In a four-hour meeting of August 5th, the Johnson County (Kansas) board eventually passed a mask mandate for kids in K-6, but it was not without incident. Nearly every speaker was nuts and vehemently against masks, but probably none more so than this lady here. The measure passed by a 5-2 margin for K-6, but failed for older kids.
Source: KSHB
More than 90 people had signed up to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting. All were allowed to speak for two minutes, some virtually and others in-person.
Among concerns of those against the mandate were those who said the board was indulging in "political theater" and teaching children they are not in charge of their own bodies.
Kansas State Sen. Cindy Holscher of Overland Park spoke at Thursday's meeting in favor of the mandate.
She compared COVID-19 to children playing on railroad tracks.
“If the train is coming, I beg you to do the right thing: get the kids off the track,” she said.
...
Holscher was booed on her way out as she put on her mask, according to KSHB 41 News crews at the meeting. Board Chairman Ed Eilert asked attendees to exhibit some decorum.
And more. via KCUR
Opponents of the order framed it as a question of government imposition on personal liberty, with sentiments including, “My body, my choice, and “My child my choice,” repeated on Thursday.
Emily Coleman, who was recently named to the county’s Southeast Consolidated Zoning Board and some others, referenced the Tuskegee syphilis study of 1932-72 in which African-American men were lied to and used as test subjects in order to observe untreated syphilis.
“This has never been about health. Your government only wants you around so they can experiment on you while stealing your money,” Coleman said.
Others disregarded the steep drop in COVID cases after vaccines became widely available and used the recent uptick in illness as proof that masks don’t work, rather than attributing it to the evolution of the virus and a relaxation of public health measures.
Some opponents called the order “tyranny” or “child abuse” and repeated conspiracy theories.
Mallory Martinet held up a “trafficking” sign and ended her comments with “Trump won.”
So this happened at a city board of commissioners meeting regarding masking in schools last week. (Link to board’s original post in comments) pic.twitter.com/vcQ2VxwHsI
— Jerri🌻Jamz (@JerriJamz) August 13, 2021
