 These are from the two states that I think have performed the worst from a policy standpoint when it comes to COVID-19, Texas and California, or excuse me, Texas and Florida. And it seems like the governors of these states, Greg Abbott and Rhonda Sanders, it seems like they're on the side of the virus, banning mask mandates, thankfully in Florida, you know, that was overturned by a court. But I mean, banning mask mandates, imagine being so reckless, that you would do something to stop like the most effective tool that helps us to contain this virus. So Florida schools are fighting the governor for kids to mask up. Let's watch a little bit of this. So this is basically before school, this is after school in Texas. So we're kind of gonna get a little bit of a like some backstory on the political issue and the consequences of what happens when you have bad policy. Across the country, school board meetings have become the latest front in the national battle over masks. If you would mind putting your pants back on for a comment, that would be appreciated. We know who you are. We know who you are. No more masks. In Leon County, Florida, the debate over masking students intensified last week after the school superintendent saw increasing student cases and then decided to buck the governor's ban on mask mandates. If you don't have to follow the governor's executive order, why would our children have to follow your mandate? Why do kids get forced to wear a mask if it doesn't even work? And this is why I think of a mask. This poor kid, like I do not blame that kid. That kid is brainwashed by her parents. That's what that is, because kids are too young to like really, yeah, yeah, using that child for political purposes is so gross. Canadians do support requiring masks in schools for students, teachers and staff. But an executive order that Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law says that parents should have the final say. Cases in Florida are some of the worst of the entire pandemic. Nearly a dozen other counties are defying DeSantis. And now a local judge is backing school officials. It's not about politics. I'm not in a verbal spat with the president. I'm not running for reelection. I'm not thinking about running for president. I'm simply trying to keep our kids healthy, safe and keep our schools open. Did anything today change your mind about your decision to require these masks? No, it's absolutely the right thing to do. You know, the governor has a position. We have a position. It's my responsibility to protect the safety of the children here in our community. And I'm going to do just that. And I'm the only elected superintendent who's taken this action and I'm well aware of the potential consequences of losing my pay, potentially being removed from office. But at the end of the day, I'm protecting all of our children. The anti-mask parents are a small but vocal minority here. Only about 10% of parents have tried to opt their kids out of wearing them. What is it about the masks that you don't like? Well, for my girls, I don't like because I think there were some health issues for them. And also beyond that, I think it is, I support the legislation that was passed this summer for the parent bill of rights, which we have a right under that to make the decisions for our kids, for their men. So masks caused health problems. I'm sure that she prevents her children from wearing masks during Halloween, right? I mean, this is not a serious person. And, you know, she's going to raise her kids with her dumbfuck ideas. Her kids are going to grow up with dumbfuck ideas, raise their kids with dumbfuck ideas. And the cycle of stupidity will continue to perpetuate ad infinitum. It's so sad. Mental and medical health. Are you worried at all that your kids might get sick at school and get coronavirus? I, I, they could, they could, but they could get the flu, they can get the cold. There's a lot of things I feel like, you know, What a bad parent. Like you're just a bad parent. What a dumb fucking person. Like the flu and a cold is different than COVID-19. You moron. You absolute fucking moron. Jesus Christ doesn't even care about her kids health. Just wants to make a statement, right? Jordan Charidan made a really great point about this on dystopian times. He said, this isn't even like about masks or the pandemic or about vaccines. Like this is a culture war issue. She identifies with the right and because they're anti-mask, she's anti-mask. Like it's all about team politics and she doesn't even give a fuck that her kids could get sick. She doesn't care. She's a bad parent. That they could get sick. And again, with my daughter, eight years of rare disease, we as her parents have made her medical decisions thus far. Wait, wait, wait. Your daughter has a rare disease and you don't want the kids to wear masks around her. Holy shit. Like these people are so fucking brain dead. So brain dead. Imagine being so fucking stupid that your daughter has a rare disease. I don't know what disease as she says, but has a rare disease and you're on the side of the anti-maskers. Like this lady, I'm surprised that she's not dead right now. Like this level of stupidity, you think that she'd forget to breathe at some point and just like suffocate randomly. Yeah, smooth brain. Exactly. Like what a fucking moron. I hope she sees this and I hope she feels bad. She's not going to see this, but if she does see this, I genuinely hope that her feelings are hurt and she rethinks