I totally understand it is not needed, this was a straw man intended to detract from the idea that body armor is something alien and unnecessary for the general

I totally understand it is not needed, this was a straw man intended to detract from the idea that body armor is something alien and unnecessary for the general public. It is a personal protection item like any other. Is it useful in New York City or Lisbon? Probably not. But the same applies to other PPEs and we don't shame people for wanting to buy/use them. If a person feels safer using X, then fine, use it. As a society we used to mock people that bought Gas Masks and Respirators, marginalizing them as crazy. Then 2020 happened and all of a sudden every single gas mask, including useless old surplus, was out of stock.