An Open Letter To The Anti-Vaxxers
Covid numbers are going down because most of us decided to get the vaccine. The very least you could do is say thank you.
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by Ben Cohen
Firstly, I’d like to assure you that I genuinely wish you well. I hope that you are all spared the ravages of serious illness and have a healthy enough immune system to get through a Covid infection. I have watched many people suffer terribly from the virus, some in my immediate family, and do not wish it on anyone.
Please do not take this letter as a lecture. I’m sure you have taken a lot of criticism from family and friends and do not wish to be talked down to. I know that anger and condescension rarely work when trying to get someone to change their minds, so I will try to be as civil as possible. You do need to understand why there is so much anger and frustration directed at you, so will be blunt: You are risking not only your own lives, but the lives of others too and this is something you are going to have to come to terms with.
To many of you, not getting the vaccine is an act of defiance — an F-You to the government, liberals, Nancy Pelosi etc, etc. To others it is because of Big Pharma, corporations, the threat of vaccine mandates, the novelty of mRNA technology etc, etc. I don’t want to spend time rebutting your arguments about any of the above. If your mind has been made up about it, it is unlikely anyone can persuade you otherwise. There is one argument from the pro-vaccine crowd that you do need to accept though.
The efficacy of the Covid vaccines is now undeniable. They work astonishingly well, and as we continue to amass more data the picture is becoming clearer than ever. While not 100% perfect, the vaccines almost guarantee you won’t be hospitalized with Covid, and work exceptionally well against long Covid. Furthermore, the vaccines significantly reduce the transmission rate of the virus. In other words, if you are vaccinated and get Covid, you are less likely to pass it on. No one with any serious background in data analysis or science believes otherwise. The argument is over: vaccines are saving lives and stopping the spread of Covid.
You have the right not to get vaccinated. I do not believe in forced vaccinations. I do however believe that private businesses, governments, airlines, and so on are entitled to prevent you from entering their premises or working for them if you have not been vaccinated. This is not, as many of you claim, “forced vaccination”. No one is forcing you to eat at a restaurant that requires a vaccine. You can leave your job if you do not want to submit to their requirements. If your gym requires proof of vaccination, go running and do push ups outside instead.
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Just as you once had to show proof of vaccination to go to school for measles, mumps and rubella, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis A, Diphtheria, Meningococcal, Rotavirus, chickenpox, Hib, Polio, Tetanus and Pertussis, you were always free not to go to public school. It is odd that you aren’t out in the streets protesting any of this, but I digress.
The point I really want to make here is that those of us who are vaccinated don’t like any of this either. I am no fan of Big Pharma. I don’t want the government interfering in my life any more than necessary. I hated the lockdown as much as anyone. I don’t like wearing a mask and hate that my kid has to wear one at his Montessori. I was a little scared when getting the vaccine, particularly given it was a new technology with relatively little history of use. I felt crappy both times and am not looking forward to the booster shot. I think most governments around the world screwed up their response to the pandemic and are continuing to do so. I have questions about the origin of Covid-19 and believe it could potentially be a lab leak (although I’m fairly sure we’ll never really know). This whole thing absolutely sucks and I want it to be over as soon as possible.
And this is why many of us are so angry with you. Covid numbers are going down because most of us decided to get the vaccine.
Had we not, it is almost certain that we would be in the midst of an even worse crisis. Hospitals would be overburdened, schools would be closed, and we’d be back to extreme social distancing. So instead of calling us sheep, complaining about infringements on your freedoms, and claiming you are being oppressed, it would be nice if you thanked us for taking one for the team. You are now able to go to restaurants unmasked, take your kids to school, and getting treated at the hospital for other illnesses because most of us got vaccinated.
This might be difficult for you to come to terms with. It is also hard to accept that your decision not to get vaccinated puts the rest of us in danger. This isn’t a theory though — it is a fact.
So go ahead and stay unvaccinated. But at the very least please try to understand the sacrifice the rest of us have made for you.
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The Ugly, Desperate Embrace Of Trumpism In Virginia
Glenn Youngkin is using a disgusting anti-semitic trope to rally MAGA voters in the gubernatorial race in Virginia.
by Justin Rosario
Four years ago, Republican Ed Gillespie was losing the Virginia gubernatorial race to Democrat Ralph Northam. Faced with defeat, Gillespie got desperate in the weeks leading up to election day. That desperation took the form of some of the ugliest campaigning in modern Virginia history. His campaign ran ads that had to be seen to be believed.
In the end, he pissed off enough Democrats that he was utterly crushed, 53.9% - 45%. Despite this fairly recent history, Republican Glenn Youngkin is pursuing a similar course of action with just two weeks until the election. This suggests he’s not doing as well as the polls would have us believe and we should all hope that’s the case. Another crushing loss for the GOP is a necessary step to containing the Trumpist fascism consuming the Republican Party. But even in defeat, Republicans leave behind nothing but hate and violence.
They always get to the Jews
After the election of 2016, I sat down with my wife Debbie to explain why I would never again speak to her Trump-voting mother and stepfather. The main point I made was that as an increasingly white nationalist movement, it wouldn’t be long before Republicans started attacking Jews. My exact words were “They always get to the Jews” and that’s exactly what happened as antisemitic rhetoric spread followed by a surge in antisemitic attacks….
You're wasting your time trying to talk reason with these cementheads, Ben. If anything, they demand that we should thank their Dear Leader Drumpf for giving us the vaccine in the first place, even though he had nothing to do with it, pushed bullshit remedies to the public that are dangerous for humans to ingest, and then took the vaccine in private so that his zombie army doesn't think of him as weak and caving in to the "wokies."
A lot of us will remember these selfish assholes and what they did to make everyone's lives miserable with their selfish attitude and behavior. Never forget!
Well written...another nice gesture that is futile. And by the way, MAGAs are not the only major demographic in staunch resistance to protecting themselves and doing something that helps the greater good. How do you explain to Black 'murica--over 2/3 of which is obese--that the Tuskegee experiment is over, and that their preoccupation with fertility will only win them a Herman Cain Award? "You can't explain the obvious to people who need the obvious explained."