This past week a company in Oklahoma, ProTecht, has been in the news with record sales of their Bodyguard Blanket. Developed to be a protective device for school children, it was tested and proved to be able to stop 90% of the ammunition from frequently used guns involved in school shootings. Side rant* Frequently used guns in school shootings? Really? Has it come to this? School shooters now have weapons of choice? Are you kidding me? The next thing you know they'll have their own gun shops, support groups, websites and chat rooms....if they don't already.... I'd also like to know about the other 10% of the ammunition that got through the "binky of safety" or whatever the hell they call it..... What guns were those and how frequently were they used?.... and another thing.... Alright....back on point. The "blanket" (which oddly resembles the mat I used to drink milk and take naps on in kindergarten) has straps on the reverse side that mimic a backpack so that children can slip it on easily and cover themselves. Not alone in this quest for the perfect pre-pubescent protective product (say that 3 times fast), other companies like Mighty Mojo, Bullet Blocker and Body Guard are popping up all over the country in battle with each other over acquiring our children's defensive dollars while gaining ground at the stock exchange. Bulletproof backpacks, whiteboards, backpack inserts and classroom door covers are just a few of the products, along with the "blanket", that are available to the public and being pitched to school systems nationwide. Ranging from $150.00 upwards to $2000.00 it seems that these companies have actually put a price on our children's safety as well as a target on our bank accounts.
Ok.... Enough.... STOP!....Lets all get off the panic driven, full rapid fire, scary Psycho music merry-go-round for a minute and look at this in a realistic light from behind the bulletproof horsey. First of all, if there is one thing that Americans love to do when they panic is spending money.... lots of it.... ridiculous amounts of it.... and these companies know it. Our society loves throwing money at problems, but never gets very much bang for their bastion buck. Most of the time the only thing that happens is that the amount of money in our wallets gets smaller while the problem gets larger. The only ones benefiting from these products are the manufacturing companies shareholders. And despite experts disputing their effectiveness, they're being purchased in record numbers and their stock projections are soaring.
Ken Trump, a Cleveland based school safety consultant asked, "If you need a bulletproof backpack, wouldn't the child need a bulletproof frontpack?....and a helmet?..... and a Captain America shield? (My kind of thinking, exactly.). Michael Dorn (No.... not Worf) the executive director of Safe Haven International, a non-profit organization that conducts school safety assessments, claims that although being constantly bombarded by armored product pitches, "They are not practical from a cost benefit standpoint.". He recommends better drill processes and improved student supervision as a better course of action for more productive safety efforts. All the while, the above mentioned companies are busy back ordering these products as you read.
Protection for our children isn't as simple as purchasing a backpack or having them throw a blanket over themselves when a teacher tells them to. As usual, my fellow Observer, we look for a solution with products instead of people. More often than not, the root of the problem lies with how we deal with it in the first place. Although some statisticians claim that school shootings are declining, the numbers still show more than 28 people have been killed in the 122 shootings since Sandy Hook. That's almost one shooting per week in the past 2 1/2 years. This is the trend. This is the reality. This is the problem that is not going away. Every day we send our children to school we face the possibility of losing them and buying them a protective lunchbox with advanced stealth technology will not change that fact. Our ability to purchase items on the free market will not save our kids no matter how much the salesman claims they will.
Educating our children is essential to their well being. We now live in a time where no matter how much we would like to, how much we want to, we do not have the luxury of keeping the truth from them. They need to be aware that not only should they not take candy from strangers or get into a car with someone they don't know, they have to understand that other threats exist where they can be harmed and it is our responsibility to make them understand the serious nature of these threats without being vague. As parents, we can not stress enough to our children that they should do exactly what their teachers, faculty members and other authority figures instruct them to do and we have to be proactive in just what those instructions and actions are. Our perception of reality has to reflect the present day. For our children's sake, denial is not a path we should even consider following.
Another thing we shouldn't tolerate, my loyal reader, is the political tactic of our legislators posturing on a platform that proposes the risk of our children's safety being compromised. If there is one thing that drives me ballistically bonkers is when adults use children as leverage. Be it in divorce proceedings or as of late, in some town's budget disputes. Statements that suggest that if the bean counters don't get the concessions they want, they might just have to cut some security protocols in our schools is dirty pool no matter how much chlorine your using. I find it unfathomable to comprehend someone sinking that low. As far as I'm concerned these people are no better than the ones who draw a weapon in a school or at a park. At least they usually have a mental condition to explain their actions. How do these lower than pond scum, poor excuses for amoebas explain theirs?
As parents of a school aged child my wife and I are sadly at the mercy of chance. We have no guarantees or certainties when it comes to our daughters safety and although we don't like it, we have to accept it. Acknowledging one's reality instead of ignoring it is not easy, but necessary in protecting ourselves and our families. Safety products may be all the rave but by no means do they make our children any safer than not having them at all. The answer to our problem does not come in a box that we order online, paying out a small fortune or dressing our children in Kevlar from head to toe. Education, awareness and involvement are the keys in unlocking the security of our school children. No matter what these manufacturers come up with next, they will never replace the common sense that we should all implement in raising our children. Strictly an Observation. If you'll excuse me, I have a budget meeting to attend.
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