When a Texas father wanted to show his support for COVID-19 mask mandates in schools, he went straight to the source. Last week, the state of Texas stopped enforcing Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) ban on COVID-19 mask mandates in schools, but the issue remains divisive in the state. James Akers laid out the facts about masks in a fully clothed speech to the Dripping Springs Independent School District board of trustees on Monday night.
“I do not like the government, or any other entity, telling me what to do,” Akers said fully clothed, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “But sometimes I’ve got to push the envelope a little bit. And I’ve decided I’m not just going to talk about it, I’m going to walk the walk.”
He then pointed to his clothes for the meeting and expressed his displeasure with the office attire.
“At work they make me wear this jacket. I hate it,” he said while removing the offending garment.
He continued: “They make me wear this shirt and tie. I hate it,” while taking those off.
Akers told the board that on his way to the meeting, he ran three stop signs and four red lights; claiming that he has “every right to drive as fast as I want,” and that he parked in a handicapped-accessible spot outside the meeting.
COVID-19 mask mandates: “It’s simple protocol. We follow certain rules for a very good reason”
Akers stripped down to his bathing suit before stating his main point: Rules are in place for a reason.
“It’s a simple protocol, people,” he said. “We follow certain rules. We follow certain rules for a very good reason.”
Akers’ speech drew a lot of positive and negative feedback on a Dripping Springs Facebook page, as you might expect. But Akers told local station KXAN that he had a good reason for the dressing-down.
“There are too many voices out there that I think are digging in for political reasons, and absolutely just not thinking about the common-sense decisions we make every day to comply with everything from driving down the road and being safe and courteous to other drivers to not parking in handicapped spots,” he said. “All these rules that we’re given every day that we follow because they make sense.”
Although no action on masks was taken at the meeting, the Star-Telegram reported that in the face of rising COVID-19 cases, some Texas school districts are attempting to implement mask mandates.