For one thing, it's worth noting that there's a difference between anti-vaccine activists and parents who are worried about vaccinating. I talked about this in my most recent blog https://link.medium.com/n6hqjTfCzV
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I don't know any doctors, nurses, or health professionals who aren't willing to lend an ear to worried parents and empathise
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But then I remember the first time I tried to have an honest debate and really connect with an anti-vaccine activist After days of back-and-forth, it turned out that they were also a Holocaust denier, made fun of disabled children, and I eventually had to block them
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Similarly with flat-earth - you only have to check out the hashtag to see a broad connection with some truly horrifying stuff It is often pretty hard to empathize when the people you're talking to have swastika tattoos
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I'm all for being understanding, and giving people a chance As
@timminchin said recently, we should all be a little less shit to each other onlineShow this thread -
But I struggle with the idea that what's lacking is that we just need to understand people who spread some truly awful stuff I'm not sure more empathy is necessarily going to help
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I'm also not sure I agree that we aren't empathetic now. Most people are empathetic most of the time. Hard to be perfect, of course
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Makes a reasonable point about experiences that lead to those beliefs. & empathy is important. But I don't think it's the solution in those who are flat earthers & anti-vaxxers because they're conspiracy theorists. Distinction you draw between vaccine hesitancy & anti-vax is key.
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Mind you I do think there is a section of twitter that is more interested in retweeting mad things people say online with “look how dumb and wrong this person is” so that people will go “yes, they are!” It does sometimes feel like a bit of a circle-jerk. But that’s the internet
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
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