CV and mad panic behaviour

[Mav]

Are there any anti vaxxers here?

Literally no one identifies as an anti-vaxxer.

I flicked between radio stations on the night before the Victorian lockdown searching for news about the outbreak. I had the misfortune to land on 3AW in time to hear a talkback caller blaming vaccines for all the deaths in the UK and claiming the “inventor” of the RNA vaccines had said they were unsafe to use prior to 3 or 4 years of clinical trials. The host shut him down, saying something to the effect of, ”Surely you’re not arguing against vaccines - they’re the only way out of this pandemic”. There was a pregnant pause and then the caller said, “I’m not an anti-vaxxer - I’m pro-choice!”

Anti-vaxxers have learnt from the right-wing playbook. Never admit what you’re against: always say you’re pro something that sounds nice. Don’t say you’re against Blacks voting - say you’re in favour of measures to stop electoral fraud. Don’t say you’re against restricting gun sales to dangerous people - say you’re in favour of gun rights or the 2nd Amendment.

Unfortunately, left-wingers tend to like being controversial and provocative. For example, whoever invented the slogan “Defund the Police!” should be shot. Few if any people were proposing this. Instead the proposal was to increase the amount spent on crime prevention, for instance by addressing mental illness rather than police with little experience in that area shooting people in the grips of psychosis. But you’d have to think the slogan took off because they wanted to piss off the police.