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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Hottest New Trend in Children's Fashion? Anything Bulletproof
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One of the biggest companies capitalizing on the anxieties of parents and educators is Miguel Caballero. Mr. Caballero started the company in 1992 in Bogota, Colombia, during the country's brutal drug war. While studying business in college, he had a classmate who was the daughter of a Colombian politician who refused to wear protective gear because it was heavy, hot, indiscreet, and not stylish. Caballero recognized a need and a large market for stylish protective clothing, and got to work. The first product was a bulletproof leather jacket. Today, the company has distributors in 15 countries, most of which are in Latin America, as well as others such as Hong Kong and Dubai. Now he's known as the Giorgio Armani of body-armor, shooting his employees while designing the latest in battle-ready fashion for Middle Eastern princes, Latin American dictators, and Steven Seagal, who recently purchased a bulletproof kimono.
Caballero's most recent venture? Enter MC Kids. Conceived of in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre, MC Kids is a clothing line for children consisting of bullet-proof puffer-vests, backpacks, and t-shirts, among other items. Most of these items offer what is known as "Level II," or medium protection, meaning they can withstand attacks from a variety of weapons such as knives, revolvers, pistols, and even Uzis. According to the site of MCs U.S. distributor, Elite Sterling Security, MC Kids clothing can cost anywhere from $295 for a backpack to over a thousand for a puffer-vest.
For better or worse, bullet-proof items for children are not yet likely to be widespread in U.S. schools for the simple reason that they are expensive. In an era of slashed budgets, few school districts can afford to fund the cost of items like the Ballistic Safety Vest, which retails for almost $400 dollars per item. Nonetheless, sales are still impressive. According to Elite Sterling, over 300 MC Kids backpacks have been sold in the past two months. Companies such as Massachusetts-based BulletBlocker have also reported a 300% increase in sales of their own backpacks since the shooting. For families seeking to bulletproof their little ones with something a little more stylish, Salt Lake City company Amendment II offers nanotube armor-infused backpacks decorated with Avengers and Disney princesses. Apparently business has been good enough for Miguel Caballero as well, because he now plans to expand MC Kids to Canada and Mexico.
Gun-control advocates see things like MC Kids as part of a disturbing trend. They say that taking these steps normalizes public schools as potential battlefields and accepts the status quo, rather than attacking the source of school violence. But for most parents and educators, it is simply a reflection of the reality of a society awash in guns, where school children increasingly are facing the same threats once only known to soldiers and law enforcement, and a government unable or unwilling to do anything about it.
More: http://www.policymic.com/articles/38185/gun-control-debate-2013-the-hottest-new-trend-in-children-s-fashion-anything-bulletproof
TheMightyFavog
(13,770 posts)If some psycho comes in with any sort of longarm, that vest will be about as useful as a condom machine in a nunnery.
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)logic, (or thinking) keeps you going around and around.
Profit models are a wonderful way to cast life. Sell more of something and then sell a solution to what that more of something requires in response. Cashing-in, regardless of the impact, is what life as a commodity is all about.
You are, on average, worth about $250,000 in parts if you are the right age, health an size. Your investment into this culture after death may be more than you will ever be worth alive if you donate your corpse to the harvest.
And now, should we have anything to do with each other here if we get no return on our investment? Oh, I don't mean opinions and views and facts and figures. What's the bottom-line?
pipoman
(16,038 posts)Mother do you think they'll drop the bomb?
Mother do you think they'll like this song?
Mother do you think they'll try to break my balls?
Mother should I build the wall?
Mother should I run for president?
Mother should I trust the government?
Mother will they put me in the firing line?
Mother am I really dying?
Hush now baby, baby, dont you cry.
Mother's gonna make all your nightmares come true.
Mother's gonna put all her fears into you.
Mother's gonna keep you right here under her wing.
She wont let you fly, but she might let you sing.
Mama will keep baby cozy and warm.
Ooooh baby ooooh baby oooooh baby,
Of course mama'll help to build the wall.
Mother do you think she's good enough -- to me?
Mother do you think she's dangerous -- to me?
Mother will she tear your little boy apart?
Mother will she break my heart?
Hush now baby, baby dont you cry.
Mama's gonna check out all your girlfriends for you.
Mama wont let anyone dirty get through.
Mama's gonna wait up until you get in.
Mama will always find out where you've been.
Mama's gonna keep baby healthy and clean.
Ooooh baby oooh baby oooh baby,
You'll always be baby to me.
Mother, did it need to be so high?
Turborama
(22,109 posts)Thanks for adding the lyrics to this thread.
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)of the Freedom Helmets, yet?
SwissTony
(2,560 posts)Please tell me this is from The Onion!!!!