Going to School with a Bulletproof Backpack

August 21, 2019

Published in La Nacion
(Argentina) on 11 August 2019
by Mariano Donadío (link to original link to original)

Translated from by Madeleine Ramsey. Edited by Elizabeth Cosgriff.

School is supposed to be a refuge for young people from violence on the street, but mass shootings in U.S. high schools and universities are turning this belief on its head.

In the United States, just as students are returning to school after vacation, one of the most searched-for items by students is a bulletproof backpack. “The backpack is designed first of all to be a very stylish and nice-looking backpack” says Gabi Siboni, director of ArmorMe, a business dedicated to personal defense items. “And it has panels that protect you against bullets. It will increase your survival chances.” Each backpack costs between $100 to $200 and can be converted into a bulletproof vest that is resistant to shotgun and handgun bullets.

A common saying is that school and college are places where young people go to “arm themselves in preparation for the big wide world.” Let us contest this metaphor that young people should arm themselves against life. Let us recognize that school is also the world.

Ir a la escuela con mochilas antibalas

Se suponía que la calle era peligrosa y que la escuela era un refugio para los jóvenes, pero los tiroteos en las secundarias y las universidades norteamericanas están dando vuelta esta creencia.

En los Estados Unidos, donde llegó ahora el momento de regresar a clases, uno de los artículos más buscados por los estudiantes es una novedosa mochila a prueba de balas. "La mochila está diseñada con un estilo muy moderno y atractivo", dice Gabi Siboni, director de ArmorMe, una empresa dedicada a artículos de defensa personal. "Además, tiene paneles que protegen de las balas. Aumentará las posibilidades de supervivencia". Cada mochila cuesta entre cien y doscientos dólares y puede desplegarse para convertirse en un chaleco resistente a balas de escopeta y pistolas de mano.

Un lugar común sugiere que la escuela y la universidad son los lugares donde los adolescentes "encuentran armas para defenderse en el mundo". Discutamos esta metáfora de que los jóvenes deben salir armados a la vida. Reconozcamos que la escuela es, también, el mundo.

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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