MSNBC column: Parents 'fueling' rise in violence against educators over masks
'The past few months of parent protests have taken a darker, more violent turn,' the column claimed
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An MSNBC column Sunday claimed parents concerned over mask and vaccine mandates in schools were fueling a rise in violence against educators, likening them to "far-right extremists" targeting schools in resistance to various policy changes.
The piece marked yet another broadside against parents opposed to mask mandate agendas in school districts across the country. The column cited a recent incident in California in which a teacher was hospitalized after being assaulted by a parent, who it claimed was upset about the school's mask mandate for children.
PARENTS ACROSS US REVOLT AGAINST SCHOOL BOARDS ON MASKS, CRITICAL RACE THEORY AND GENDER ISSUES
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The attack is part of a rising pattern of violence against educators by parents, anti-maskers, and far-right extremists targeting schools that champion critical race theory, transgender rights and other issues over the past several months," the column read. "But with the school year getting underway across the country, it’s the war on masks currently igniting parent protesters, and in ways that are rapidly turning violent."
"Anti-mask protesters and far-right extremists like the Proud Boys have shown up at school board meetings to protest mask and vaccine mandates, heckling and threatening masked people, accusing educators of child abuse, and calling on schools to 'unmask the children,'" it added.
The column referred to other altercations that took place at schools in Texas before suggesting people across the country were "stressed, grieving, and on edge," as a possible explanation for their occurrence. It also cited "spiking road rage incidents and a rise in mass shootings" as evidence of the increased stress.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SC MOTHER SLAMS SCHOOL DISTRICT OVER MASK MANDATE: ‘OUR VOICES HAVE BEEN SILENCED’
It added that aggression was being mobilized through misinformation on social media by mom influencers, anti-mask groups, and online bots, while "far-right groups" were aligning themselves with "anti-maskers" in pushing against government overreach.
The column also claimed that rising infections from the delta variant of the coronavirus might change the arc of parents' protests over the next few weeks, especially with more pediatric hospitalizations, deaths and effects of ‘long Covid-19’ in more children.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"There have always been parents who disagree with school district policies," author Cynthia Miller-Idriss wrote. "But the past few months of parent protests have taken a darker, more violent turn, as parents have been arrested, launched shouting matches, and engaged in other unruly and sometimes violent behavior at school board meetings across the country."
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"As the remainder of the nation’s schools open in the coming weeks, teachers and educators should be alert to the possibility of further violence and disruptions," it said. "And as protesting parents’ attention shifts to schools and classroom teachers, it is imperative that we protect and defend the educators who are now on the front lines."