Administrators at the Kenny Elementary School on Oakton Avenue in Dorchester put the school into “safe” mode – nobody was allowed in or out – for about 20 minutes on Tuesday morning (June 7) after two anti-maskers showed up and demanded entry for a 9-year-old student they said didn’t want to wear a mask and didn’t have to.
Eventually, Boston Police officers showed up and convinced Catherine Vitale, her allegedly mask-averse 9-year-old cousin, and a man who said he was gay and who spent much of the time complaining about schools teaching kids about Pride Month, to leave rather than get arrested, a BPS spokesperson said:
“The protesting escalated and out of an abundance of caution, the Kenny school was placed into safe mode and BPS Safety Services and the Boston Police were called.
Upon arrival, BPD worked to deescalate the situation and the entire school community remained in safe mode for approximately 20 minutes until the scene was cleared and it was advised it was safe to return to normal activity.
The Kenny staff, BPS Safety Services and the Boston Police are currently working together to investigate the matter further.”
BPS still requires students and staff to wear masks.
Vitale, who used to show up early in the morning at Mayor Wu’s house in Roslindale, has lately taken to following Wu around the city with a bullhorn with which to chant at the mayor or simply play the bullhorn’s siren. She was among a group who tried to surround the mayor as she walked up Dorchester Avenue during the Dorchester Day parade on Sunday.
And, as they typically do, the anti-maskers posted video of the 53-minute incident, narrated by the professed gay man who, after seeming to get bored complaining about jackbooted fascists stripping Americans of their rights to breath freely, launched into a long harangue about the inappropriateness of elementary schools such as the Kenny letting children know that gay people and Pride Month exist. At one point he wondered if the school offered a similar celebration for Black History Month.
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