There are two kids in the above photo I want you to remember.
Here’s a close-up:
We’ll meet up with them later.
As to – why weren’t these adults at work, and why weren’t these kids in school…
According to this article in the October 18 San Diego Union-Tribune…
The “vaccine mandate” in the headline:
“Governor Newsom’s mandate, announced earlier this month, made California the first state in the country to say it will require the COVID-19 vaccine for schoolchildren once it receives full federal approval.
“California students age 12 and up will be required to get the COVID vaccine after it becomes fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration for their age group. First the mandate would be phased in starting with 7th to 12th grades, followed kindergarten to 6th grades.”
The adults made a choice to stage a “sit-in” as part of a statewide protest of California’s upcoming COVID-19 vaccination requirement.
These same adults made a choice to have their kids skip school on October 18, to participate in the protest.
These same adults who, a year ago, were protesting distance learning and demanding their kids return to in-person learning:
On October 18, their kids could have been in the classroom.
Instead, their parents took them out of school.
How many kids? As reported in the Union-Tribune article, in the San Diego area:
San Diego Unified School District: 1,300 students; Ramona Unified School District: 1,700 students; La Mesa-Spring Valley School District: 520 students; Poway Unified School District: 225+ students.
The article didn’t list other districts, but no doubt you can add to the list.
Why did the parents tell their kids to skip school?
Again, according to the Union-Tribune, one parent said she thinks “the COVID vaccine is not needed, and she doesn’t like that it is being forced on people. ‘It feels very anti-American to be, my way or the highway,’”
She said she had her kids skip school “to teach them that it’s okay to stand up for what you believe in” and that “some things are worth fighting for.”
Another parent said her kids missed school Monday to show the school board she’s willing to pull them out of the district if they are forced to take the COVID vaccine.
She also said it’s very rare for a child to die from COVID.
That last thought may be comforting.
Unless the child that dies is yours.
And in case that parent missed it…
What these parents are disregarding – and teaching their kids to disregard – is the safety and health of others.
You don’t get vaccinated to protect just yourself. You get vaccinated to protect yourself, which helps protect others.
These parents were also disregarding the issue of student absence impacting school funding. For example, going back to the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, attendance was down five percent below normal, according to Superintendent David Feliciano. The district had 520 more students absent than usual, which equated to a revenue loss of about $29,000, he said.
So, the kids lose learning time, the schools lose revenue, and the parents…
Ah, the parents.
Let’s invite the parents to fast-forward say – six years.
The kids in this picture…
…are now in high school.
Let’s call the one on the left Rob, and the one on the right Emma.
Scenario #1:
Rob’s mother calls upstairs to tell him it’s time to leave for school.
Rob: I’m not going to school today.
Mom: What are you talking about? Of course you’re going to school!
Rob: They want us to do homework, and I hate homework. Remember, during COVID, when you had me skip school and said it’s OK to stand up for what I believe in? And that some things are worth fighting for? Well, I believe homework isn’t fair, and I’m standing up for what I believe in.
Scenario #2:
Emma’s mother calls upstairs to tell her it’s time to leave for school.
Emma: I’m not going to school today.
Mom: What are you talking about? Of course you’re going to school!
Emma: But Mom, remember, during COVID, when you told me to skip school that day and said you were willing to pull me out of the district school? Well, I’m having a sit-in. I hate my school. I hate all schools, and I’m not going anymore!
Perhaps these parents’ October 18 actions will come back to bite them in the ass.
Like the old idiom says…
“This is not a new idea. We already require vaccines against several known deadly diseases before students can enroll in schools. The Newsom administration is simply extending existing public health protections to cover this new disease, which has caused so much pain and suffering across our state, our nation and the entire globe over the last 18 months.”
– Dr. Peter N. Bretan, president of the California Medical Association, whose organization “strongly supports” the governor’s decision.
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