her life decisions. Lady, you're fucking stupid. And we do what we feel like is in her best interest and take risks that we feel like are okay to take and we make our decisions based on that. That's what I'm wondering, Kat. That's a good question. When is it child endangerment? Because that's what it seems like, right? That's what it seems like, child endangerment. And I think that's our right as her parents and our other daughter's parent. But the mask wars are about much... That's my right as a parent. I mean, you could say that about anything. Well, you know, it's my kid. I had this kid. So it's my right as a parent to drown my kid. It's my right as a parent to chop my kid's arm off. I mean, you could say that about anything. You being a parent doesn't mean that you can endanger your kid. It's more than stopping COVID. Republicans around the country from Congress to local races are stoking anger over masks for political advantage. It could work. In 2010, lies about Obamacare and so-called death panels helped clear the way for a midterm tea party wave in Congress. The 2022 midterms are just around the corner. Imagine some sort of like anti-mask, anti-vax, like rush in Congress, not rush wave, excuse me, in Congress. I mean, if you thought that one Marjorie Green was enough, imagine getting like 50 Marjorie Greens. This is up for reelection in Florida next year. That's not lost on some parents in Tallahassee. Do you think that Governor DeSantis put out that executive order a few months ago because of politics? Yes. Yes, yes. He knows his base. He knows the people who put them here there. He has presidential ambitions, and he knows he has to appeal the same base as Donald Trump. Republicans in Florida... Imagine being so callous, being such a sociopath that you endanger the lives of children. Also, it can help you get re-elected. How disgusting. Yeah, exactly. Fuck these parents. They are terrible people and worse parents. Exactly. I mean, this is child endangerment. Like, I feel like anyone who's on camera talking about how they don't want, you know, kids to wear masks during a pandemic, like, there's something going on there, right? The local authorities should investigate because that is... They're not right in the heads. Like, you shouldn't have a kid if you're this reckless, if you're this stupid. Like, do they forget to feed their children? I mean, these people shouldn't have pets, little, and fucking children. The advantage, too. Florida's Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran is executing DeSantis' directive, even withholding pay from some school officials going against the governor. I've always heard that Republicans, conservatives, are about small government letting local government decide. That's a joke. Isn't the governor's executive order kind of contrary to that? Why not let these school officials, superintendents, some of whom are elected, decide what's best for their communities? The most greatest, most powerful, most informed, best local government is apparent. And what the governor has said is, we're going to give that parental right, that parental choice. It's in our Constitution. Last week in Florida, there were 20,000 new coronavirus cases in people under age 12. An additional 17,000 new cases were reported from people aged 12 to 19. Is it acceptable for students in the state to get sick because their school didn't do everything possible to protect them? First of all, if the parents are dumb-fox. I mean, if the parents here are very stupid, which it seems like that 10% who's against mask mandates are, sorry, I think that the state has a responsibility to intervene and take action to protect that child. There's a reason why vaccines have been mandatory before your child is able to go to elementary school. There's a reason why there are certain requirements. There's a reason why child protective services exists. Being a parent doesn't give you a blank check to treat your child as some sort of a fucking, I don't know, piece of trash. You have to actually take care of your kid in a competent manner. If you endanger them, if you abuse them, the state intervenes. So no, parents don't have unlimited autonomy. All. And many districts just started just open Monday. All right. So those statistics were well before our larger districts opened. So what happened is it's these kids coming into the school system and coming in COVID positive and then giving COVID to other kids. And a reason that happens a lot with kids and not so much with adults is because there's so many of them are asymptomatic. And so they come in. Hence the reason why you wear masks, you fucking moron. They don't know it. They don't even show signs symptoms and then it hits three or four other kids. So you're going to see that. And what we have with the Delta variant is it's much more infectious. So we're seeing. Which is why we wear masks, right? Like I'm waiting for him to say what is common sense. But it's not common, folks. He supports the Ron DeSantis mask ban. Higher numbers, especially with kids. There's teachers out there that are saying, here's the things that we're going to do, you know, whether it's sanitation, whether it's social distancing, those things that matter. They really matter. What doesn't really matter is masks. So just to be clear. Holy shit! The dumb fuckery is almost too much for my brain to process. He knows that the Delta variant is more infectious. But it's, you know, sanitation for an airborne disease. That matters