Bullet-proof backpacks for back-to- school?

Here in the US the summer holidays are about to end. Depending on Counties, back to school happens between early and late August, rarely after. In Virginia, in our county back-to-school is scheduled for mid-August. Ten days ago, we all received mails from schools, with the list of supplies and class assignments and there are back-to-school sales in different stores. Last weekend was also the Tax-Free week-end for us. Given the amount of sales tax here in Virginia (5.3% vs almost 20% in France) the money you save doesn’t touch the sky but you’d better save it anyway.

In the midst of this buzz I came across some articles mentioning some odd school supplies: it turns out you can buy your child bullet proof backpacks and other bullet proof items such as jackets or cushions for chairs. Indeed in many schools children must leave their backpacks in their locker in the hallway so the designers of these items have thought of other ways to equip the children, including jackets or comfort cushions for their chairs, used as survival items.

Obviously this is terrifying. I have not stopped to say here how much the issue of firearms in the United States terrifies me and how quite cowardly I avoid thinking about it! Indeed, what else can be done? A friend told me that pro-gun people are so concerned by their weapons and so convinced that their freedom is at stake, that if there should be a law banning the weapons all of a sudden (as it happened in Australia in the 1990s), these people could literally take up arms and fight!

And the pro-guns display their convictions aggressively everywhere: whether stickers on their cars or on themselves or their children, they do not skimp on the means. I saw a few months ago a sticker on the back of a car with the Starbucks logo saying “I love guns and coffee”! I regularly see yellow car plates, which represent the flag created by American General Gadsden during the American Revolution, representing a rattlesnake ready to attack with the mention “do not tread on me” now used by civil rights advocates as appearing in the US Constitution and especially pro-guns. For the record, this flag has also been used by the Tea Party. And there was last WE in our town a gathering with a very friendly atmosphere, popcorns, music and free inflatable games for kids. And I saw a significant number of adults AND their children (sometimes very young) displaying on their clothes stickers with “guns save lives” written on them. Given what I consider as fanaticism, there is unfortunately not much to do.

As for these bulletproof gadgets, I don’t know what their real effectiveness would be. I think that if we were to feel the need to equip our kids with them, we would think of returning to France.