
US schools weigh bulletproof uniforms: 'no different than a seatbelt in a car' - claudius
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/26/us-bulletproof-uniforms-gun-control
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john_b
> _"The American people have traditionally viewed the classroom as a revered
> sanctuary that should not be sullied by any form of negative influences
> either of an external or internal nature," it says. "Regrettably the
> safeguards which were initially put into place to protect the sanctity of
> the classroom didn't evolve with our dramatically changing society."_

These days, it's rare to find a quote in traditional media that directly and
succinctly addresses the main issue in an honest fashion. The religious
language being used is especially revealing: "revered" American "sanctuaries"
have been defiled, and the "sanctity of the classroom" has been compromised.
To address sins of this magnitude, the high priests of the Church of Safety at
All Costs are willing to go to any lengths, including hiring former Secret
Service personnel to train teachers, strap students into military grade armor,
and lobby for armed guards at the entrance to every school.

> _"It's like you find life jackets on ships or planes in case they go down,"
> he says. "It's no different to having a seatbelt in a car."_

Presently, only a few schools have taken it this far. But the cavalier
attitude with which they are able to discuss these changes shows the degree to
which America has accepted its post-9/11 militarization. Bulletproof vests for
children are now thought of as no different than seat belts or life jackets.

People spend so much time and money preparing for the astronomically low
probability that their child will be involved in a school shooting or a
terrorist attack, yet I routinely see parents do things like talk on their
cell phone while driving their kids around town. Or buy their kid a car at 16
without making sure they know how to drive it well. Or not allow their
children to get a flu shot because vaccines are dangerous and/or a conspiracy.

These parents are subjecting their children to a subtle, prolonged form of
psychological abuse. They are teaching them to be afraid of basic activities
in life instead of equipping them to honestly and objectively prepare for
realistic risks. They are not maximizing the safety of their children, they
are minimizing their own fear.

It's time we stopped conflating well-intentioned parents with good parents,
because the road to a needlessly militarized world devoid of personal rights
and privacy is paved with their good intentions.

~~~
csense
> low probability

Yeah. Not enough people discuss this aspect.

You should compare the number of children who die in school shootings to those
who die from other preventable causes like car accidents.

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toki5
Cars are two-ton hunks of metal barrelling down the road at life-threatening
speeds. There is an inherent risk that comes with using them; that risk is so
high (comparative to other every-day activities) that we have megalo-insurance
companies covering them and laws demanding we wear seat belts.

I'm uncomfortable with agreeing with this analogy, because it implies that,
where seat belts address the risk of operating a car, these bulletproof
backpacks address an _everyday_ risk of being shot while attending school.

I'm not versed in statistics on either; my uneducated gut says that the risk
of getting in a car crash is huge compared to the risk of being shot in a
school. If I'm wrong, that's troubling, terribly so.

I get the need to address fears in every way possible, but I think calling
these products "no different than seat belts" is possibly maximizing fear
where it's not necessary.

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mtgx
Maybe 30-50 years into the future, if almost every piece of clothing could be
made bulleproof through nanotechnology, and it wouldn't be a "big deal"
getting cloths like that.

Until then it's just a crazy idea that would probably put terror into those
kids...which could be the goal here.

~~~
katherineparker
I agree with you 100%.

Fear shouldn't rule us, but in a gun culture I suppose that's hard to escape
and that makes me so sad for those 2 little girls in the picture using their
backpacks as a shield. I'm from Canada and so I don't really understand why
the states doesn't change their gun laws. Maybe I'm naive and missing a key
point as to why guns are so important and necessary for freedom, but it really
just seems like it outweighs the benefit of public safety at this point (so
much school shooting recidivism)?

~~~
AutoCorrect
there is zero recidivism. Every school shooter in the last two decades so far
is dead or jailed.

We don't change our laws because not enough people buy the pap that making
guns illegal will stop shooting, and too many people believe the government
will outright take rights once we have no physical way to enforce our demands.

~~~
katherineparker
Oops sorry, I am not talking about prisoner recidivism so perhaps recidivism
was not the word for me - I just meant that these crimes are becoming more
repetitive as time goes on.

As for the second sentence, Canada doesn't have America's gun rights and we
haven't had all our rights stolen due to a lack of our own physical
enforcement (guns). It must be a fear based notion, because it doesn't make
logical sense.

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16s
Most "bullet-proof" vests only protect against relatively weak, slow, large
handgun rounds (9mm, 40 cal, .44, etc.). High-power rifle rounds used for
hunting (.223, .308, 30-06, etc.) would easily penetrate this material.

I only mention this because, when you talk about something being "bullet-
proof" you need to understand, that's not true for most rifle rounds, only
handgun rounds. And if parents buy this material, they need a clear
understanding of what it does stop and what it does not stop.