more than masks to prevent the droplets from traveling. What do you even say to this? Like, does this dude trip every single morning because he ties his shoelaces together? This level of stupidity, and this man is the head of the State Department of Education. I just, it's too much. You are saying you haven't seen any evidence or studies that show that masking kids helps keep them safe? No, tell me one. I'm asking you, I'm not the commissioner. I'm telling you, we've been at this for 18 months, but it just feels like Groundhog Day. It's like people, we were here last year, same thing, same parents. And you haven't gotten it through your thick skull yet that masks are effective. Jesus fucking Christ! What a moron! What a fucking smooth-brained prick. Like this imbecile right here. Oh my God. Paranoia, same, you know, outrage, everything. I mean, I don't want to be conspiratorial because there's too much of that going on in here. You really want to be conspiratorial? No, no, there's too much conspiracy theories, folks. Like masks don't work. That's not a conspiracy theory. Holy shit, this dude is blowing my fucking mind. $0.42 billion is spent and none of it to study masks in children. I think it's because the general medical community knows they don't work. Oh my God. Holy fucking shit. It has to be exhausting to be that fucking stupid. To be that dense. I mean, there's not enough oxygen being pumped to his brain. Like something isn't working there. Like what a fucking moron. So then we go to Texas here where they reopen schools. And let's see how that's panning out. Good morning. He's been huffing his own farts for so long that his brain actually died. Legitimately. Like he literally probably huffs farts, his own farts. Good morning, sleepyheads. Good morning, big boys. It's the first day of school. Are you half asleep? Are you excited about school today? We got to get up early so we can get on the bus. We're gonna pass back out. The new school year is arriving in Texas right alongside the state's third wave of COVID-19. It's important that you guys remember that when you're inside you should still wear your mask. Since the spring, Republican Governor Greg Abbott has opposed public health measures like distancing and vaccine requirements. This is what good parenting looks like. Where you explain to your children, make sure you wear masks when you're inside. Like these people act like if they explain to their children during a pandemic that wearing a mask is really important, their kid's head is gonna like pop off. No, your kid's understand it. And you can make it a fun thing. Get your kid like a colorful mask or a Paw Patrol mask or a Pokemon mask. I don't fucking know, but your kid's gonna survive if you tell them that wearing a mask is important. I mean, if your kid can't take, you know, news like this, then your kid wouldn't survive, right? When I was a kid, my mom had to explain to me that I needed to get vaccines or we needed to go to the doctor or, you know, you take your kids to a dentist. It's just frustrating. Even sign-in executive order banning mass mandates in schools. Hold hands and say school, first day of school. Woohoo! First day of school. You got it? Yeah, I got like 400. Awesome, let's go. That order still stands as the aggressive Delta variant ravages the state and more than 700 kids have been hospitalized. And in August, the Texas Education Agency lifted any requirements to notify parents of positive cases at school. Yeah, my daughter is in Superd to anime, so she has a whole collection of anime masks. Sandra, right? Like, you can make it a fun thing. That's what I don't understand. It's like these parents, they have, you know, superimposed their own feelings about masks onto their children, where if you're a good parent, you can convince your kid to put on a mask. Like, if you explain to them, like, most kids can understand, yes, there's this illness going around. It's airborne and we all have to wear masks and we have to protect our friends and family members. They'll get it. I mean, it's mind-boggling to me to hear the logic from some of these so-called parents who are so fucking brain-dead, so hyper-partisan that they're using, they're willing to use their kids as political footballs all to make a fucking point. When Governor Abbot first announced that he wasn't going to be forcing kids to be wearing masks in school, what was your initial reaction? I would say I was angry. It just seemed purely political and the fact that the state and local authorities have been, you know, sort of going back and forth literally up until the 11th hour. I mean, everything's going, you know, up in the air right now and so I think parents are, you know, just doing the best they can. But this is not exactly what I wanted my son's first day of kindergarten to be about, but this is where we're at. How have you explained to him the reasons behind why he needs to wear a mask? You know, Oliver has asthma. He understands how that feels to not be able to breathe. So, you know, we've just explained that you can wear a mask to help protect yourself and to help protect other people around you. I'm scared for him. And it's that simple, like this conversation that she's explaining, it's so simple. It's so simple. But imagine some other, like, right-wing parent using their kid's asthma as a justification to not want masks, as that other lady did from Florida. Oh, my kid has some illness, so, you know, we are really going to take her health into our