Justin Kanew, the founder of the Tennessee Holler, a former Congressional candidate, and the father of a five-year-old girl, gave an impassioned speech at a meeting about mask mandates that is now going viral.
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Kanew spoke on Aug. 16 at a follow-up meeting to the Aug. 10 Williamson County board meeting regarding a mask mandate policy.
As CNN noted in its reporting, “The Board of Education in Williamson County, just south of Nashville, approved a mask requirement for elementary school students, staff and visitors inside all buildings and on buses beginning Thursday and ending September 21.”
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“But a group who opposed the mask requirement gathered outside,” CNN reported, noting it had obtained video showing “crowds heckling masked people as they left the session, with one man telling the driver of a vehicle, ‘We know who you are. You can leave freely, but we will find you.’”
The Williamson County meetings replicated scenes currently playing out across the nation — a local entity standing up to a state’s Republican governor to require masks to protect people against COVID-19, with people passionate on both sides.
Kanew used a novel approach to address the masking issue. After starting by criticizing people who opposed critical race theory, noting that they didn’t know what it was six months ago, and saying our country could use a big dose of diversity, equity, and inclusion education, he moved into masks — invoking the Bible and Christian teachings to make a case for masking.
WATCH: “CRT is not in our schools, you didn’t know what it was 6 months ago… my 5yo gets that we mask up for others, wish more adults grasped that… if you only like democracy when it goes your way, you don’t like democracy”
Holler’s @Kanew at last night’s WILCO board meeting pic.twitter.com/ACkn5HCWlL
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) August 17, 2021
Talking about his daughter’s first day as a student, he noted, “She went to school and was one of just a few kids in her class wearing a mask which made her ask me why she had to. My answer was because we want to take care of other people.”
“She’s five years old, but she understood that concept, and it’s disappointing that more adults around here can’t seem to grasp it,” he asserted.
He went on to quote a pastor friend, saying, “He was very clear that there was no actual biblical justification for using the Bible to get out of a mask mandate passed by a majority of this elected board.”
“But thousands are doing it anyway,” he went on, “calling it a religious exemption, which is frankly just sad. Avoiding masks is not in the Bible, but taking care of others is.”
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Kanew had one more zinger to share, referring to the executive order signed by Republican Governor Bill Lee canceling out local mask mandates and allowing parents to let their kids roam unmasked. He called Lee’s move “government overreach undercutting a local decision,” adding, “If you only like democracy when it goes your way, you don’t like democracy.”
He got support on the Holler‘s tweet carrying his speech.
“Have you ever noticed that people who support masks & vaccines are always so calm and measured when speaking to make their point,” one asked, “but the anti-vaxxers & anti-maskers act like loud, screaming banshees? Thank you sir for caring for your daughter & others.”
Have you ever noticed that people who support masks & vaccines are always so calm and measured when speaking to make their point; but the anti-vaxxers & anti-maskers act like loud, screaming banshees? Thank you sir for caring for your daughter & others.
— klizmiz (@klizmiz1) August 17, 2021
Another noticed the women who were not having it in the background, saying, “These women looked at each other and rolled their eyes and played with their pens and jewelry. That’s how teenagers act when they’re being told no.”
*First Published: August 20, 2021, 6:11 am
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