I'm unconcerned about people having different opinions from me, even (especially?) in matters of policy.
What does concern me, though, is when objective truths get drowned-out by an avalanche of bullshit, particularly when that results in meaningful harm to people.
An example of this is the anti-vaxx movement. Vaccines do not cause autism. Period. Full-stop. There has never been any evidence it was true, and at this point, the claim has been debunked over and over. Yet, there has been such a significant effort made to push the claim and platform it that diseases once officially declared eradicated in the US are starting to make repeated flare-ups in small regions. Furthermore, until recently, we had a third-party candidate for the President of the United States whose primary claim to fame is his anti-vaxx stance.
Here, the truth is falling behind. The anti-vaxx movement is growing, and it arguably already has a larger and more trusted platform than the truth. I don't see a turn-around unless/until either an existing disease mutates or a new one shows up that starts causing six-figure+ annual deaths to shock people back to the reality that vaccines are one of the best and most impactful inventions in human history, estimated to have already saved over a billion lives.
Why is this movement even a thing? There's nothing for anyone to gain by spreading this misinformation. It's been demonstrated many times that some of the biggest mouthpieces of the movement vaccinate themselves and their loved ones, so it's clear many within the movement don't even believe what they're saying. The only purpose I can gather is a need to increase misery, as if life doesn't include enough of it already.
> we had a third-party candidate for the President of the United States whose primary claim to fame is his anti-vaxx stance
No, his primary claim to fame was the fact that he was the son and nephew of two assassinated beloved politicians from a US political family. The
media characterized him as an anti-vaxxer. However, he described himself as more an advocate for vaccine safety and simply treating vaccines with the same safety scrutiny processes as other drug approval processes in the United States.
What does concern me, though, is when objective truths get drowned-out by an avalanche of bullshit, particularly when that results in meaningful harm to people.
An example of this is the anti-vaxx movement. Vaccines do not cause autism. Period. Full-stop. There has never been any evidence it was true, and at this point, the claim has been debunked over and over. Yet, there has been such a significant effort made to push the claim and platform it that diseases once officially declared eradicated in the US are starting to make repeated flare-ups in small regions. Furthermore, until recently, we had a third-party candidate for the President of the United States whose primary claim to fame is his anti-vaxx stance.
Here, the truth is falling behind. The anti-vaxx movement is growing, and it arguably already has a larger and more trusted platform than the truth. I don't see a turn-around unless/until either an existing disease mutates or a new one shows up that starts causing six-figure+ annual deaths to shock people back to the reality that vaccines are one of the best and most impactful inventions in human history, estimated to have already saved over a billion lives.
Why is this movement even a thing? There's nothing for anyone to gain by spreading this misinformation. It's been demonstrated many times that some of the biggest mouthpieces of the movement vaccinate themselves and their loved ones, so it's clear many within the movement don't even believe what they're saying. The only purpose I can gather is a need to increase misery, as if life doesn't include enough of it already.