My family is very much awake and I'm so proud of them all. My daughter, a high school senior, refuses to wear a mask. My wife preaches to all her friends the potential harm of the vax (and never, ever wears a mask). And I have left my job recently due to my firm pushing the vax - giving a big middle finger to the woke management team that run my company on my way out (and hopefully waking up a few colleagues in the process).
My son though is the leader of our pack when it comes to standing up to tyranny. He's an academic all American scholar athlete who plays football at a large University. The football program is a top 20 D1 team. All summer the coaching staff was pushing the vax. He and several of his teammates refused. Just before the season started the coaches threatened to cut players if they didn't get vaxed and he and a handful of teammates walked away, giving up their dream of playing big time D1 football. I'm so very proud of those young men.
As the semester progressed, now not playing football, he focused on his academics. Throughout the semester he was told he had to take weekly Covid tests since he wasn't vaxxed. He refused. He then started getting threatening emails that he would be kicked out of school if he didn't take his Covid test. He still refused. His professors preached daily, early in the semester, how everyone needed to get vaxxed. He didn't listen. He then was told that he couldn't sign up for classes next semester if he didn't take his Coved test. He didn't take any Covid tests - not one. He went through the semester with a cloud over his head thinking he may get kicked out of school - and still pulled straight A's in an intense engineering program.
The threats from the university were baseless as they ended up caving and they ultimately allowed him to sign up for next semester. He's been talking to the coaches of his football team and they want him back and they know his stance on the vax, and they still want him back.
Moral of the story...IT'S OK TO SAY NO! Don't give in! And never, ever do anything you are uncomfortable with. It will all work out in the end.
How wonderful for you that you have children with such high integrity and intestinal fortitude! I imagine you had a lot to do with that. Thank you for sharing your story.
Thank you. I plan on showing him all the comments from my post. He doesn't realize the magnitude of what he's done. I hope by showing the comments, he'll then realize. He's did a real good heroic thing...
Excellent Idea!
I was in management for a company where I had to help implement six layoffs in seven years. The sixth time when I had to draw up the list of layoffs for my section, I put my name on the list because I was just simply ready to create a new life outside the corporate rat race. I was entitled to a healthy severance package and had significantly downsized my life, so I knew I could easily manage until I figured out my next steps. Much later a former coworker told me he admired my bravery and courage for volunteering to be laid off and embarking on a new life. I never thought of it as being a brave and courageous thing. All I knew was that it felt like the right thing to do. I share this story to reflect to you why it may be that your son has no comprehension of the magnitude of his choices, i.e. that to him they just feel like the right thing to do.
Thank you for sharing your story. You too are a hero. You may not have known it at the time of leaving but you hopefully you see it now. Bravery is standing up for your beliefs...your actions are the epitome of bravery! God bless.🙏
Thank you!