Here’s what seems to be a logical progression… some witty/smart/creative troublemaker comes up with an idea and “puts it out there”. The idea enters an echo chamber of like-minded people who welcome it with open arms. The idea gets tossed around, talked about, enhanced upon… grown in different directions, exaggerated and then commandeered to suit the narrative of whoever is propagating it.
Eventually, the original source of the idea backs away… but that’s now irrelevant. Those who need the idea to exist hold onto it and continue to manipulate it to their heart’s content. When logical people argue against it, they get shot down. When those believers are told it was all made up and whatever was said originally simply isn’t true, they refuse to accept it. When the original guy comes out and says, ”Hey, I was kidding”… believers will assume he’s bought out/paid off/threatened… whatever. Then that person backs away from the mess they’ve created, and all that’s left is a big mess of people believing nonsense they want to believe.
Every single conspiracy theory imaginable can trace its origins to something like this. Some religions as well.
But also… good old common fake news.
The former president of the US made “fake news” a thing. I don’t think any of us had heard those words until Donald Trump began uttering them on an hourly basis, a response to anything that didn’t fit his narrative. And now it’s become the de-facto argument for when people disagree with something to which they have no counterargument.
This follows-up on yesterday’s post, because in reading what people have to say about the AstraZeneca vaccine, one thing is now clear. It was smeared briefly with misinformation, and that smear, for those who want to believe it, will never get polished off. There is no science, no data, no version of facts that can now be presented to someone that’d decided that the AZ vaccine causes blood clots. AZ vaccine causes blood clots in the same way water and fresh air and blinking causes blood clots, but nobody wants to hear that. If vaccines are evil, here’s one more gargantuan piece of evidence. Forget that it’s wrong; that doesn’t matter. Of course, scientists will tell you it’s safe, etc etc.
What can you do? Actually, nothing. I saw a piece of a reported wandering into a restaurant in a very red state; a 90% Trump-voting district. He went in there and asked for a show of hands… “Who’ll be getting the vaccine?”
Not a single hand from the dozens of unmasked people. Not one. He then interviewed a few of them and asked why not… and got the usual answers you’d expect… they’re trying to poison us, they’re trying to control us, they’re trying to kill us… or, it was rushed, it’s not safe, there’s no covid, fake news, etc.
One person was asked the exact question I wanted to hear answered: “If Donald Trump today came out and said to do it… like he did… he got the vaccine, albeit quietly without telling anyone… would you then get the vaccine?”
That particular answer: “No way… why would I listen to Trump? He’s a Liberal New Yorker. Can’t trust him!”.
“But you voted for him.”
“Whatever.”
This is not a “steep uphill”… it’s a vertical, slick and slippery and unclimbable wall. Not even worth trying.
Cmon BC! Get with the program and avoid gathering indoors! Mask up and stay safe! We gotta get the numbers down as the vaccine ramps up!
Pretty much the entire anti-vaccine movement can be traced back to that now fully discredited paper associating vaccines to autism.
That the whole premise has been discredited matters not. And what’s worse, the seeds of distrust sowed by that movement are largely powering the current resistance to the covid vaccines. The fact that the original study has been discredited, and that there is no biological link between that vaccine and the current ones is of no matter.
Because, as Mr Hooper has said; you can’t trust scientists!
Confirmation bias is a powerful thing. Even clever people will cherry pick data & narratives, that confirm their prior beliefs. No one likes to admit they were wrong about anything. Some people can’t admit they were wrong about anything. 😀 There’s absolutely no shame in getting things wrong, it’s not changing your mind, when there’s new evidence, that’s just obstinacy.
Aah Horatio Kemeny Aren’t you glad you’re not Bonnie Henry? I’m amazed at how she soldiers on politely trying to explain over & over, the same ideas as you do. I admire your patience .👍
Me: What if we banned cigarettes and alchohol to reduce the number of deaths associated with them?
You: It’s been tried before and people will just find away around ’em anyway, so nah.
Me: Wait, why? Don’t you want to save lives? Isn’t that what you all go on an on about?
You: Whatever.
Also you got a link to where you saw the reporter asking folks?