Parents rebel against mask mandate for students in school
Parents throughout the country have rallied against school coronavirus mandates to push back against masks and other policies, resulting in tense scenes, some of which prompted a police presence.
On Tuesday, parents from the Granite School District in Salt Lake County, Utah, erupted at a local school board meeting that later turned into a full-scale protest. Unruly attendees repeatedly chanted “no more masks!” at the meeting while some in the crowd approached top brass in the district, forcing the gathering to a halt.
Law enforcement was alerted to the display, and police are in the process of identifying the "main aggressors" who could face legal repercussions, district spokesman Ben Horsley told WGNTV. The demonstration followed comments from Utah Gov. Spencer Cox who has said face coverings will be required for the next school year. Adults have also filed a lawsuit on the matter in an effort to repeal the COVID-19 protocols.
One of the parents present at the meeting, Monica Wilbur, argued that children are less susceptible to the virus than their adult counterparts.
"One size does not fit all, and adults who have higher risks should not project their fears or expect the youth to carry the burden of those fears," she can be heard saying.
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In the past few weeks, calls to end COVID-19 protocols have been amplified amid a downturn in cases and a widespread vaccine rollout across the country. Parents such as Georgia mother Courtney Ann Taylor continue to insist that the regulations hurt children both socially and emotionally.
Taylor's remarks to a Gwinnett County Board of Education went viral toward the end of April.
“Every month, I come here, and I hear the same thing. Social [and] emotional health,” Taylor said on April 15. “If you truly mean that, you would end the mask requirement tonight.”
"Every one of us knows that young children are not affected by this virus. … And that’s a blessing," she continued. "But, as the adults, what have we done with that blessing? We’ve shoved it to the side, and we’ve said, ‘We don’t care. You’re still going to wear a mask on your face every day. … You still can’t play together on the playground like normal children. … We don’t care. We’re still going to force you to carry a burden that was never yours to carry.’ Shame on us."
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On April 28, police were called after Arizona parents forced their way into a meeting of the Vail School Board, which oversees a district in Tucson, and demanded the mask mandate come to an end. Some 100 parents, many of whom brought their children, protested the policy, and the meeting was subsequently canceled due to safety concerns.
In response, attendees held their own election and purported to select new school board members who would rescind the face-covering requirement. The staged election was not legitimate, and it followed an executive order from Gov. Doug Ducey on April 19, which ended guidance that recommended schools implement mask mandates.
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I have grown weary of wearing a mask, especially in the Texas heat. I suspect the lockdown crowd will have a political problem in future elections. At this point, it appears to be a liberal control freak problem more than a pandemic problem.
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