hands. It's just, this is not complicated. It's not, it shouldn't be complicated. It shouldn't be politicized. You don't want to show your child that you're scared for them. You want them to be excited for school and you certainly don't want to hold him back, but yeah, just the unknown is scary at this point. Texas has the largest number of school districts in the country. It also has the most counties. Without mandates from the state, each of those is having to set its own health policies. Over 50 districts in nine counties are still requiring masks in schools. Some, like Dallas, have gone to court to defy habits orders. But cross into neighboring McKinney and it's up to the parents. There's Leah, my little violin player. Sadaloa, I keep messing up your name. I'm so sorry. I really appreciate the tier one sub. Thank you so much. You are so kind. I don't deserve it because I butchered your name, but I really appreciate that. Thank you. My orchestra girl. Hi, Leah. How are you? Good to see you. How was school? Good. Yes. So what happened with your orchestra directors? Huh? Did you have a sub today? Yeah, they're out until Tuesday. Did they tell you why? They got exposed to COVID. Oh, dear. Anyone who's going to school during these insane times, whether it's, you know, high school, college, elementary school, I feel so bad for you. I feel so privileged to have been able to finish school during non-pandemic times. I could not imagine dealing with this, like being the hypochondriac that I am. I couldn't imagine this. Like, I feel so bad for these folks. So bad. What was school like for both of you last year? It was... Yeah, I don't blame you, Joe. I really don't blame you. It's so hard. I mean, it's non-stop worrying about this and not just worrying if somebody else is exposed to COVID-19, who was in contact with you, but worrying if other people around you are like hostile towards you if you wear a mask. It's just, it's so mentally taxing. A very frustrating year. They were separated at lunch, you know, social distancing had had masks on at all times. And what was that like for you? I mean, being in a mask all the time at school. It was really hard because I felt like it was affecting my learning. Like, I couldn't see my teacher's face, what they were saying sometimes. Leah was suspended from school for not wearing her mask. Her brother was suspended. Her best friend was suspended twice. Both your kids were suspended for not wearing a mask. They were suspended from school. And that was after Greg Abbott, you know, he said, no, you know, no more masks. I mean, when you're that age, when you're in high school, yeah, I mean, you kind of should be suspended. There should be consequences, right? If you're a kid, there's going to be mistakes, right? You're going to have to remind them if, you know, you're in third grade, for example, pull up your mask. But at this age, sorry, there's got to be consequences. The state of Texas. I feel like that's been one of the big contention points throughout the state is that there's a lot of confusion between what Governor Abbott is, you know, signing executive orders to do, what the lower courts are saying to do, what school districts are saying that you should do. How do you navigate this, this very confusing situation? I am totally for local control. But here's the thing, whatever policy they make, you know, for their health, whatever, it cannot violate the rights of the parents or the rights. So I think we all know where this is going, right? Where this lady is going, why her daughter violated a mask. You can already tell, like the rhetoric that she's using, rights, just let's predict where this is headed, folks. It's in the students. So Leah, last year, you know, when you were finally able to go back to school in person, if someone did pop up in school and they tested positive for COVID, were you and other students notified? Yeah, if you were in the classroom seeing next to the person, then they would email your parents and you and you would have to quarantine for a week or two. What are your thoughts on that policy? Yeah, I don't think we should even be doing contract tracing because I think it was a waste of money. So you wouldn't want to know if Leah had been in contact with anyone that might have tested positive. No, it doesn't. To me, if they're just sitting by somebody, I don't think they're going to get really sick. That's how a fucking airborne virus works, lady. Are you stupid? Jesus. Yeah, contact tracing, waste of money. These people are so dumb. So I'm not worried. I'm really not worried. Can you walk me through some of the documents you have? Yeah. So this is a grievance form. We got really good at learning at the grievance forms. We filled it out. We anti-masked Karen, all the complaints that she filed. Based on all of our research, we typed up a whole religious exemption here. Oh my God. Lady, get fucked. Like as I watch this, I'm getting more angry. Fuck this lady. Fuck this Karen. Fuck your ugly little bracelet. For the religious exemption, what were you saying? Basically, it's nothing to do with I'm Catholic, I'm Christian, I'm Mormon. It's about your strongly held belief. That's the way the Supreme Court looks at this. Our conviction here is that God gave myself and my children the ability to choose for ourselves what is best for our own health and that he gave us an immune system. It needs to be exposed naturally to pathogens. My strongly held belief is that anytime I'm around someone who's