Couldn't make this up department (generation, Afghanistan, soldiers, school)

[Idunn]

"The pink bulletproof rucksack that 5-year-old Jaliyah [highlight, mine] wears to school every day reaches almost down to her knees and weighs 3lbs even when empty, but for her Colorado father, the size and solidity are part of the attraction." [1]

One can only wonder. Now the new idea, in Colorado and elsewhere, is outfitting school children with kit suitable for combat in Afghanistan. If, perhaps, soldiers do not usually carry pink ballistic rucksacks.

Anyone familiar with firearms can well imagine what using one of these would be like if hit with the force of only, say, a 9mm. And a child? Probably blown across the floor and into the nearest wall—if, well, presumably still alive. Hardly anything to look forward to, but perhaps they can practice best techniques at home; maybe at school recess as well, instead of the customary ball and skipping jacks.

It wasn't all perfection when I was growing up. For one, we had some strange teachers which in practices wouldn't last a month by today's standards before being dismissed, and likely to jail; one can remember some of their foibles fondly or not. But we sure didn't wear ballistic vests, or even contemplate such things. In fact, in those schools and greater community the notion of getting unaccountably shot seemed as remote as ending up in Vietnam.

Swift forward to today. These poor children. If anyone is innocent in all this, it is them. They can thank their parents and that generation, us, for having any greater concerns than getting a good grade on the next test.

That I'm even mentioning this is sign enough of just how sick a society this is. Ballistic combat wear in schools is just a facet of it. No child, no one for that matter, should routinely have to fear for their life in a civilized society. That any do is evidence enough of what is wrong. With fear a key aspect of this. And as answer in part, anyone might look most closely at those who foster it—and ask quite clearly: why?

1) 'US schools weigh bulletproof uniforms: 'It's no different than a seatbelt in a car', The Guardian
US schools weigh bulletproof uniforms: 'It's no different than a seatbelt in a car' | World news | The Guardian

[highplainsrus]

The fear suggested by this trend may only be new to middle-class and upper-class schools. The schoolchildren on the "other side of the tracks" have been living in fear and coping with it for decades within our "civilization".

[ahigherway]

Originally Posted by Idunn

"The pink bulletproof rucksack that 5-year-old Jaliyah [highlight, mine] wears to school every day reaches almost down to her knees and weighs 3lbs even when empty, but for her Colorado father, the size and solidity are part of the attraction." [1]

One can only wonder. Now the new idea, in Colorado and elsewhere, is outfitting school children with kit suitable for combat in Afghanistan. If, perhaps, soldiers do not usually carry pink ballistic rucksacks.

Anyone familiar with firearms can well imagine what using one of these would be like if hit with the force of only, say, a 9mm. And a child? Probably blown across the floor and into the nearest wall—if, well, presumably still alive. Hardly anything to look forward to, but perhaps they can practice best techniques at home; maybe at school recess as well, instead of the customary ball and skipping jacks.

It wasn't all perfection when I was growing up. For one, we had some strange teachers which in practices wouldn't last a month by today's standards before being dismissed, and likely to jail; one can remember some of their foibles fondly or not. But we sure didn't wear ballistic vests, or even contemplate such things. In fact, in those schools and greater community the notion of getting unaccountably shot seemed as remote as ending up in Vietnam.

Swift forward to today. These poor children. If anyone is innocent in all this, it is them. They can thank their parents and that generation, us, for having any greater concerns than getting a good grade on the next test.

That I'm even mentioning this is sign enough of just how sick a society this is. Ballistic combat wear in schools is just a facet of it. No child, no one for that matter, should routinely have to fear for their life in a civilized society. That any do is evidence enough of what is wrong. With fear a key aspect of this. And as answer in part, anyone might look most closely at those who foster it—and ask quite clearly: why?

1) 'US schools weigh bulletproof uniforms: 'It's no different than a seatbelt in a car', The Guardian
US schools weigh bulletproof uniforms: 'It's no different than a seatbelt in a car' | World news | The Guardian

In a society where most people think guns are a good thing to have, ballistic combat wear would seem a pretty normal thing.

Sad that the US can't seem to get along without its guns.



Peace.
brian