'Take these masks off of my child!': Fed-up mom of kindergarten student goes off on school board for continuing mask mandate through next year



A fed-up Georgia mother read the riot act to the Gwinnett County Board of Education last week and demanded that the members end the COVID-19 mask mandate for students that has been extended through next year, Fox News reported.

Video of Courtney Ann Taylor's fiery comments to the board at its April 15 meeting have gone viral.

"Every month I come here, and I hear the same thing: 'social emotional health.' If you truly mean that, you would end the mask requirement tonight," Taylor said.

This is Courtney Ann Taylor, a mother in Georgia. She’s one of the many parents who’ve HAD IT with mask mandates, e… https://t.co/dsc7nyQdOM
— Errol Webber (@Errol Webber)1619087764.0

What else did she say?

Taylor added that it's been over a year since life shut down over the pandemic, every adult in Georgia is eligible to receive vaccines — and most importantly, children aren't adversely affected by the coronavirus.

"Every one of us knows that young children are not affected by this virus. They're not!" she told the board, adding that it's "a blessing."

"But as the adults, what have we done with that blessing?" Taylor continued. "We've shoved it to the side and we've said, 'We don't care. You're still gonna wear a mask on your face every day … You still can't play together on the playground like normal children … We don't care. We're still going to force you to carry a burden that was never yours to carry.' Shame on us!"

She tearfully added that her 6-year-old daughter — a kindergartner — is weary of the mask requirement, and it has to end.

"It's April 15, 2021, and it's time!" Taylor said. "Take these masks off of my child!"

She added that citizens voted for the school board members — and not for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We chose you to make decisions that would be in our children's best interest," Taylor told the board. "Enforcing 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9-year-old little children to cover their noses and their mouths — where they breathe — for seven hours a day, every day for the last nine months for a virus that you know doesn't affect them! That is not in their best interest!"

Before stepping away from the microphone, she added that "this has to stop. Defend our children ... Take these off of our children."

'No end in sight'

Taylor also spoke to Fox News after her address and said that there seems to be "no end in sight" to the mask mandate, and that it's "heartbreaking."

She added that "kindergarten is supposed to be fun," and that it's where students learn social norms, cues, and skills such as resolving conflict.

"I don't see how any of the children can really do that and have a real childhood right now," she said.

Taylor added to Fox News that she's received a lot of support since her comments went viral and that "it's not OK to put our children through something that we disagree with like this."

The cable network added that she's started a change.org petition demanding that Gwinnett County Public Schools make masks optional for children.

"It is the parent's responsibility to make health decisions for their children," the petition reads, according to Fox News. "The parents decide which pediatrician they see and which vaccines they receive, so they also decide if their child is going to cover their nose and mouth. Stop trying to parent our children for us."

As of Thursday evening, the petition has reached nearly 900 signatures out of its goal of 1,000, the cable network said.

Fox News said the Gwinnett County school board didn't immediately respond to its request for comment.

Ranting actress claims Trump supporters 'f***ing boxed me in' on freeway, cries that they were 'pointing at me and laughing at a Mexican'



Actress Francia Raisa claimed Sunday, without evidence, that supporters of President Donald Trump traveling to a rally boxed her in while she was driving on Interstate 405 in southern California, wouldn't let her go around, and ridiculed her in the process.

Raisa — the 32-year-old star of "Grown-ish" and recent kidney donor to Selena Gomez — delivered her tearful rant while driving her vehicle. (Content warning: Language):

Selena Gomez's Kidney Donor Francia Raisa Tormented by Trump Caravanyoutu.be

"I was just on the 405, and I got stuck in that stupid Trump rally, and they f***ing boxed me in and they're pointing at me and laughing at me, saying, 'Ha ha.' And literally I almost crashed because they wouldn't let me out," she said. "I was trying to go around it. ... They boxed me in on the f***ing freeway. All I wanted to do was go around. And they were just being so violent. I could have crashed. I could've f***ing crashed. It was so dangerous. And I just don't understand why that's the country that y'all are supposedly wanting right now. Really? That's what makes America great? That's f***ed up. I could have f***ing died right now. That was so f***ing dangerous, pointing at me and laughing at a Mexican. Oh God, that was really f***ing scary."

'The line of cars seems to go for miles and miles'

TMZ posted a gushing story about Raisa's so-far unverified claims, noting Twitter clips and photos of a Trump caravan that appeared to be heading south to Newport Beach in Orange County for a Trump fundraiser:

Trump 2020 Caravan on the 405 Freeway! #Trump2020Landslide #LatinosForTrump https://t.co/Xg71wTUfQI
— Valley Chick🇺🇸 (@Valley Chick🇺🇸)1603045856.0

"To celebrate, it seems like a parade of Trump flag-waving drivers are clogging the lanes and cruising incredibly slow to take their sweet time," TMZ wrote.

"The line of cars seems to go for miles and miles — the distance from central L.A. to Newport is about 44 miles give or take — and lots of people are posting shots of the traffic jam, either in the thick of it, or passing ... so it's clear Francia dealt with something wild out there," the outlet added.

Errol Webber, a California Republican running for Congress, posted the following video:

Errol Webber For Congress CA-37 attends a Trump Car Parade along the 405 Freeway. https://t.co/CtVWSSbaQv
— Errol Webber For Congress (CA-37) (@Errol Webber For Congress (CA-37))1603045190.0


What was the reaction to Raisa's claims?

As you might imagine, lots of fans and fellow left-wingers lined up behind Raisa and used her unverified claims as a reason to not vote for Trump on Election Day — but not everyone was buying her story:

"So she was driving peacefully down the road and then was attacked and tormented for no reason? That doesn't even make sense," one Twitter user said. "Was she flipping people off or yelling or bring an a**hole? All different colors of people today on videos from highway. No one cares that you're Mexican!"

This user claimed Raisa was doing the tormenting: "OMG!! what a liar!! This girl has no shame. I was in that rally; she passed us with anger flipping everybody like there is no tomorrow! So they did not move out of her way... it was in [a] Latinos for Trump parade!! Why the hell are you playing the Mexican card??"

And Trump-supporting singer Joy Villa — who famously donned a "Make America Great Again" dress at the Grammys in 2017 — delivered the following video response:

OMG 😳 THIS JUST HAPPENED 😳 WTH America?!? 🤦🏽‍♀️ please share https://t.co/yQfaTmFcuO
— Joy Villa TEXT JOY to 88022 for Trump (@Joy Villa TEXT JOY to 88022 for Trump)1603104069.0