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rinueI think most of the evil in this world happens because people are afraid of the wrong things.
I didn't know that I thought that, but having examined my reaction to antivaxers, it's the conclusion I've come to. My reaction is not about about poor innocent babies, or about any belief I'm at risk from unvaccinated people. There is an element of annoyance at white, educated, suburban people who believe without realizing it that sickness happens to and comes from poor lazy brown people, but not enough to explain the electric rage that seizes the skin of my arms when somebody criticizes the recommended vaccine schedule.
They don't even have to say "autism" or "mercury conspiracy." They can say "I don't think my child needs Hep B; my child won't ever have unprotected sex with anyone who has Hep B, so why take the risk?" (The risk that is no risk. The risk that is significantly less than the odds your kid will have unprotected sex.)
I am more angry at people who say this than people who hate feminism or advocate killing gay people, or who act in other ways that actively threaten me. I am angry in a way I am not angry about other conspiracy theories or forms of science denial. Usually, those things are understandable to me, because they seek to maintain a privilege or unfair advantage. Selfishness isn't my favorite, but I can negotiate with it. I can empathize. I can have arguments about what is fair; I have a sister and lots of practice.
The antivax stuff isn't selfish, though. It's frightened people who have dramatically misunderstood the risks to both themselves and the people around them. It is scared people firing blindly into a crowd with their eyes closed. They are prosecutors who could fight for justice, who want to fight for justice, who try to make the evidence fit the first guy they brought in for questioning, while the real killers run free.
I think most of the evil in this world happens because people are afraid of the wrong things.
I didn't know that I thought that, but having examined my reaction to antivaxers, it's the conclusion I've come to. My reaction is not about about poor innocent babies, or about any belief I'm at risk from unvaccinated people. There is an element of annoyance at white, educated, suburban people who believe without realizing it that sickness happens to and comes from poor lazy brown people, but not enough to explain the electric rage that seizes the skin of my arms when somebody criticizes the recommended vaccine schedule.
They don't even have to say "autism" or "mercury conspiracy." They can say "I don't think my child needs Hep B; my child won't ever have unprotected sex with anyone who has Hep B, so why take the risk?" (The risk that is no risk. The risk that is significantly less than the odds your kid will have unprotected sex.)
I am more angry at people who say this than people who hate feminism or advocate killing gay people, or who act in other ways that actively threaten me. I am angry in a way I am not angry about other conspiracy theories or forms of science denial. Usually, those things are understandable to me, because they seek to maintain a privilege or unfair advantage. Selfishness isn't my favorite, but I can negotiate with it. I can empathize. I can have arguments about what is fair; I have a sister and lots of practice.
The antivax stuff isn't selfish, though. It's frightened people who have dramatically misunderstood the risks to both themselves and the people around them. It is scared people firing blindly into a crowd with their eyes closed. They are prosecutors who could fight for justice, who want to fight for justice, who try to make the evidence fit the first guy they brought in for questioning, while the real killers run free.
I think most of the evil in this world happens because people are afraid of the wrong things.
