Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Camouphlage-colored easter eggs available at CVS!

Corporate America has drafted the Easter Bunny into the war effort and is producing camouphlage Easter eggs. What next? Crucifixes that are actually missiles?

I totally support Nancy's suggestion that we go to CVS and let them know that we don't want a holiday honoring the Prince of Peace to be militarized.




CVS Makes War on Easter

by Nancy Aykanian


Don’t be surprised when you walk down the Easter aisle of your local CVS to find that the company has decided to do its part for America’s war effort. Amongst the usual pastel-colored eggs, chocolate bunnies and bright-yellow chicks, there’s a new egg in town for America’s children to discover during their Easter egg hunts this year: the war egg. For $3.99, you can buy a package of camouflage-colored eggs, with matching green and white armed plastic soldiers—the “toy prizes,” that, just like the jellybeans of Easters past, are, according to CVS, “Perfect for Easter egg hunts.”

Shocking? Perhaps. Surprising? Well, not really, given the increasing militarization of every aspect of American culture and society, and the aggressive ‘targeting’ of young people. What is particularly alarming, however, is that it appears that promoting and normalizing war to high school and middle school-age children is no longer enough; it seems that we have to start reaching out to toddlers, too; or rather, children between the ages of 6-12, especially young boys. While war toys and playing war are nothing new, what is new about this particular toy is that it was manufactured specifically for Easter, a time of year when Christians around the world celebrate life, rebirth and renewal. There is nothing in the Easter story, as far as I remember, that even remotely embraces death, destruction and war—except, that is, for corporate America in 2011, and its war-for-profit version of the story and mass marketing of it.

That the CVS Corporation deemed it appropriate to produce and sell militarized Easter eggs to our nation’s youngest children shows a serious lack of judgment, sensitivity and decency, which would be the generous reading of the situation. What is more likely is that it is yet another example of a laissez-faire corporate mind-set that operates within the (il)logic that anything goes if a company can make a buck. We may never know the truth behind the decision to associate war with Easter (what’s next drone Reindeer?): was it due to the ignorance and insensitivity ‘of a few bad eggs,’ who saw the product as ‘just another cool toy’; or was it, in fact, a more deliberate and informed decision on the part of the higher ups in the company’s chain of command? What we do know, however, is that CVS either lacks, or chooses to ignore, a coherent policy of what is and is not appropriate to sell to children, not to mention a clue about what might, furthermore, be highly offensive to its adult customers. (And while it is true that the chain sells lots of products that are not good for children, this particular item is both dangerous and disturbing for all that it represents,)

It is imperative that CVS be held accountable for its decision to endorse the sale of these “Easter” eggs, which specifically target the youngest, most vulnerable and impressionable members of our citizenry who are growing up in an increasingly militarized and militaristic society.

For more, go to:


http://www.justicewithpeace.org/node/2585

5 comments:

  1. Our desire to show support for our brave men and women who serve in the armed forces has created an acceptance of the militarization of every aspect of our society. I believe that camo Easter eggs are just one more example of how our society has normalized the warfare state.

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  2. i think your over reacting

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  3. i was going to just insult you and call you a dumb hippy...instead i'll use logic you can relate to...is 'good friday' not celebrated as the day 'christ' died for our sins by SACRIFICING the most precious thing...HUMAN LIFE! i think so...are you blind to the fact that thousands of children are celebrating 'easter' this year without their fathers because they gave the ultimate sacrifice...THEIR LIVES...so your righteous ass could be afforded the FREEDOM to post this! remember AMERICA was founded on 2 principals...GOD and MLLITARY! NEVER FORGET...YA DUMB HIPPY!

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  4. Interesting....I saw the camo eggs at CVS ... but missed the fact they came with army men... Perhaps that is because I was trying to figure out why anyone would want to hide camo eggs which would be hard to find....and possibly missed until next year. My generation on hid candy...not toys....but then my generation also played with their plastic soldiers, plastic cowboys and indians, used our hands and sticks as guns and didn't worry about people shooting up schools and movie theaters....it was a kinder, gentler time. But it is Easter, and not time to get on a soapbox about everybody's rights. Let us celebrate the holiday ... and if you don't believe in the reason behind it, at least enjoy the fact that you have another holiday off to enjoy! Happy Easter!

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  5. Amusing that so many of you are making the same narrow sighted mistake. You are linking camo to the military as though they were inseparable. Camouflage is a part of nature and a vital skill for any who have to rely on hunting or evasion for survival. Just because the egg has drab blobs of color doesn't mean that Easter has suddenly gone militant. Sheeze. And what part of hiding eggs has anything to do with religion in the first place? My suggestion: stop letting anger and fear drive your thoughts. Step back, relax, observe your world, and make intelligent decisions based on your own personal knowledge instead of the propaganda and manipulative influences of those who's ulterior motives you are unwittingly serving. Besides, what are you doing on the internet blabbing mindlessly, when you could be out spending money on misc. plastic junk that’ll just wind up in a landfill in a few years anyway?!?

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