So it ended up being the principal and a priest standing in front of the firing squad. I give them credit. It was the Cardinal who reigned the decision down from the top, and these two at least had the balls to take what the angry parents threw at them without having any real answers or solutions. They were just as in the dark. No reasons, no data. And most schools did not afford the parents even the right to bitch.
I took the microphone and told them that I did not envy their position, but I don’t envy mine either. I told them it doesn’t look good when, on the first day of school, and after you cashed our tuition checks you come out with some mundane new policy that went against everything they promised the last few weeks. My son is T1D which is autoimmune and I told them I would rather gamble with COVID than the masks‘ physical and mental toll on my son. I asked if the mandate was that “masks had to be worn” as it was written in the bullshit letter. Then I asked what the penalties were for not wearing them and they did not know. I quipped that thankfully it is such an emergency, the mandate does not even go into effect til Monday. Must be serious with all the lives we will lose from now to then.
I’m a slimy lawyer, so the reason I asked what specifically the mandate was, was so I could have my son wrap a mask around his belt and technically still be wearing one. I’m also a tremendous smart ass.
At the end, most of the parents got together and just decided that we aren’t going to obey, and we will call their bluff and they can scramble and try to punish a 6 year old.. If they punish my kid Ill pull him out.
All in all, it seemed like the school personnel were against it to. Unfortunately it is just another situation where a corporation (Catholic Church) can unilaterally make a decision with no support and not having to answer for it. But my kid will not wear a mask.
