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As cases of Covid-19 continue to surge and the delta variant provokes a quickening spread of the illness, warranted questions about mask mandates have begun to swirl as school draws nearer to going back in session. Everyone rightfully has their own opinion about whether or not masks should be required for students as we prepare to enter into a new school year, and Carrie Underwood is the most recent star to weigh in on the debate, liking a tweet that suggested making students wear masks was inhumane.
Here is my speech to the Nashville School Board where I spoke out against the cruel and indefensible mask mandate for children pic.twitter.com/Eq5IFsKyja
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) August 12, 2021
On August 12, conservative commentator Matt Walsh tweeted a video of his address to the Nashville School Board, giving an impassioned plea that students not be forced to wear masks heading into another school year. In the video, Walsh likens mask wearing to “child abuse,” and even stated that it was equivalent to “wearing muzzles like rabid dogs.” Underwood appeared to agree with this conservative stance, liking the tweet which drew significant criticism from followers.
In the video, Walsh can be seen lamenting, “If you think I’m exaggerating, then how would you respond to a parent who forced his kid to wear a football helmet every day, all day, for fear of falling coconuts and meteors? Your kid is almost as likely to die of COVID as he is from a rock from the sky, and yet if you saw that, you would say to that parent that he is abusive, that he is forcing his kid to participate in this utterly insane charade in order to satisfy his delusional psychotic hypochondria.”
The video appeared under Underwood’s “Likes” on Twitter on Wednesday morning, and fans were understandably disappointed with the 38-year-old singer’s stance on mask wearing, which is just as much to protect teachers as it is to protect students. With Covid-19 cases soaring despite the fact that many people are vaccinated, it is still useful to continue to wear masks in public in order to stop the spread, even though it may not prove fatal to children of school age.
However, the delta variant is notably more transmissible than the original strain of Covid-19, and experts have noted that, “the situation is growing particularly dangerous for children,” per CNN as cases continue to spread. While everyone is entitled to their opinion and Underwood is not likely to change her stance following public backlash, fans continue to share their disappointment, with one writing, “I just found out my country queen, Carrie Underwood, is anti-mask and I ask that you respect my privacy as I mourn my loss.”
