Posted on 08/10/2007 4:57:23 AM PDT by Abathar
BOSTON -- It's time for parents to make the annual trek to get back-to-school items, which usually includes jeans, jerseys and a few notebooks.
Boston television station WCVB reported Thursday that a couple of Boston men want parents to consider something else -- a bulletproof backpack.
"They have them with them on the floor, on their laps, on the bus. They always have a backpack," said Joe Curran, of My Child's Pack.
It started with the Columbine shooting in 1999. Curran and Mike Pelonzi said that they watched and worried for their own children. They had the idea to hide bulletproof material inside a backpack. They call it defensive action.
"If the kid has a backpack next to them, or under the desk, they can pick it up, the straps act as a handle and it becomes a shield," Curran said.
It's much lighter than a 15-pound police vest. After three years of experimenting, the backpacks that were tested by an outside lab ranked threat level two. It stops an assortment of bullets, including 9-millimeter hollow point bullets. The fathers researched school shootings from 1900 to this year.
They will sell for $175, but do the special book bags play upon paranoia when most schools are called safe?
"I want to keep my kid safe," Curran said. "I don't care what you do -- if you want to fight the good fight or fix the world's hurts, I can't help you, but my kids are going to be safe because of these backpacks."
This is a really sad commentary on our society. Isn’t it?
Abraham Lincoln HS in Brooklyn, NY has metal detectors and X-Ray machines that were probably current technology in JFK circa 1995 or 2000. I can’t remember traveling that far back but the size of the units are about the same.
***I carried easily that much when I was in school.***
Same here
I had a huge bag when I was in 7th grade. My science teacher made us carry the book every single day. That itself was an inch thick and at least 5 or 8lbs. I’m guessing carrying that massive load daily was what caused my back to curve a little and my shoulders to be so forward. My body compensated to carry the weight. I think there’s a law stating a child can’t carry more than a certain percentage of their body weight.
It was a great idea, and I wish I'd thought about it when our older boys were there! #2 son says he still has back problems from carrying all those books back and forth. ;o)
My children do as well. There is no time to hit a locker between classes.
It’s very common these days, hence the popularity of rolling backpacks.
The thing I don’t understand about see-through packs - what about feminine items? Are young women supposed to display these where the world can see them?!
Try a small makeup bag or purse. Just the backpack has to be see-thru.
A .308/NATO 7.62mm will go thru about 18" of phone books, IIRC.
I wonder why others got so much less penetration?
My daughter did.
Ahh, I see. Then what’s the point? Someone could put a weapon inside the small bag inside the bookbag...
Well, ummmm, I attempted to answer your assertion that Columbine was anything like (almost) all inner city schools. Some overzealous admin moderator apparently didn't like what I had to say and did not allow the post to take place. Pity!! You would've been much better educated.
Books, their purchase and the propaganda within them is just another aspect of the Public Education Con.
W
Correction
Text Books, their purchase and the propaganda within them is just another aspect of the Public Education Con.
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