We can only make a difference by
"DOING SOMETHING"

Here are some things that our Golden Mailbox Newsletter subscribers have suggested that you can do in your area help stop the sale of the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

1. Write to anyone you know with influence. Oprah Winfrey, Paul Harvey, Dr. Laura. If they get letters from lots of people on the same subject they will talk about it. They reach millions of people.

Click on the underlined web page addresses below to contact these people:

(I will post contact information here of those kinds of people for you as I find it)

E-mail your comments to Dr. Phil
www.drphil.com/email/email_phil_show.jhtml

To contact Oprah:
http://www.oprah.com/email/tows/email_tows_main.jhtml

Parents Television Council (PTC) website:
www.parentstv.org
Email their letters to the editor:
letters@parentstv.org

Contact Dr. Laura:
www.drlaura.com/radio/form.html

Contact Paul Harvey:
www.paulharvey.com/email_form.shtml

If you find your local chain stores like WALMART, TARGET, KMART or other similar stores are selling this video game fill out a CUSTOMER COMMENT form in the store to complain, or find their web page and fill out a customer service EMAIL FORM.
For an example, you can write to the National Headquarters of WalMart at:

www.walmart.com/cservice/cu_commentsonline.gsp?cu_heading=8

Write to the National Organization For Women (President: TAMMY BRUCE)
www.now.org/comments.html

If you would like to see legislative action taken here is where you can get a contact address for the Governor of your state and other State government officials: www.nga.org/governors/1,1169,C_GOVERNOR_STAFF_HOME,00.html

2. Write or email national and local talk show hosts and ask them to make it the subject on one of their shows so the pubic in your area will be aware of this computer video game and what it will be trying to teach children to do.

3. Immediately take steps in your town to identify any stores selling this computer video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Then organize a boycott against that store. It is not enough to just picket in front of the store asking people to not buy the computer video game or even inform them of what is in the game (that is what they did here in Seattle at the malls last week end). That will not stop the store from selling it. BOYCOTTING THE STORE WILL. Getting people to not buy or rent any thing from them is what will stop it. Hit them in the pocket book and ask people to not buy any thing from that store if they sell that video game. Asking people to not buy any thing from them will get them to get rid of the problem instead of just putting a band aide on it by not buying that particular video game in question.

4. Make a list of the video stores in your area who are not selling this computer video game. Make up a flyer listing stores that do and don't sell it. Then hand out the flyer with the stores to boycott and the ones to buy from. Service groups, churches and school PTA's often will help in this type of effort.

5. Write letters to the editor of your local news papers and express your opinions about this computer video game and make suggestions of what others can do to join you. Be sure to include in your letter to the editor your list of video stores to boycott who are selling the game as well as other information about the video

6. Write letters to your local service clubs and send them the list of stores to boycott and other information about the video. Ask them to join you in your campaign against this computer video game

7. Contact any national or local woman's group you know of and ask them to become informed on the dangers of this video to women in the future.

8. Contact the schools in your area and ask the teachers and PTA if they will make it a subject of discussion at their school to warn kids and parents of the danger. Surely this is every bit as important a program as the DARE project. I guess the difference is drugs will destroy your child, and this video game will teach someone else's child to destroy your child.

9. Contact all the local churches in your area and send them the list of stores to boycott and other information about this computer video game and ask them to talk to the parents and youth in their congregations. Don't just contact Christian churches. This is a national issue not a religious issue.

10. Write to your local and national elected officials and ask them to sponsor legislation to make this kind of violence against women in computer video games illegal. Remind them that it is already illegal to put that kind of violence in X rated porno films. Ask them why it is illegal to have ADULTS see that kind of violence depicted in an X rated movie but not illegal for people to make a computer video game kids can play that shows that kind of violence. Ask them if this kind of violent act in a computer video game is any less destructive to the person seeing it than seeing the same violence in an Adult X rated movie?.

11. When you see advertising for the game (like the advertising on the bus in Seattle) write a letter to the city or business and ask them to take advertisements for this video off IMMEDIATELY. Then do what you can to boycott the place doing the advertising if they will not. As you find places that are advertising this game, send it to me so I can post it here on this web page so we can get others to boycott them and anything they sell.

12. Join any local groups that are fighting this computer video game. Please send me the names of those groups so we can post it here on this web page so other local people can join too.

13. Contact your local law enforcement agencies and ask their union to join in this fight against a video game that encourages kids to KILL THE POLICE. How could they be unwilling to join us in this fight to save their own lives?

14. Send us any articles you know of on research they have done linking violence in computer video games, TV or fantasy games to crime so we can place those articles here on this web page for parents and educators to read. I will place the articles in our ARCHIVE for others to read and become informed on the dangers of this type of violence on TV, in fantasy games and in computer video games. We don't need a new generation of serial rapist and murderers. That is what this type of game is going to do to the youth of the world.

15. Email us and tell us the success you are having so we can post it here on the web page to encourage others to join us in this fight for our wives, daughters and granddaughters future safety.

16. Send us suggestions of other things that we can all do that we can put here on the web page for others to see.

17. Here is contact information from The National Institute on Media and The Family

· MediaWise Video Game Report Card at http://www.mediafamily.org/

· Effects of Video Game Playing on Children at http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_effect.shtml

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