Florida Man Angrily Yells at School Board's Equity Statement in Viral Video

A video of a Florida man yelling about a school board's statement of equity is going viral on social media, with one user declaring him "the mascot for white fragility."

The man was speaking during the public comments section of a meeting of the School District of Palm Beach County. The meeting, which included heated discussions about the board's mandatory mask policy and its equity statement, was adjourned shortly before 1 a.m., with the public comments lasting seven hours.

In the video, the man says: "The school board recently adopted an equity statement. Why? Your only job is education, not indoctrination," as people in the audience cheer.

He adds: "Attention board members: our nation is a republic. We are the people, we have a voice, our votes are our weapons and we will use them in 2022 and beyond.

"We in the military, our blood, our sweat, is the equity. It is courage, character, not color, not gender, that makes this nation great. Working Americans are united, we are not divided. Stop trying to incite division among us."

The clip finishes with him shouting: "We are Americans first and we will be free always."

The video was shared on Twitter by @davenewworld_2, who wrote: "Florida man yells at the Palm Beach school board over their equity statement. This man is the mascot for white fragility."

The footage has been watched more than 250,000 times since it was posted late on Thursday night. Many viewers were baffled by the man's outburst, with one Twitter user writing: 'I mean, how boring is your life that you get all emotional at a school board meeting."

Another posted: "Why is it that when they have NOTHING to say, they instead say it LOUDER? We're not hard of hearing. They're simply unable to think so they scream utterances out of the hole in their head because they can."

According to the school board's statement, equity means that "each student—regardless of race, ethnicity, poverty, disability, language status, undocumented status, religious affiliation, gender identity, and sexual orientation—will have access to the opportunities, resources, and support they need to imagine, nurture, and achieve their dreams."

The document also states that the board is "committed to dismantling racism and other systems of oppression and inequity," adding: "Achieving racial equity requires proactive and continuous investment in historically marginalized groups who have endured centuries of systemic oppression."

It ends by saying the School District of Palm Beach County will "embrace, celebrate, and honor our students, families, staff, and community members and their unique cultural histories, while ensuring each student achieves personal and academic success."

Newsweek has contacted the school board for comment.