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- One Texas parent stripped down to his underwear during a school board meeting on masks.
- He took off his clothes to make a point that he did not like being told what to do or what to wear.
- But he added that mask rules are "simple protocol" that should be followed "for a very good reason."
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A Texas parent stripped down to his underwear during a school board meeting to advocate for mask-wearing earlier this week.
James Akers, the father of a Dripping Springs Independent School District high-schooler, attended a school board meeting on mask-wearing on August 23. Each person was allotted one-and-a-half minutes to speak.
Akers argued for mask protocols to be put in place for schools in the community, despite the inconvenience.
"I do not like the government or any other entity – just ask my wife – telling me what to do," said Akers while he removed his shirt and jacket. "At work, they make me wear this jacket. I hate it. They make me wear this shirt and tie. I hate it."
Akers continued to remove the rest of the clothes while describing how people abide by rules like stopping at red lights and not parking in handicapped parking spots for the good of the community.
"It's simple protocol, people," Akers said while undoing his trousers and dropping his pants to wolf-whistles and applause. "We follow certain rules for a very good reason."
Akers was not asked to leave the forum but put his clothes back on when asked to do so.
"Mr. Akers, I understand - I believe you're a swimmer - but if you would mind putting your pants back on for a comment, that would be appreciated," said Barbara Stroud, the school board president.
As of August 6, the Dripping Springs school district's health protocol said that masks are optional in schools. However, the school board on August 16 said it would recommend that masks be worn on campus, though this does not constitute a full mandate.
Akers spoke to NBC affiliate KXAN-TV after the meeting and told the channel that he "stripped in front of the whole board to prove a point about social norms and what we do every day, with each other."
"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-TV. "All these rules that we're given every day we follow because they make sense."
According to The New York Times, Hays County, where the Dripping Springs school system is located, has had more than 27,000 reported COVID infections and 303 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
In May, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott barred schools from issuing mask mandates. However, school districts have defied his order and asked teachers and students to mask up on campuses. The governor's ban on face coverings has also attracted legal challenges, and it was reported on August 20 that Texas would temporarily stop enforcing Abbott's ban on mask mandates in public schools while those challenges are being addressed.
Across the state of Texas, COVID cases have been up 20% over the last 14 days, and the state clocked a daily average of 17,022 new infections on August 25, per the New York Times COVID-19 case tracker.