Actress, Leigh-Allyn Baker,
who's known for
roles on Charmed, Will and Grace,
and also specifically what everyone
else has been talking about, Disney
Channel's Good Luck, Charlie.
She made a couple of headlines last
year on Twitter when she refuted
something that then candidate, Joe
Biden, said about wearing masks.
He just wore masks and said,
wear a mask, and she goes,
no thank you.
So that made a couple of ripples,
but she has resurfaced at a school
board meeting down in Tennessee,
in Franklin, Tennessee.
Where she had some very pointed
thoughts and opinions directed at
the school board members, when
it comes to this whole mask and
vaccine thing and
how it affects children.
Let's see what she had to say.
>> My name is Leigh-Allyn Baker and
I'm a California refugee.
[APPLAUSE] >> I gave up everything
there, a really successful
Hollywood career, television shows,
gave it all up for freedom, and
to come to this friendly
place in Tennessee and be greeted
with open arms, and I love it here.
I wanted to tell you that I have
two vaccine injured children.
And they have medical exemptions
because after the seizures and
the hospitalizations after all of
their immunizations, I was granted,
obviously, a medical exemption.
So my children are those rare
children that will just not be
able to get the vaccine.
And still, I would never put them
in a mask because their
brain needs oxygen to grow, which
that the neurologists can confirm.
Anyway, the real part of the clown
show is that you all think that you
actually have the authority to
mandate this.
Because there are these books that
I have and I have them as
a gift for you, the Constitution,
the Declaration of Independence.
[APPLAUSE] >> The Bill of Rights,
and the Federalist Papers, and
also the Bible, and these guarantee
my freedom and yours and
our children's to breathe oxygen.
[APPLAUSE] >> Drop the mic, girl,
let it go.
Let them just watch.
So she drops the mic on the school
board members because she has
some books.
Don't forget she has some books
ready for you guys.
Some of those books are called
the Declaration of Independence,
the Constitution, what else?
>> The Bill of Rights, those books.
>> Is the Declaration of
Independence a book?
[LAUGH] >> Yeah, it's a book.
>> It's a book. >> It's like
a trilogy.
[LAUGH] >> There was
the Declaration one and there was
the Return of the Declaration, and
then the Revenge of
the Last Declaration.
>> Yeah, yeah, the Last
Declaration. >> They're all books.
>> They're all scratch and
sniff as well, very amazing.
>> So also, oxygen is needed to
make sure that kids can breathe.
You can ask a neurologist
about that.
Or you could ask
Samaritan Health Services.
I looked this up because this is
one of those things.
If people are concerned about mask
wearing and they're also concerned
about vaccines,
she did mention that her kids had
some health issues that she said
stemmed from vaccines,
I'm not here to dispute that.
But the thing is, fine,
I understand there's plenty of
people that have issues with
getting vaccines, because of their
health and history backgrounds, and
their doctors may tell them that.
Those are the people that we're
looking to protect even further,
in case you didn't understand that.
So your children who may have
issues with getting vaccines
can't get it.
So therefore, other people maybe
should get it to maybe make sure
they don't catch this virus that
can severely harm them and
they can spread it to someone
that they could also kill.
It's weird how that works.
Maybe you know exactly the type of
person that we're looking
to protect through these types
of things.
Anyway, let's go to
Samaritan Health Services
about these oxygen levels.
There was an article there
about oxygen and masks.
There's no medical evidence that
wearing a CDC recommended mask
causes depleted oxygen levels.
Well, she said to ask
a neurologist.
This is Brian Delmonaco,
who's a doctor, lead intensive care
hospitalist at Good Samaritan
Regional Medical Center.
Many professionals wear masks
all day long on the job,
including hospital employees.
I think they survive each of
those days.
While wearing a mask adds some
resistance to breathing, porous
mask do not lower oxygen saturation
levels, said the same doctor.
It's the feeling of that extra
resistance that for some people
can prompt a psychological response
like fear or anxiety, and
I think that's real, too.
So that's one of those things like,
yeah, sometimes people can
feel like they're a bit
restricted under the mask.
