A Texas father stripped down to his underwear at a school board meeting in a bid to make a point about the necessity of mask mandates.
James Akers, who is a parent of a student at a school in the Dripping Springs Independent School District, urged officials to make face masks mandatory in its schools as he removed his clothes piece by piece.
The school district has enacted a policy whereby face masks will be optional in the upcoming school year, as reported by San Antonio Express-News.
And at a recent school board meeting, residents argued over whether the policy should be amended in order to ensure Covid-19 safety measures are being followed.
Take a look at the moment the father removed items of clothing one by one:Few of the residents, however, were as passionate as Akers, who did away with his formal attire in a room full of other locals and officials.
Moments before the stunt, the dad explained: "I'm here to say that I do not like the government, or any other entity, telling me what to do. But sometimes I’ve got to push the envelope a little bit. And I’ve decided I’m not just going to talk about it, I’m going to walk the walk."
To the disbelief of everyone present at the meeting, Akers then started taking off his clothes, explaining that, like those who detest wearing face masks, he is not particularly keen on wearing his suit.
He said: "At work, they make me wear this jacket. I hate it. They make me wear this shirt and tie. I hate it."
In jest, Akers then proceeded to say that he ran a red light while making his way to the meeting and, as a result, "almost killed somebody".
"But, by God, it's my road, too," Akers said as he unbuttoned his shirt. "So I have every right to drive as fast as I want to, make the turns that I want to."
Ultimately, though, Akers knows that there are certain rules in place for the benefit of a smooth-running society.
So, unlike those who don't like wearing face masks, he chooses to wear his suit, as required by his workplace's dress policy, and he also makes sure he drives safely so that he doesn't cause any accidents simply because he felt he had the "right" to go whenever he wanted to.
"It’s simple protocol, people. We follow certain rules. We follow certain rules for a very good reason," James explained.
