Hey I think there's a bomb in that sneaker! He looks suspicious.

My son's middle school has had a clear backpack policy for about 10 years now. Nothing ever goes on there, so I'm not sure why they have it, to tell the truth.

odd.

btw, google is our friend, through there I finally found Taz' comment:
Now, who wants to go into business with me on the Next Big Thing: 100% see-thru bags, belts, briefcases and backpacks?

My son's middle school has had a clear backpack policy for about 10 years now.

Are you serious? That's the strangest thing I've ever heard. Every kid has to have a see-through backpack? What if they choose to carry a different sort of bag? Does that have to be see-through too?

Yeah I guess I need to clear-ify my statement. Any bag has to be clear. So far the only ones I've seen are backpacks and messenger bags, and one or two tote bags. About 85% backpacks.

Wow.

Ah yes, these have been around for years. All the Baltimore public schools make the kids carry clear backpacks. Not only that, but when my daughter worked as a server at Cracker Barrel, they were issued clear purses & that was the only bag they were allowed to bring to work.

Clear backpacks were/are pretty big in the rave world. I'm not sure if it's just 'cause they're goofy-cyber looking, or they make it easier to find stuff in 'em, or it makes it easier for security guards to search through or what.

They are kind of handy for finding stuff in, but they're mostly hideous to look at. Plus they aren't very strong, and they don't breathe at all.

Wow indeed. I almost have to believe that iconomy is pulling our legs on this one. A school that requires students to have see-through bags? For real?

On preview - I guess she is serious. For a country that prides itself on civil liberties, you sure accept some fucking strange restrictions on what you can do. I suggest you take one of these and call me in the morning.

The company hopes that seeing the bag's contents will assure commuters that it does not contain explosives.
Because, of course, every single commuter is intimately aware of what explosives look like.

What a crock of shit.

Sweet, now it'll be easier to see which bag I should swipe.

Freedom Bags - well that's doublespeak in action right there.

Well, I think it's a slightly less useful thing than it appears, but this all got started with these.

It's been effectively established that public school students in the uS have very few actual civil liberties. Their lockers can be searched without probable cause, their speech is subject to prior restraint, and they have to wear uniforms and see-through backpacks when required. Just count yourself lucky if your school isn't one of those that have (unnecessary and ineffective) metal detectors, as well.

Foucault, of course, would say that this isn't about protection at all, but control. The backpacks are see-through not so that you can, you know, see through them, but because it communicates to the bearer that their lives are under scrutiny.

By the way, see-through means "mesh" at my niece/nephew's high school. It's pretty simple -- all the stores in town carry the approved brands, you can pick up a cheap one for

Fuck they look ugly. I'll keep my non-clear bag thanks.

I keep all my explosives inside a brown paper bag in my clear backpack. No problem for me!

I've heard about the clear backpack thing in schools too. And then there are some schools where you are not allowed to carry a bag during the day at all...it has to stay in your locker and you just carry your books, notebooks, etc. Occasionally, you can't bring a bag to school at all.

So does that mean we need clear bags for non-clear bags inside your main clear bag? I'm getting confused.

i got some of the small clear bags to keep inside big clear bags, but no big clear bags yet and no clear hard nox types thinsg for stuff I'd rather not crush. Also picked up a clear raincoat, a clear umbrella and some clear bra-straps.. I don't wanna know where this is heading do I?

Fuck they look ugly. I'll keep my non-clear bag thanks.

It kind of sounds like you might be trying to hide something in there, sjvilla79.

*murmurs into walkie-talkie*

Well my cover is blown now. Who would have thought posting on the Internet would reveal my evil tendencies! Move along people. Nothing to see here.

Oh? What about the suicide vest problem? They gonna start making people wear translucent fucking jackets on the metros too?

Christ. Might as well take it to the logical endpoint and legislate public nudity. If nothing else it may go a long way toward ending this psychotic Puritanical fixation we Americans have with the human body.

Of course, that doesn't solve the problem of people stuffing explosives up their arse, now, does it?

dg, don't tell everyone my plan. That's the best part of training with Al Qaeda! It is of course an undocumented feature of their manual. Osama told me only 'special' members got the dynamite up the clacker treatment. I guess I was lucky. ;)

Disclaimer: I am telling porkies. Please know that.