With the coldest months of winter fast approaching, a school in the U.K. has banned luxury coats in order to help “poverty proof” its educational environment. Per Guy Davies (ABC News, 11-19-2018), the head teacher at Woodchurch High School in Wirral, England, moved to ban coats made by expensive brands after consulting with both parents and pupils. POVERTY SHAMING. This decision was made in hopes of preventing ‘poverty shaming’ and to reduce the stress on low-income families to spend beyond their means in order to keep up with higher earners. BANNED COATS. Canada Goose, Montcler and Pyrenex coats were going to be banned after the Christmas break. CANADA GOOSE - NOT WHAT YOU MIGHT THINK. Dr. Perrodin researched Canada Goose expecting to find a flashy clothing style that was geared to teens - but what he found was something much different...Canada Goose started in the 1950s as a small company focused on snowmobile suits and high-quality outdoors clothing - specializing in the use of down insulation. In the 1980s, inspired by one of the coldest places on earth, the Expedition Parka was developed to meet the unique needs of scientists at Antarctica’s McMurdo Station. It becomes standard issue and gains the nickname “Big Red.” In 2004, Canada Goose, which has long been the (un)official jacket of film crews everywhere it’s cold, made its on-screen debut in two key films: The Day After Tomorrow and National Treasure. IS THIS WEALTH SHAMING? Dr. Perrodin acknowledges that many coats displayed on the Canada Goose website sold for a thousand dollars. While this is expensive, he points out that this type of coat is also very specialized for bitter temperatures and also presents with a subtle, classy appearance. He believes it’s the type of coat that should last a decade or longer if properly maintained. 

DR. PERRODIN’S PROBLEMS WITH THE BAN

1. Banning these brands is a sloppy, virtue-signaling attempt at dealing with poverty.
2. Although the article clearly cites reputable research indicating that poverty is increasing amongst youth in Britain, nothing is offered for a solution of the root cause for poverty - such as how to spark economic growth or increase efficiency in machines or services.
3. This type of luxury brand banning can spread unchecked and might jump into such unanticipated areas as orthodontics. In a few years will it be a common expectation that a child “affluent enough” to receive braces must only present with a closed-lip smile as to not shame peers with crooked teeth? This seems silly and dystopian, but is it really that far-fetched?
4. Will banning or “discouraging” be extended to parents? For example, if a parent picks their child up from school in a new BMW, will they be required to park a block away as to not “shame” the other adults and children using less-expensive means of transportation?
5. Is this a step towards eventual wealth re-distribution. For example, will schools with more resources be required to give some of their dollars to “poorer” schools and will adults have their savings accounts shaved by some socialism-focused Robinhood law?

INTELLIGENCE AND ABILITY SHAMING ON THE HORIZON? Dr. Perrodin acknowledges that today it’s wealth shaming and cautions that perhaps tomorrow it will be intelligence shaming. You know what they say in Japan, “The nail that sticks out shall be hammered down.” He closes with the example of the expectations of the person that seated adjacent to the escape hatch on an airplane - will we one day live in a world of ‘hatch-shaming’? FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests and do not reflect positions of The 405 Media or supporters of “The Safety Doc Podcast”. The show adheres to nondiscrimination principles while seeking to bring forward productive discourse & debate on topics relevant to personal or institutional safety. Email David: thesafetydoc@gmail.com LOOKING FOR DR. TIMOTHY LUDWIG, PHD? Dr. Perrodin’s “Safety Doc Podcast” negotiates school and community safety. To be informed about industrial safety, please contact Appalachian State University Professor Dr. Timothy Ludwig, PhD, at www.safety-doc.com 

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A bulbous-ended chunk of wood interrupts the flow of the woodpile. Counter it with another piece that has an off-setting quirk. Yin and yang. Of course, leaving a little room on top of the stack creates a home for the absolute misfits that are either too long or too wonky to finagle into a row. SMOKING OUT THE VALLEY DWELLERS. Dr. Perrodin confesses to having ignited more than a few fires that have fogged his neighbors in the sweet smells of burnt oak and maple. In rare instances, a chilled, damp chimney has condensed smoke and returned it to the fireplace and out the vents and into the room! Yikes, open the sliding doors and turn on the ceiling fan! WHAT HIBBING, MN HAS TO DO WITH A FIREPLACE. A robust fire corresponds to understanding climate conditions. In a brief memoir, David recounts visiting the Hibbing Ore Mine (largest in the United States) with his Dad a few years ago to observe a rare pit blast. Before the detonation, a small plane flew over the site to monitor the air density above the blast area. This step was necessary to prevent a “bounce back” effect of the concussive pressure wave from the blast encountering a dense air layer and reflecting to the ground - putting people and equipment at risk. NO LONGER A TASK COMPLETION SOCIETY. Dr. Perrodin perceives that fewer of life’s activities have a defined start and a defined end and we are enrolled into exhausting “races without finish lines”. This is evident in school safety as there will never be a “completion” of school safety - weapons and strategies will forever mutate and this race without a finish line will continue to burn out, or numb, the most vigilant sprinters. THE GOOD OLD DAYS. It seems that there was more “closure” in the “old” days. A freshly-turned 47-year-old Dr. Perrodin remembers painting fences; mowing lawns; and replacing spark plugs and wires. He also longs for the almost unfathomable reality of an elementary school with a large fireplace in every classroom. THE ZEN OF STACKING WOOD. David no longer engages in marathon sessions of hauling cords of chaotically-strewn wood from his garage to his basement - tipping the point of total physical exhaustion. Those days of mere task completion were replaced with task appreciation as this fall Dr. Perrodin transported the wrecked-heap of wood from his garage to his basement over the span of four days. The slower, more deliberate process allowed David to assess each piece of wood and determine how to best finagle it into the developing stacks. He shares the “Zen” quality of this previously dreaded task. HUMIDITY RISES. The gift of newly-stacked firewood is the humidity it breathes into a dry house - the comforting thickness of hardwood fragrance seemingly projecting the warmth that would soon be delivered by roaring fires and a toasty stone wall that would surrender heat hours after the red faded from the coals. FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests and do not reflect positions of The 405 Media or supporters of “The Safety Doc Podcast”. The show adheres to nondiscrimination principles while seeking to bring forward productive discourse & debate on topics relevant to personal or institutional safety. Email David: thesafetydoc@gmail.com LOOKING FOR DR. TIMOTHY LUDWIG, PHD? Dr. Perrodin’s “Safety Doc Podcast” negotiates school and community safety. To be informed about industrial safety, please contact Appalachian State University Professor Dr. Timothy Ludwig, PhD, at www.safety-doc.com

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