"Christmas will be here before you know it!" Topic

Better get your toys for the kiddies right away before they sell out!
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I don't need any more "habits". The ones I have already are time consuming and expensive enough!

No one said she had to buy it so she needs to chill out and get a life.

How many angry moms does it take to change a light bulb?

None, they can't change anything.

Hard to say which is worse, a society that thinks such a toy would sell to kids – or the protests (and counter protests) against it.

I dunno … she has a right to advocate for the regulation of commerce within the bounds of community standards.

Personally, I wouldn't go along with this one. Kids who are impressionable enough (not age … maturity) to be harmed by this content should be directly supervised in such an environment. It is the responsibility of the parents to either protect or create a learning moment for their children (depending on the individuals and their maturity) in such a situation.

Unless you're convinced by the 'only for over 15s' claim, they're tacitly acknowledging that children are allowed to watch disturbing, graphically violent TV, and profiting from lax parenting.

Then again, for decades toy shops have stocked model kits of war machines and military figurines; perhaps this is just the current manifestation of the same commercial phenomenon.

As the Democrat senator from NY, Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said society is constantly 'defining deviancy down'. this is simply another manifestation of it.

Gosh, she's upset over freakin' dolls? Guess she'd better keep them away from her Barbie & Ken collection so they don't get hooked on meth, 'cause, you know, toys act just like real people. Speaking of which, the "Breaking Bad Toy Meth Lab" was the most popular toy last season, and looks to be at the top again this year….

[/sarcasm]

When I was a boy (and dinosaurs roamed the land…), most people here in UK saw nothing wrong in children having toy soldiers and military vehicles because such toys portrayed people risking their lives in defence of their country, an activity that most regarded as noble and deserving respect.

Toys such as the ones described in this thread risk glorifying criminals and their antisocial, selfish, malicious and/or depraved activities. I dislike them intensely – but I suppose were they to be banned, the Mob would simply start selling them on the black market!

the Mob would simply start selling them on the black market

I believe the issue is that Toys-R-Us explicitly markets to young children and the parents of young children for young children. A "mature section" is counter to the public face that the company cultivates.