Of course, the imagery in the title is not about a loss of innocence, but a *sacrifice* of innocence, an image that resonates deeply in human myth, history, religion, and literature. 13/
-
Show this thread
-
The next question becomes: Sacrifice to what? In general, the implication of human sacrifice, particularly virgin sacrifice, is of ancient, pagan religion, and that’s clearly the imagery the video makers went for. 14/
1 reply 1 retweet 8 likesShow this thread -
The implication is that vaccination for HPV is based not on science, but rather on some form of irrational, religious belief system that demands a virgin sacrifice. (No one ever accused antivaxers of being subtle.) 16/
1 reply 1 retweet 10 likesShow this thread -
The point is, blaming SIDS and the deaths of children and teens on vaccines is longstanding tactic of antivaxers. They've even tried to portray shaken baby syndrome as a "misdiagnosis for vaccine injury" to acquit baby killers. 17/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-antivaccine-lie-that-just-wont-die-shaken-baby-syndrome-is-really-due-to-vaccine-injury/ …
2 replies 1 retweet 11 likesShow this thread -
I couldn't believe it myself when I first encountered this vile antivax lie examining the case of Alan Yurko. 18/ http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/comment/yurko1.htm …
1 reply 1 retweet 10 likesShow this thread -
The bottom line is that antivaxers are masters of preying on a grieving parent's need to have an explanation, to know why her child died. 19/
1 reply 2 retweets 13 likesShow this thread -
Antivaxers bait their hook with a seemingly reasonable explanation for the child's death, and the parents' hunger for any explanation leads her to take the bait and be reeled into the movement. 20/
1 reply 2 retweets 11 likesShow this thread -
Once there, the grieving parents receive empathy aplenty and a new, powerful social support network to help them. To antivaxers they're martyrs who unknowingly "sacrificed" their children after all. 21/
1 reply 2 retweets 12 likesShow this thread -
That same grief is then weaponized, making the parents a human shield against critics as described above, and a powerful "in" to gain access to lawmakers and powerful people. Who would turn down a meeting with a grieving mother? Who wouldn't give her a respectful hearing? 22/
1 reply 2 retweets 12 likesShow this thread -
What reporter would risk appearing callous reporting on such parents? What parents wouldn't feel their pain? 23/
1 reply 2 retweets 12 likesShow this thread
That's what makes @BrandyZadrozny's report so valuable. Until now, pretty much only bloggers and pro-science social media personalities have dared touch this sort of story. Kudos to her and @NBCNews for taking this one on. 24/
-
-
Sadly, I predict that the antivax backlash will be epic.
@BrandyZadrozny is the first mainstream media reporter that I can recall to have so directly taken on the #1 sacred cite of the antivaccine movement. 25/254 replies 4 retweets 28 likesShow this thread -
The #1 sacred cow. Damn, Twitter. I need an edit function, even if it's only good for a few minutes.
1 reply 0 retweets 12 likesShow this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.