We've witnessed how the pandemic united people who understood that humanity will win this battle only if we will help each other out. Simple things like being more generous to those who need it or going to grocery stores for the more vulnerable, so they don’t have to. We've witnessed countries helping one another, sending humanitarian help, protective equipment, donating vaccines, etc.
On the other hand, we've observed a huge divide in society: there are people who are willing to wear masks, get vaccinated and just try their best to not spread the virus and there are others who don’t believe in the virus or that the vaccines will help them and think that every restriction made by governments is a violation of their human rights.
People who believe in their truth are trying to convince the other side to change their minds, but that rarely happens. However, this doesn’t mean that they will stop. Recently, a new story went viral of a dad giving a speech in which he encourages people to wear masks because that will help to protect each other and even his 5-year-old daughter gets it.
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As COVID-19 cases spike, schools are discussing how to continue with the learning process in a safe way
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On August 10, Williamson County Board of Education held a special meeting regarding COVID safety protocols and it was decided to implement a mask mandate policy for elementary school students, staff and visitors until September 21 when they are inside the school and buses.
The discussion of wearing masks came up because COVID cases are on the rise and it is confirmed that the delta variant is much more contagious than the previous ones.
However, that decision caused some heated reactions and concerned parents who opposed the new requirement were harassing those who voted in favor of it.
The obvious solution is to make students and teachers wear masks, but after a school in Tennessee did that, the decision faced protest
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However, there were parents who supported the mask mandate and a dad went viral for his speech on Twitter
Image credits: Williamson County Television
On August 16, the board held its regular August meeting and the mask question came up again. Parents who came to the meeting were given an opportunity to speak their minds and one dad went viral on Twitter for his little speech as the whole meeting was recorded.
The dad is Justin Kanew, the founder of the Tennessee Holler, a former Congressional candidate, and he has a 5-year-old daughter who just started kindergarten. He says that he didn’t plan on saying anything, but something made him change his mind.
The clip of him speaking was shared on Twitter and watched over a million times. Each person who wanted to give a public comment was given 2 minutes in the meeting and Justin didn’t even need that long to make his point.
In his speech, the dad said that his daughter, who is 5 years old, completely understood that wearing a mask will protect others
He said that even his 5-year-old daughter understands that by wearing a mask, you’re protecting others and it’s really not that hard to do. Justin is disappointed that adults cannot be convinced when people who know better, like scientists, urge us to do it.
Justin spoke to Newsweek and theorized that there isn’t just one reason why people don’t want to wear masks and won’t tell their kids to wear them. He thinks that there is a lot of disinformation and mistrust in science, the media and doctors. He explains that people feel like wearing masks somehow violates their right to freedom even though it’s what would keep them and others safe.
He says that the root, though, is how politicians handled the situation when the virus was just arriving. It wasn’t taken seriously then because the number of cases was low and there were no deaths yet. But when they realized they were wrong, they just didn’t want to admit it.
He was disappointed that adults couldn't grasp that and condemned those who used their religion as an excuse
Image credits: Williamson County Television
At the end, Justin touched on how people make excuses to not wear masks, bringing up their religion. He asked a friend who is a pastor if there is anything in the Bible that would allow that, and surely enough, the pastor said not at all. What the Bible does say is to take care of each other and wearing masks is literally that.
The internet loved Justin's speech and applauded him for speaking some truths. Many were pointing out that it was very brave of him and even though maybe not many in the auditorium were listening to him, a lot of people on the internet got to hear him.
You can watch the clip of Justin talking below
Video credits: TheTNHoller
What is your stance on mandatory masks for students in schools? And what do you think of Justin's reasoning, maybe you have some similar stories? Share your experiences and reactions in the comments!
The majority of people in the comments were praising Justin for speaking up and doing it in calm manner
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