Parents, Teachers Say Anti-Masking Parents Are Bullies Who Have Kids Who Are Bullies.
BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2021 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — Parents and teachers contacting BocaNewsNow.com say they are growing increasingly concerned that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wants kids who wear masks to be bullied.
“Teachers are frustrated,” said Susan, a woman we are identifying only as a middle school teacher in South Palm Beach County. “Parents who are against masks are by and large bullies, and their kids are often bullies, too. If masking is optional because of DeSantis, we are going to be spending time trying to protect kids who want to wear masks from kids whose parents told them not to.”
Parents contacting BocaNewsNow.com are sharing similar concerns.
“My kids do the right thing,” said Joseph, the dad of two children at a Boca Raton area elementary school. “If masking is optional, they’ll be targeted by kids who have parents who are doing the wrong thing. It’s going to be a very difficult, sad school year if leaders don’t step up to the biggest bully of them all, Gov. DeSantis.”
Gov. DeSantis on Friday threatened to sign an executive order prohibiting mask mandates in schools. The Broward County School Board this week voted to start the year with a mandatory mask policy. That led several parents — largely accused as being crazy or irrational by others — to make claims that masks stunt growth, don’t work, are the work of Nazis, or are a form of child abuse.
But the Centers for Disease Control says masks are needed to curb the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant which is affecting kids.
In a media event early Friday, Governor DeSantis said child mask use should be up to parents. Many, but certainly not all, parents say that approach doesn’t work in today’s political climate.
These are some of the comments BocaNewsNow.com received on Friday regarding masks in Palm Beach County Schools, and our reporting that Palm Beach County School Board members are apparently afraid of action by Governor Ron DeSantis:
“I know we have a no bullying rule that we inforce in our schools. This is a huge bullying offense. P.B.C. school district, do not cower to this puppet of a governor. Everyone should wear masks. He is endangering the lives of others.”
“It would seem that the Palm Beach County School Board is more concerned with their own re-election than the health of children and teachers and other school employees. Gov. De Santis appears to be running for President, forgetting that he needs to be re-elected in Florida first. The refusal to mandate masking risks the very lives of helpless children who cannot be vaccinated. This is not political; it is immoral.”
“I don’t think masks should be mandated. Leave it up to the individual to decide. Masks have not been proven to be effective.”
“I think I would choose a different choice of words. I don’t think it is a matter of being scared. Yes, the Broward County School District set a mask mandate, but let’s be honest: It is not enforceable. The Florida legislature gave the Governor the power to control the mandates in the state, and he has signed an Executive Order saying there will be no mandates. The legislature and the Governor have stripped all local government entities of their power to legislate and make decisions for those who voted for them to serve their communities. If they try, DeSantis will cancel it and call a press conference to brag about it. This is where we are now. We may as well not have county, municipal, or school district leaders. Their voices, expertise, and guidance have all been muzzled by state leadership when it comes to the pandemic.”
“It’s parents duty to protect their children. Now when yout child catch covid,by that time it is to late to say anything. See I had covid and it is a bad feeling. The governor dosen’t care,he just thinking about getting reelection. Did you ever hear him talk about the people and family who lost love ones to this deases?”
“My husband, 16 yr old daughter, and I are vaccinated, but our two young boys are not eligible yet. One of our boys has special needs and is at an increased risk of severe illness/death. Our daughter spent last year in virtual school, but is excited to attend in-person in a few short weeks. I was excited for her too, but now I’m deeply concerned about PBC’s school board’s lack of a backbone. We had just moved from Broward County last year and are pleased to hear that they’re doing the right thing and following CDC guidelines. Does the PBC school board value our children less? Is their fear of our governor greater than the well-being of our precious children? DeSantis has been given way too much power and he’s playing with our children’s lives like a child himself. He’s not mature enough to handle a state emergency such as this. Children will die and the school board will be sued. There’ll be unspeakable pain with the loss of innocent lives.”
“I will simply NOT send my child to school here. We have been assiduously careful for a year and a half and earned our health and safety through this. It is OUR freedom not to be subjected to danger by the misguided notions of what someone else calls THEIR freedom. And it is our right not to be bullied, by some arbitrarily elected science-deniers clearly out of their depth, into risking our lives and the lives of others.
The numbers speak for themselves. We are going to stay with relatives in Vermont and attend school in a state where the NUMBERS don’t lie and the efforts such as masking clearly save lives and prevent suffering.
I read Boca teachers believe there will be much bullying by anti-mask family kids. Is all this what the Governor calls “healthy”, “free”, and “allowing our kids to breathe”? When we’ve gone out, we have also been taunted on a regular basis by non-mask wearers. I wonder- did these people ever ask their surgeons or dentists to remove protective wear?”
“I believe masks should be optional and that kids will suffer mentally if required to mask up again it should be by choice also kids in middle school can get the vaccine as the age is now 12 and up”
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