I have always been amazed at how far afield Bobby Kennedy’s son has gone on vaccines. Oh, sure, he’s a conspiracy nut, but still.
If he were the only crazy, we’d still have to work to overcome the misinformation. But, now, there’s a whole world of crazy out there.
The newest rumor mongers? The Christian right.
It seems they are producing videos telling folks not to get vaccinated. Not just videos- but biblically inspired vignettes. Where those that get vaccinated are splayed with blood and seem to be approaching death.
After all, these vaccines contain microchips (NOT) that track you all day long. Or they have fetal tissue- which means you are helping to murder unborn babies. (That last statement along has such tortured English; I have to stifle a guffaw every time I hear it.)
These claims are made despite the safety reviews for the BioNTech (Pfizer) and Moderna vaccines.
You might have heard of the Plandemic video (an anti vax diatribe that was viewed some 1.8 million times). Or, “Is the COVID-19 vaccine the Mark of the Beast” that’s been viewed some 200,000 times. (I am sure those numbers are low- this was written about a month ago.)
Amazingly 44% of White Evangelicals are unwilling to get vaccinated. (Hmm. Maybe we can send them to a different country?)
Therein lies the problem. If the video is religiously based (even if dead wrong), can it be banned without running afoul of religious discrimination clauses? After all, folks can claim that their misinformation is clearly of a religious nature. (Think about it- if someone told you that their neighbor was resurrected from the dead- is that misinformation or religious belief?)
But, these misinformation masters persist. From the King Jesus International Ministry (Miami) that believes in the Mark of the Beast fiction. The Amazing Power of Prayer claims there are microchips in the vaccines. Of course, Russia Today POUNCES on the misinformation propounded by these two churches (and others).
While Hispanics are not a monolithic community (the way many politicians consider them), their language barriers, immigration fears, lack of outreach from local/state government, or even the fact that the information is primarily found on the web where they may not be, means Latinos are subject to the same pressures and fears as the White Christian Right. In particular, the Hispanics are also scared (besides the microchips- not, or the AntiChrist- also not) that the information being taken by government authorities when a vaccine is proffered. They are worried it will be used to track (or spy on) them.
Or, Doctores por la Verdad (Doctors for Truth [sic]) which operates around the world spreading disinformation, is another source of disinformation aimed at Hispanics. And, even though they operate outside the USA, their lies poison the minds of Latinos here.
No, I don’t have an answer to this problem. Except to ask each of you to avoid these founts of misinformation.
There are other religious communities that have issues with vaccinations too, such as certain communities in Brooklyn and Rockland County, New York. It happened with measles and now with COVID. It is going to be beyond tragic if we have to achieve herd immunity the “old fashioned way” rather than through modern medicine because of people like this.
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I absolutely agree- the difference is that these other organizations do not believe in using the internet, so it’s a little less prevalent, Alana.
If I see or hear about any of these “truths” NOT, I turn the page or channel. Hubby and I have both our vaccines and continue to wear masks and keep our distance. (which is a good thing in more ways than one…it keeps the crazies away from us!) LOL
That it does, Martha. Now, if we could only keep them away from everyone!