A school board meeting in Dripping Springs, Texas took a bizarre turn on Monday when a parent stripped down to his undies in support of mask wearing.
The meeting was suppose to be about reviewing various items to be discussed at next week’s regular board meeting, but those who spoke were really focused on whether or not there will be changes to the district’s current mask optional policy.
One of the parents who spoke at the meeting in support of mask wearing in schools was James Akers, who stripped down to his underwear to point out all the different rules and laws in place for people to follow, video shows.
“I’m here to say I do not like government, or any other entity telling me what to do,” Akers began. “But, sometimes I’ve got to push the envelope a little bit, and I’ve just decided that I’m going to not just talk about it, but I’m going to walk the walk.”
“At work, they make me wear this jacket. I hate it. They make me wear this shirt and tie. I hate it. They make me wear this shirt and tie. I hate it,” Akers said while removing his clothing. “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].”
“It’s simple protocol, people,” Akers continued after taking his pants off. “We follow certain rules for a very good reason.”
Board president Barbara Stroud, asked Akers to put his pants back on. He complied and was not removed from the meeting.
Masks are currently recommended as an option by officials in the district, but are not mandated for students, staff and other district personnel, according to KXAN.
“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,” Akers told KXAN. “All these rules that we’re given every day that we follow, because they make sense.”
The board did not take any action on masks at Monday’s meeting.
