One Texas dad wanted to make a big impression on why mask mandates were necessary at the school board meeting he was attending.
He did by making a very large choice—stripping down to a bathing suit.
James Akers stood up to give his piece and lead with:
"I do not like the government, or any other entity, telling me what to do."
"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."
From there, he started removing bits of his clothing, noting each and every piece was mandated by his place of employment.
Akers, while stripping, then said he ran a bunch of stoplights and red lights as well as co-opted a handicap parking space because he sardonically noted he has "every right to drive as fast as I want to."
PS I love this dude— P\u00e8nd\u00e9 \u00d4. Connard (@P\u00e8nd\u00e9 \u00d4. Connard) 1629913465
Dropping trou in a board meeting. This is where we are. Fighting crazy with crazy.— WuWei2019 (@WuWei2019) 1629914334
I LOVED it! What a hoot. Clearly explaining that there a dozens of things we do every day to be part of a community. But when the board member said \u201cI understand you are a swimmer, but can you please put your pants back on.\u201d— Mary \ud83d\udc49Get Vaccinated\ud83d\udc49FDA Approved (@Mary \ud83d\udc49Get Vaccinated\ud83d\udc49FDA Approved) 1629914154
Can this gentleman do this at all the government hearings where people think mask wearing is a person's free choice?— Mat Kostrinsky (@Mat Kostrinsky) 1629949352
I\u2019m betting all the anti-maskers thought he was on their side at the start. :-)\n\nEXCELLENT demonstration!— Ed Loebach (@Ed Loebach) 1629983021
Gotta say, dude took it to them. Took a lot of balls - well ok, that\u2019s hyperbole.— Hoodie4u \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Hoodie4u \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1629914593
That\u2019s one way to get your Point across\u2026\n\nI\u2019m all for it, but better camera angle next time please— RUTHless VACCINATurner (@RUTHless VACCINATurner) 1629934677
That was awesome and funny! Great way to support masks!— Sabrina\u2764\ufe0f (@Sabrina\u2764\ufe0f) 1629913736
Eventually, by the time Akers was down to his bathing suit, he made his point.
"It's simple protocol, people. We follow certain rules. We follow certain rules for a very good reason."
"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...."
"All these rules that we're given every day that we follow, because they make sense."
Pants mandates are communism!!— Hirdygirdyman (@Hirdygirdyman) 1629917289
Devilish genius!— @carlofiori (@@carlofiori) 1629917664
You dropped this, King— Ken Moodie (@Ken Moodie) 1629929330
Are you SURE he was being sardonic?— D.J. Ponsegrau II (@D.J. Ponsegrau II) 1629913327
Some Texas school districts are currently considering mask mandates to mitigate the spread of the delta variant, which has caused a nationwide surge in cases.
They come in direct conflict with Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who has banned mask orders in schools. However, some schools have loopholed masks in by making them a part of the dress code.
@PreetBharara/X
@RepBrendanBoyle/X
@twesq/Bluesky
@christopherharris/Bluesky
@evangelinewarren/X
@FrankC164/X
AMC