. Mark Haim says:
    December 6, 2010 at 1:42 am

    Right on WRL, and thanks P&J On-Line for sharing this.

    I will only add that, while most people probably realize this, and WRL alludes to it, it’s still important to remind folks that “war toys” these days are largely video/computer games.

    When we hear “war toys,” many of us probably think mostly of toy soldiers, toy guns, swords and model planes, tanks, etc. These days, however, the real military does lots of its fighting in high tech, robotic and drone fashion, and kids are learning skills playing video games that directly transfer into “combat” capabilities in the electronic battlefield.

    They also learn to succeed by “killing” an adversary. This, along with the dehumanization of the “enemy” allows people to function in wars, something we sorely need to grow beyond.

    Reply

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