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The War On War Toys

By Dave Cline

—Dave Cline
NJ VVAW

On Saturday, February 14, a contingent of veterans and families representing VVAW joined with other concerned citizens in a demonstration in New York Cit. The target was the annual convention of the Toy Manufacturers of America; the issue was the dramatic spread of war toys.

The issue is important. Rambo, the movie character who single-handedly kills hundreds with an arsenal strapped to his body, is now a daily cartoon. There are Rambo action figures, guns, bow and arrow sets, bicycles, even lunch boxes. Rambo is just one of many new war toys being promoted by violent cartoons. There's GI Joe, given a new lease on life after almost disappearing after Vietnam; there are Gobots, Transformers, Silverhawks, etc. Then there's the flood of replicas of the latest military hardware: plastic M-16's, Uzi's, AK-47's, Mac-10's. Sales of war toys have risen 600% since 1982 to an estimated $1.2 billion in sales in 1985. They are the leading category of toys sold in the U.S. today. While kids may fantasize adventures involving fighting, today some companies are constantly pushing these products on kids using cartoons to advertise, all for the fastest and biggest of bucks.

War toys and cartoons insure that our society is saturated with the values of militarism, domination and dehumanization. Characters like Rambo shamelessly exploit the sacrifices of those of us who actually served. They glorify the horror that is war and ignore the physical and emotional cost of real combat. At the same times they are being promoted as role models for our children.

No one interested in attaining peace and justice should allow such militarization of the young to go unchallenged. We cannot have kids playing with these toys without knowing that it will have a profound effect on how they perceive the world around them. Do we want them to think that disputes and differences are best settled by force and violence? Children need to learn how to deal with aggression, but there are less destructive ways to do this than through war toys.

The campaign against war toys is being felt. Awareness is growing. A recent Educators for Social Responsibility conference on the issue was well attended. A large number of educators, child therapists and pediatricians have expressed their concern. At the NYC demonstration, representatives of some companies didn't well war toys. Coleco, the maker of Rambo figures, has had numerous picket lines at their Connecticut headquarters.

Those of us who fought in Vietnam have a stake in this fight. It is always the sons of veterans that end up going to the next war. Those who profited from our sacrifices are making a profit now and preparing our kids for another war. We have to say NO: DON'T BUY WAR TOYS!

For more information, contact:
Stop War Toys Campaign
N.E. War Resisters League
Box 1093, Norwich CT 06360
(203) 889-5337 or 455-9621