WATCH: Texas Parent Strips to His Undies at School Board Meeting in Pro-Mask Statement
A school board meeting in Dripping Springs, TX took a bizarre turn on Monday when a local parent started taking off his clothes in order to make a point in favor of wearing masks in school.
The forum was convened to review the school board’s various agenda items to be submitted for discussion at the board’s regular meeting later in the month. The board wound up hearing from a number of local parents though who wanted to talk about the school’s policy on mask-wearing.
One of the parents who spoke up was James Akers, who prefaced his remarks by saying “I do not like the government or any other entity — just ask my wife — telling me what to do.” From there, Akers continued with an ironic spiel about rules, laws and other facets of society that people put up with for the common good.
At work, they make me wear this jacket. I hate it. They make me wear this shirt and tie. I hate it. On the way over here, I ran three stop signs and four red lights. I almost killed somebody out there, but by God, they’re my roads too. So I have every right to drive as fast as I want to, make the turns that I want to. I got over here to the school today, and the parking lot was full, and I decided I was going to park wherever the hell I wanted to, which, in this case, happened to be a handicap [spot].
Akers underlined his remarks by taking off his clothes, and the meeting crescendoed when he eventually stripped down to his underwear.
“It’s simple protocol, people,” Akers said. “We follow certain rules for a very good reason.”
Board President Barbara Stroud asked Akers to put his pants back on. Akers complied and later fist-bumped the security officer who escorted him back to his seat.
KXAN spoke to Akers about the incident, and he explained himself by saying “there’s 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 everyday to comply with everything.”
Watch above, via Dripping Springs ISD and KXAN.