wearing leopard print, I feel the urge to vomit. So I believe that I should have the freedom to not be around people who wear leopard print. Like this is the logic, right? This is the stupidity, the simplistic nature of her thinking. What a moron. That masks can actually harm our health by trapping bacteria inside. Oh my God. So this is a full on Kool-Aid drinking dumb fuck. Yeah, God made me annoying and wimpy. God made me this gigantic pussy who can't handle a piece of cloth over my face and I've clearly trained my children to be pieces of shits as well to take off their masks to the point where they get suspended in school. I'm imagining that her daughter didn't just accidentally take off her mask for a minute. She probably was being a little fucker and the teacher was like, okay fuck this, you're going to be suspended now. And you see why when you look at who's raising her. There's absolute fucking dickhead lady. So we should not be wearing masks? Do you think if one of you did contract COVID and it was pretty severe and did send you to the hospital it would change your mind about any of the beliefs that you do have now? No. No. It wouldn't change my view at all. Because everybody should have the freedom themselves to choose the best for their health, their best for their family. Nobody should be told they have to do this. Ask her her position on abortion. Ask her. Oh, well when it comes to that, yeah we should ban that. I hate these people. I feel bad for this girl because she's going to be raised to be a gigantic prick just like her mother. You can tell. Like she's instilling it in her kids already. The front line of the bitter fight over public health measures is here. School board meetings. Round Rock School District in Central Texas straddles two different counties, one that requires masks and one that doesn't. We must mandate masks for all students and staff on our campuses. If you want to wear a mask, the choice is yours. Don't take my freedoms away as a parent. Look at this fucking petulant little child. Wearing a mask is about all of us, right? It's not just, oh well I wore a mask so I'm protected. That's not the way that it works. We all wear masks so we stop the spread of this virus. To do what is best for my children. Do your kids wear seat belts? Right? Thank you. So what brought you both out here today? We want to make sure that everybody is safe. It's our ultimate goal. Children are dying already and we don't want that to happen to our kids. Imagine being like a good parent, having to deal with these dumb flocks. Like I can't imagine how exhausting it is to be this woman right here or this woman. And like think, man, this is what I have to deal with. These are the people I have to compete with who I like almost in tears as they describe how it impedes their freedom to make them wear masks. I couldn't deal with it. We're dying already and we don't want that to happen to our kids. What happens if the school board decides no masks? What do you do? I don't know. I just know that my children are not going into a school building on Wednesday. I don't know what that means for us. Like these parents are put in such impossible positions, right? This doesn't have to be a big thing. Masks should just be like a no-brainer. It's the most basic thing, the least like intrusive thing that you can do to mitigate the spread of this virus. But the fact that that is, you know, up for debate is so frustrating. I mean Jesus Christ. I don't know what I would do. I don't like homeschool. I think that kids really benefit from the socialization. But at this point in time, I wouldn't want to send my kid to school with all of these other kids who are taught to be assholes, you know, and not look out for others. And I give a shit about anyone but yourself. It's like me and my husband, we're still trying to figure this out, but they will not be going into school starts. Look at these dirty ass masks that my kid wore all year. That sounds like an issue that you could correct. Get your kid's disposable masks or wash them. Like what a fucking idiot. Yeah, I mean like those reusable masks, as Art's saying, like do you not wash them? I don't get it. They're all the same. Like these anti-maskers, like they are all the same. They have their pages of their like info wars, misinformation, Facebook being bullshit. They all have that like crazy look in their eyes. They're all fucking insane. My body, my joints. Let me just tell you this. But not abortion though. We should ban that. This district can't afford the lawsuits. That will come. If the board wants to see COVID rip through unvaccinated staff from seats like Wildfire, there's no better way for you to do it than to not require masks or removing the ability of staff to quarantine themselves. At three in the morning, after hundreds of speakers, the board finally voted that masks will be mandated. But with one major catch, parents can simply opt out. Pointless then. We wanted an actual mandate we're left to scramble to find a safer alternative. All just one day before classes started. As the back-to-school battle wears on, many people in one important group feel like an afterthought. Teachers. As educators, we've advocated for virtual learning at the beginning. We wanted our educators to get the vaccine. We wanted smart with class sizes. Yeah. Very, very frustrating. Mandatory optional masks. What is the point? What is the fucking point? This pandemic has me so depressed. Man, these people are so fucking dumb.