Bulletproof Backpacks

While there are many reasons I wish to remain childfree, dissatisfaction with the world at large has never been one of them. The argument of "I don't want to bring a child into this crazy world" is one I've heard many times, but never really related to. Until I read a story in the news this morning about bulletproof backpacks.

These backpacks were created by a concerned father in Boston in the wake of Columbine and other school shooting disasters. I can't say it's not a good idea. You put your arms through the straps and the bag acts like a shield. Why not have one, just to be safe? But the fact that my hypothetical child could ever even possibly need this item is enough to make me not want to have a child at all.

As the article points out, most schools today are considered safe, but that doesn't mean anything. I'm sure Columbine was considered safe until the shooting there, and I don't think Virginia Tech was a particularly dangerous college campus.

The bottom line is that the fact that these bags even exist is a sad social commentary, and in a time when we also have to worry about AIDS, drugs, poverty, bird flu, hurricanes, Iraq, and God knows what else, I find it a relief to be able to cross at least one item off the list of social ills that could personally affect my family and me.