They don't want to have to be
breathing under it,
but this narrative, that literally
anybody who wears a mask is falling
over and dying of a lack of oxygen.
You would think that would have
produced, I don't know,
maybe 650,000 deaths
in the country, no, that was COVID
that's actually produced that.
But we're going to throw oxygen
levels in there along
with our heaping of books like
the Declaration of Independence to
this crowd that cheers them on.
And the reason that this crowd
cheers on folks that say
these types of ridiculous things is
because they need them to push
their continued narrative.
If instead you go, well, I mean,
I hear you, I understand.
I don't want to vaccinate my kids
either, Leigh-Allyn, but
what you said kind of doesn't make
any sense.
No, you have to applaud it and
push the stupidity and ignorance.
I'm not going to call it stupid,
the ignorance.
Because just look up and find out
the details of what you're pushing
back against, I think, is the first
wave of what you should do.
>> I just want to jump in and
ask to the anti-vaxxers, to
the people who say they don't want
their children to be vaccinated.
My question is, why hasn't the CDC
already approved vaccines for
children 12 and under, why,
why do you think?
it's because they're studying it,
it's because they're actually doing
the research,
they're doing the work.
What would feel reckless,
is if it was everyone can get it no
matter what.
Instead, they rolled it out, right,
very, very slowly, and
they're actually testing for
those more vulnerable groups that
could include children.
So that is the first clue that
actually, the idea that there's
a boogeyman, there's someone who
wants to infect us and hurt us.
That's actually not real or true.
The second thing is about just
the whole, I'm a refugee from
California, and I'm sorry, guys,
I'm California born and raised.
I love this state,
whatever, if we can fix a bazillion
things that are wrong with it.
Go, leave, go to Austin, man,
set up your enclave.
Go to Louisiana, go be free,
and my bad for the Louisianans who
watch this show who are like,
please don't send them over here.
But seriously, there's a reason
there are regular outbreaks of
preventable diseases like measles,
things that kids get, basically,
in places like Beverly Hills,
regularly.
It's because they're all wellness
Hollywood white ladies with all
the education and the money in
the world, who are like, no,
I don't want this.
And then there's a measles outbreak
in the most wealthiest part of
the nation, straight up.
So leave, go,
go drive up the housing somewhere
else.
I don't care,
this state doesn't want you.
>> I just always find it funny when
[COUGH] sorry, usually
conservatives talk about this
notion of freedom that they have,
where it really is just a freedom
to not have any responsibility for
others.
And what I'm seeing about all this
stuff with the masks and
the vaccines, or whatever, is that
Americans actually are some of the
least free people in the developed
world [LAUGH] especially from
domination in their own workplace.
And every once in a while they have
an opportunity to flex their self
conception of freedom,
which is things like refusing to do
a vaccine.
It's the one small thing that they
have slight control over in a life
that's kind of dominated by all
other forms of domination that
don't exist in other places.
Because other places
have robust social protections and
they don't fall into destitute
poverty the way Americans do and
homelessness and things like that.
So when they can flex their freedom
muscle on whatever it is that they
have an opportunity to,
they love talking about it and
they don't shut up about it.
And it's just I find it kind
of sad, to be honest,
that this woman, this actress who
I've never heard of, to be honest,
[LAUGH] until I researched her this
morning for the segment.
She's doing this whole grand thing
where she's like, I'm giving up my
entire career [LAUGH] just [LAUGH]
to be able to say I'm free.
It's like, great, now what
are you going to do [LAUGH]?
>> There's always the push that I'm
this honorable one that came from
this sea of a holes that just
want to bring me down, man.
If you go into LA, it's just
a swamp of people that are like,
come here with me and
do what I tell you.
I can't tell you the degree to
which Angelinos don't want to have
to tell you about anything.
They just want you out of the way.
Hey, if you're driving the Prius in
the fast lane right next to
the carpool lane, I have an idea,
get the hell out of my way,
that's the only demands
that Los Angelinos have.
>> That's anti-Prius propaganda.
>> That's anti-Prius, exactly.
This is vicious anti-Prius, yeah.
>> We go fast, too.
>> We top out, we top out, but
we go fast.
