Comment by javajosh | Hacker News Reader

Comment by javajosh | Hacker News Reader

So apparently the kerfuffle started when someone posted a memo to social media, according to (now fired) official Michelle Fiscus: https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/health/2021/07/12/covi...

Someone thought this memo, which was a technical legal document distributed to medical providers, was undermining parents choice. A lot of Tennessians agreed, called their state senators, etc, and now this happens.

The argument that it undermines parental authority is stupid, and I won't talk about that. What's more interesting is that this is a very clear cut case of the real-world harm social media can do.

The tide of outrage and ignorance can be powerful and is unchecked by its own absurdity. The emotional appeal to Trumpians who already feel victimized, bitter, and antagonistic to government, especially WRT healthcare, is unmistakable. It doesn't matter if it makes sense logically, or is inconsistent with Trumps own statements. The outrage is the point. The people in power who encourage ride these tidal waves of dangerous ignorance endanger us all in a very real way. Since all forms of self-restraint are now passe, apparently, it's time to consider options for restraining them.

Social media no doubt facilitates this kind of harm but by no means causes it.

it not just facilitates it, but it magnifies it allowing it to grow faster than corrections can be made. and that's the real danger.

What facilitates this is combination of ideology, vested-interests and rumor-spreading/news-crafting. The satanic child abuse scare of the 90s is an example of this sort of thing, as were most of the actual lynching that occurred in the first of half of 20th century.

“A lie will circle the Earth before the truth can put it’s boots on.”

(Something along those lines)

Yes, in the same way gasoline facilitates fire, but doesn't cause it.

I'm curious, do you still not believe that vaccine injury is real? The FDA and CDC have now repeatedly acknowledged it's existence with the COVID-19 vaccines.

If you do believe that it's real with respect to the COVID-19 vaccines, what is your reasoning for advocating for "restraining" people who are concerned about this issue?

Driving is dangerous but we still teach teenagers to drive. We weigh the risks and the benefits and, despite the risks, do it anyway.

It is a degenerate form of the straw-man fallacy to bring up only the risks. Additionally, this kerfuffle is predicated on the totally false assertion that the state is taking parents out of the decision-making loop.

There is NO substance here. NOTHING.

There. You made me talk about the stupid thing. I hope you're happy.

There is a daily, constant conversation about the benefits of vaccines. I don't need to bring that up. It is implied.

There are people whose lives have been destroyed by vaccines. That isn't nothing. It seems they are just too much of a minority for you to care. Or you don't believe they exist. And that's why I asked you that question, because we can't have a conversation without understanding where each of us is coming from.

If you don't want to talk then don't talk. But don't attack and insult me. I'm not making you do anything.

There are 500k+ Americans dead. Even if the vaccine killed 50K people it would be worth it. I will insult you and your ilk because it is under the guise of respectable reasonable discussion that you do your damage. I'm done pretending you don't have blood on your hands, and that I don't hate you for it.

I was nearly killed by a series of vaccine injuries. It was excruciating and slow. I'm alive today because I'm a biochemist and was able to pursue experimental treatment.

I'm going to do what I need to survive. I will not be a sacrifice for your fake greater good.

There are several practical options for defending against respiratory infections. There are no practical options for defending against serious vaccine injury. We either cure ourselves or our lives are destroyed. We do not get any healthcare.

So you won the shit lottery, and now you want people to stop playing, to protect them, is that it? So if you get MRSA in a hospital are you going to tell people to stop going to the hospital? And if someone called you an asshole for doing that, would you also claim that they are treating you as a "sacrifice for a fake greater good?"

You are blinded by rage, self-pity, and a false sense that you are protecting others. Because you won the shit lottery, you think its more likely than it is, and it colors your perspective on vaccination. You have a better justification for your cognitive bias than most anti-vaxxers, but you're still just as wrong, dishonest, and deadly. Signing off.

I'm not telling anyone to do anything. If people want to get vaccinated that's fine by me.

I do not believe that I'm "protecting" people, and I certainly would not waste my time trying to protect able-bodied people who are fully capable of protecting themselves.

But I do work hard to help disabled people when they ask for help, particularly those with similar experiences to myself.

To be clear, I think vaccines do far more harm than good. I agree that serious, acute vaccine injury is very rare, but I would argue that a slow, debilitating degradation of health from vaccines is very very common. There is a rapidly growing body of research and real-world data indicating that vaccines significantly reduce our immune systems ability to defend against evolving viral threats. Short term, some vaccines appear to be a good idea, but long-term they may be a net-negative.

You could almost call this a case of cancel culture run amok.

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