Army PR

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I'm not disccusing the morality of having militaristic toys--I for one bummed BB guns and Action Men for years. It's just I think it's questionable for such toys to be commissioned by the armed forces.

I see your point, Lozzer. It is perfectly reasonable for army or navy recruiters to speak to late secondary school students about joining up, as they can weigh up the arguments, but toy merchandising to much younger children has that unpleasant flavour associated with toys from McDonalds, for example. Emotional manipulation, rather than persuasion by (relatively) rational means...

Face it, "this is what big brother or Uncle Bill or Cousin Hilda does for a living." Nice link, I think. And the recruiting aspect is major.

[JimC]

I'm not disccusing the morality of having militaristic toys--I for one bummed BB guns and Action Men for years. It's just I think it's questionable for such toys to be commissioned by the armed forces.

I see your point, Lozzer. It is perfectly reasonable for army or navy recruiters to speak to late secondary school students about joining up, as they can weigh up the arguments, but toy merchandising to much younger children has that unpleasant flavour associated with toys from McDonalds, for example. Emotional manipulation, rather than persuasion by (relatively) rational means...

Face it, "this is what big brother or Uncle Bill or Cousin Hilda does for a living." Nice link, I think. And the recruiting aspect is major.

I'm not opposed at all to the armed forces, or the necessity of recruiting for them, it is just an age issue, and an issue of emotional manipulation by toys...

A nuanced issue, and not one I'd fight hard, but I still think Lozzer made a valid point...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I'm not disccusing the morality of having militaristic toys--I for one bummed BB guns and Action Men for years. It's just I think it's questionable for such toys to be commissioned by the armed forces.

I see your point, Lozzer. It is perfectly reasonable for army or navy recruiters to speak to late secondary school students about joining up, as they can weigh up the arguments, but toy merchandising to much younger children has that unpleasant flavour associated with toys from McDonalds, for example. Emotional manipulation, rather than persuasion by (relatively) rational means...

Face it, "this is what big brother or Uncle Bill or Cousin Hilda does for a living." Nice link, I think. And the recruiting aspect is major.

I'm not opposed at all to the armed forces, or the necessity of recruiting for them, it is just an age issue, and an issue of emotional manipulation by toys...

A nuanced issue, and not one I'd fight hard, but I still think Lozzer made a valid point...

In 1959 I made a "rifle" from a piece of wood. It wouldn't have been more influencing with a logo on it.

[AshtonBlack]

It's an MoD venture.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... orces.html

[Gawdzilla Sama]

It's an MoD venture.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... orces.html

The logic is impeccable.

[Lozzer]

Has anyone ever seen the film Toys? This ordeal reminds me exactly of it.

[AnInconvenientScotsman]

I think the reality of it is, we are genetically programmed to be warlike and as a result, younger children express interest in that sort of thing. As we grow older though, we tend to stop thinking like that. Our moral compass develops and things that we thought were acceptable at, say, 8 years old, become very obviously wrong. I doubt many of the guys on here will have never played with toy soldiers, or pretended to be shooting a gun. Very few of us are in the armed forces.

Obviously this stereotyping of what boys should play with and what girls should play with is wrong but I don't think letting boys play with toy soldiers is indoctrination when it's done by corporations, so why would it be any different if it's the MoD doing it? Sure, they're trying to indoctrinate them but it doesn't work, so I don't think it's an enormous issue.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I think the reality of it is, we are genetically programmed to be warlike and as a result, younger children express interest in that sort of thing. As we grow older though, we tend to stop thinking like that. Our moral compass develops and things that we thought were acceptable at, say, 8 years old, become very obviously wrong. I doubt many of the guys on here will have never played with toy soldiers, or pretended to be shooting a gun. Very few of us are in the armed forces.

As you get older you understand better what war means. "obviously wrong" isn't obvious to me, however.

Obviously this stereotyping of what boys should play with and what girls should play with is wrong but I don't think letting boys play with toy soldiers is indoctrination when it's done by corporations, so why would it be any different if it's the MoD doing it? Sure, they're trying to indoctrinate them but it doesn't work, so I don't think it's an enormous issue.

Advertising, that's all it is.