The push to make California the third state to do away with personal exemptions from childhood vaccinations has been partly defined by a war of words between opposing sides of the debate, as highlighted in an article by Jezebel. The public shaming campaign illustrated by the pro vaccination group’s “Anti-Vax Wall of Shame” is countered by the anti-vaccination group’s “Anti-Vax Wall of Shame — Fall of the Wall.”
California is one of 14 states that have proposed legislation to curb or eliminate personal exemptions to vaines followin the high profile measles outbreak at Disneyland.
The pro vaxxers seem to think that quoting Thomas Jefferson gives them the moral high ground to, as they say: catalog the stupid sh*t their opponents post “then mock it into the dust for all of Facebook to see.”
The strength of the pro vaccine argument has always been in the rational argument it makes backed by the science demonstrating the effectiveness of childhood vaccines to protect children and the mass public against potentially life threatening viruses and eradicating them.
The self congratulatory, backslapping tone of the Wall of Shame makes me cringe. It doesn’t elevate their argument and I don’t see how it persuades anyone who hasn’t made up their mind on this issue because they take such a dim view of anyone who disagrees with them. As the number 1 rule in its list says:
This is a place to mock and snark. People who ask “why aren’t y’all being nicer to the vaccine denialist cult members and trying to educate them” are missing the point – there are many many many other sources of education and information. Some of us are actually involved in those sources (books, pages, websites, community organizations, etc.). This group, however, is a place for us to blow off steam regarding the frustrations we experience dealing with these entrenched, intransigent cult members. A wise member here described this as our staffroom – we’re not here to be nice. That’s for elsewhere.
But if the creepy tactics the Fall of Shame’s members are accused of using against the opposition are accurate, they are prepared to lower the tone of the conversation in a big way. The Jezebel article calls attention to a campaign of intimidation through posting nasty comments in Wall of Shame members’ personal photo albums and sending messages to their children.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
It’s an emotional debate to be sure. Issues like how parents should take of their own children always are. The exasperation by people who support vaccinations that the public health arguments aren’t enough to sway their anti vaccine opponents who rely on fear mongering to help make their case. comparisons to in comparing compare vaccines to the medical argument and what the government has to say about it tend to raise the defenses of people who feel like they’re losing control of their children’s
I’d take shrill yet sensible over startling intimidation any day. Suffice to say the truce flag won’t be going up anytime soon, nor even a let’s agree to disagree compromise. However much technology has helped us overcome communication barriers, it only seems to give the ability to accelerate the decline of civilized discourse.