>> I just didn't know Prius would
top out at 45 miles an hour.
[LAUGH] >> I was hoping it would
get to at least the speed limit.
Anyways, that's not the point of
this, but
then you guys may ask the question.
Now you guys talked about oxygen
levels and things like that,
what about people
who suffer from asthma?
I looked that up, too.
Just my last point on this,
this is also
from Samaritan Health Services.
We recommend that those with
pulmonary issues wear masks, too.
Wow, crazy.
Since we know that COVID-19 often
attacks the lungs, people with lung
disease that are at a much higher
risk of infection,
they are at a much higher risk,
same Doctor Delmonico said.
If your issues are severe, it might
be best for you to stay home and
distance from others,
but talk with your doctor about any
worries that you have.
It's weird.
So if you have issues with your
lungs and you have pre-existing
conditions with breathing and
things like that,
this a virus that attacks that.
I have a good idea.
Don't put anything on your children
and send them to a group of people
around them that
you also don't want to have
anything around their faces.
And then they go home and
you have no idea who they've
interacted with, and talk back
to your asthma suffering child.
I'm just trying to find
the equation because the thing is,
I understand the frustrations.
I understand the worries,
because you got kids,
I worry about my kid.
Now I make the decisions based off
of how that works, but
this whole freedom thing.
The Declaration of Independence and
life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness,
life is the first part of that end
of that sentence life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness.
So if you keep quoting it,
what happens to other people's
lives that you're affecting?
I don't know how this doesn't
permeate the brain enough for
you to go, it's not just about you.
It just isn't.
And if you want it to just be about
you, you can stay home.
I know you escaped Hollywood and
all of the riches that
was left there for you.
But maybe you can school your kids
at home if you don't want them
around other folks that are wearing
masks that somehow kill them.
Anyway, there's lots of options
when you have the resources that I
assume she has, rather than coming
to school boards and
telling them that they're too
stupid to be able to put on any
kind of mask to protect folks.
I mean, yeah, and
I think Nando's absolute right in
what this reveals about the social
fabric of this country and whether
we even have a country anymore.
And as someone who is not
a nationalist, especially not
an American nationalist, I'm like,
wait a minute.
We need some social fabric
though, right?
It is, can progressives, can even
liberals and leftists reclaim
the idea of some kind of patriotism
that involves being a part of your
community, being responsible for
one another and your neighbors and
actually, chipping in.
We've lost that completely.
And obviously, massive amounts
of displacement doesn't help,
inequality, lack of job stability,
all of that has eroded,
in addition to handing our
democracy over to corporations,
has eroded that social fabric.
But my God, it's so
upsetting when you realize
that these are the loudest voices,
and they're always the wealthiest,
they're always the craziest.
And they jump out in front of
everybody else.
They jump out in front of all
the actual essential workers.
So, the lessons we're going to
learn from these moments,
these years, are endless and
I hope we actually learn them.
And we stop giving air or oxygen,
put a mask all over that.
[LAUGH] >> Just stop the brain
function.
There's nothing going on anyway,
>> The average American has been
trained since from birth to see
himself or herself as a consumer in
a market economy.
And as a consumer in a market
economy you demand whatever.
I want 37 flavors at the ice
cream parlor when I show up, and
they all better be full, and
I better have all the options of
toppings that I want.
And when I go to a restaurant,
I need to be able to impose my own
little private tyranny on the poor
server who's serving me, because
you see yourself as a consumer
first and a citizen second.
Or if you see yourself as a citizen
at all, and
that leads to a low trust society,
a destruction of the social fabric,
as you said.
There are no communal organizations
that bond us together anymore,
traditionally labor unions and
religious groups which are all just
collapsing in the United States
as well.
So yeah, we just find ourselves,
we want to do whatever we want
whenever I want it,
even though everyone's living these
precarious lives.
But I get to show up at
the supermarket and there's 57
different brands of cereal.
>> Yes, and how many
political parties, Nando?
57 brands of cereal,
how many political parties?
>> That's right, that's freedom.
>> Yeah, mostly one.
>> Hey, Green party.
Green party, calm down.
>> Freedom, baby,
freedom of choice, amazing.