I invite the vaccine-skeptical to seek out hard data & serious expertise rather than depending on their own judgment. I cannot offer them better than that. They might find that condescending or unfair but I think it's more condescending to believe they cannot learn to accept reality on its own terms - ThreadSky

chathamharrison.bsky.social • 61 days ago

I invite the vaccine-skeptical to seek out hard data & serious expertise rather than depending on their own judgment. I cannot offer them better than that. They might find that condescending or unfair but I think it's more condescending to believe they cannot learn to accept reality on its own terms

Reposted from vo

democrats should concede no ground on vaccinations

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hellocthulhu.bsky.social•61 days ago

These are people who regularly say they encourage everyone to do their own research as they believe they did. They cannot be trusted to know good data from bad.

chathamharrison.bsky.social•61 days ago

I don't really have a choice in the matter

stalker6zauzich.bsky.social•61 days ago

There’s better things to agree on with RFK jr, for sure. Don’t fall into a trap to paint everyone skeptical of our medical system as an “anti-vax” kook. How we pay and who makes money is at the root of much of people’s doubts. Polio is bad but also, red haring sideshow & let the status quo slide by.

chathamharrison.bsky.social•61 days ago

RFK's legitimate critiques are about as worthwhile as Trump's. You do not need to settle for such a sorry child-murdering source for the criticism "doctors charge too much & insurance is too expensive".

stalker6zauzich.bsky.social•61 days ago

I don’t see “settling for the source of the criticism” as a relevant description of the relationship. We should be the source of that criticism. Isn’t incumbent on us to make the argument _to them_ if they claim to also hold the view? You say refuse any collaboration on any topic because vax stance?

silverknyaz.bsky.social•61 days ago

maybe they can’t, though

and maybe the state needs to intervene and force everyone to get vaccinated to 1) save lives and 2) reality check these fucking morons

chathamharrison.bsky.social•61 days ago

I am 100% in favor of that, but I do not have my hands on those levers, so

silverknyaz.bsky.social•61 days ago

i know, we’re speaking theoretically, are we not?

chathamharrison.bsky.social•61 days ago

My invitation is entirely real, however unlikely I am to have many takers

silverknyaz.bsky.social•61 days ago

right but the conversation is mostly theoretical and my reply was intended as such

tcerin.bsky.social•61 days ago

I really like your phrasing on this. I'm going to have to borrow it at some point (unfortunately probably sooner rather than later)

zmcadler.bsky.social•61 days ago

You should also invite them to watch this video: https://youtu.be/8BIcAZxFfrc?si=3UApqobWhEW5_YSi

zmcadler.bsky.social•61 days ago

(the video is by @hbomberguy.bsky.social, who I didn’t know was here until today)

steveisdamages.bsky.social•61 days ago

I have found the anti-science crowd supremely worthy of condescension.

They delayed climate action, ended three centuries of progress against preventable diseases, and replaced the concept of truth with opinion-based perception of reality. The least they could do is accept my derision.

optimetheophile.bsky.social•61 days ago

I offer them forgiveness if they repent.

regdog.bsky.social•61 days ago

They won't. They will find anything that supports their point of view and cast it in stone. Regardless of where that "data" comes from.

They care neither for truth or fact. Their only concern is the preservation of their opinion as fact.

pnumbers.bsky.social•61 days ago

If you're trying to educate a moron. It's a worthy pursuit it their kids that will suffer.
They may well have already been jabbed

lokathor.bsky.social•61 days ago

they just look at the numbers that show what they already want to believe. they're not scientific people.

sagastar.bsky.social•61 days ago

if they could accept reality on its own terms they wouldn't be antivaxxers

chathamharrison.bsky.social•61 days ago

I think this gives them *too much* credit. A lot of folks fuck up through circumstance & happenstance. I don't exactly put my faith in folks reorienting themselves but the invitation stands

opulenceihazit.bsky.social•61 days ago

Perhaps counterintuitively, I think such people would be more reassured if they knew there's a National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program & The Office of Special Masters of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims AKA 'vaccine court.' *Obviously* we take the rare but real instances of injuries seriously!

chathamharrison.bsky.social•61 days ago

The number of bespoke bureaucratic solutions there are for real problems that people are unaware of & therefore decide don't exists, I swear...

opulenceihazit.bsky.social•61 days ago

Yeah, as someone so deep in The Swamp it's amazing I can be exposed to sunlight, I try to constantly remind myself that the USG will always be a complete black box to the vast majority, including those who served in parts of it. But if you're going to make antivax part of your identity...C'mon, man!

inmontana.bsky.social•61 days ago

I want anti-vaxxers to listen to 10 minutes of This Week in Virology (https://Microbe.tv). If they don't understand the conversation (they won't) they should keep their stupid comments in their pockets.

rev-avocado.bsky.social•61 days ago

Our past indulgence of these people, rather than treating them something like how we treat people who shit in the middle of the street, is at fault.

chathamharrison.bsky.social•61 days ago

Somehow the notion of tough love died away & it's a shame, because the complex truths of intersectinoality & such only reinforce the necesssitry of being willing to face up to facts & process them on their own terms

rev-avocado.bsky.social•61 days ago

We should be more condescending and vicious to people like this, not less. Treat them not like foolish children to be indulged, but like grown-up morons who think the earth is flat. Signal to the masses that there isn't a debate.

chathamharrison.bsky.social•61 days ago

I don't know how to handle the word condescending here. Because I don't mean to imply people aren't equal to me or can't understand what I can. I mean to imply that they can understand & I goddamn well expect them to

meekon.bsky.social•61 days ago

Sigh.

ddelony.bsky.social•61 days ago

Buy them all a copy of the Schaum's Outline of Statistics.

pauljnadeau.bsky.social•61 days ago

I promise narratives will get farther than data

chathamharrison.bsky.social•61 days ago

The narrative I have is the narrative I can offer until kids start dying en masse again. I'd prefer it not come to that

pauljnadeau.bsky.social•61 days ago

Calling them baby killers is an effective narrative! Arguing facts and hard data only works when the people you’re arguing with are working faith and from the same methodological bases and antivaxers don’t qualify on either count

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