Hey guys,
Thought I'd never see this day come, but it is now here and I need help because I'm at a loss for what to do. So here's a little background to bolster your understanding.
I was casually talking to my mother earlier and we spoke about her workplace and how there was an anti-vaxxer there. She talked about how this anti-vaxxer was loud,obnoxious and trying to convince everyone in her workplace to not take vaccines.
My mother is your typical boomer (40-60 years old), very little knowledge about science and whatnot, and her workplace is of a similar ilk. She talk about how there was this anti-vaxxer that had started to convince other boomers in her workplace to not take vaccines, by showing them internet websites and youtube videos. She forwarded a picture of a list to my mother, listing all the ingredients in the vaccine, and because of their scientific nature. e.g 1-2 hydroxychloride, di-hydrogen monoxide etc etc (forgive my high school chem skills) she said it did initially scare her, and many others at her workplace.
I managed to convince my mother that vaccines were indeed good, and that herd-immunity was important. But this debunking took quite a bit of time. I had to try and link real life examples that she sees in everyday life, and try to link those experiences to positively reinforce the fact that vaccines were indeed good, and that some side effects that could be seen in some people were not related to the vaccine being bad.
It seems pretty scary how anti-vaxxers can sway opinions so quickly, but scientific proofs take time to explain and relate.
But it was pretty alarming at how the workplace at where she works at (they deal with children on a daily basis) has not fired her for her beliefs as they are putting other kids in danger. In addition to that, I was disheartened to hear that some of them were fearful enough that they skipped on their flu shots this year. Purely because of this anti-vaxxer and the coronavirus scare.
I would like to hear about your experiences if any, and how you managed to convince others that vaccines were in fact, good. Perhaps I could learn to teach others more effectively too.
My view is don't bother. Everyone has a contrarian opinion on everything these days exacerbated by the rise of fake news and blind social media resharing.
You might want to try a bit, but if they were ever susceptible to logic, they wouldn't be like that in the first place. I would say let it play it's course over time and things will inevitably self-fix.
Not too long ago we had legal slavery, it was perfectly normal to come home and smack your wife if your dinner was too salty and thought cigarettes were healthy medicine.
Humanity fixes itself over time. It takes effort and sacrifice but not on pointless individual local level.