With all the talk about anti-vaxxers in recent news, the debate either for or against vaccinations has heated up once again. Marianne Williamson’s last appearance on Anderson Copper didn’t help; she got caught up trying to walk back much of her past anti-vax rhetoric. That rhetoric included Williamson’s assessment that illnesses are merely illusions to overcome with positive thoughts.
When it comes to vaccines, one thing is for sure; people will create all kinds of arguments to support their belief that vaccinations are dangerous, harmful, or unnecessary. A Twitter account named @ChristnNitemare offers up one of the best (and absurd) examples of the nonsense people will spew to support their anti-vax positions: Enter Jesus.
Nobody should be surprised that religion is front and center in the vaccination debate, but a young woman is getting dragged on Twitter for posting a selfie, wearing a T-shirt that reads: “Spoiler Alert … Jesus Wasn’t Vaccinated.”
#WednesdayWisdom h/t @GodlessEngineer cc: @AndyRichter pic.twitter.com/7nCPnDggpj
— Christian Nightmares (@ChristnNitemare) July 31, 2019
I don’t know if this woman really thinks she’s making a persuasive argument here with that message, but it’s odd considering the short life-expectancy for humans during the days of Jesus. I felt compelled to respond to her post but realized there was no need. Most gloriously, fellow Twitter users stepped up to the plate to do it for me, delivering a slew of hilarious replies to “Anti Vax Annie” (I made that name up).
The fun team over at Bored Panda compiled the top 26 Twitter responses to this Tshirt hot mess. Out of all the replies, this one is my favorite:
The remaining 25 are pretty funny too Check them out. You’re welcome!
The Jesus wasn’t Vaccinated shirt was worn in response to the antisemitism occurring in New York following the confirmed cases of measles in the ultra orthodox Jewish community. As reported by The Atlantic, “Since the start of the latest measles outbreak last fall, the Anti-Defamation League has seen a spike in reports of harassment specifically related to measles, yet another expression of rising anti-Semitism in the U.S.: pedestrians crossing the street to get away from visibly Jewish people, bus drivers barring Jews from boarding, and people tossing out slurs such as “dirty Jew.”
The message of the shirt was never meant to be a statement on why someone should or shouldn’t vaccinate, but rather a tongue in cheek reminder that Jesus, another Orthodox Jew, was not vaccinated either. Would we find it acceptable to treat him the same way?
The story here shouldn’t be about the immediate gratification of “group think” backlash, nor should the vile responses of the masses be used to further the divide between those society has labeled “pro-vaxxers” and “antivaxxers”. The real story, should anyone possess the journalistic integrity to pursue it, is that society has deemed it acceptable to abolish the first amendment rights of an entire community of Americans because they choose to decline the administration of a pharmaceutical product. Completely healthy individuals in NY were banned from going to synagogue over Passover, attending school or leaving their homes because their religious convictions prevented them from accepting a vaccine for a benign childhood illness.
The mainstream media has sat idly by as Big Tech has stripped Americans of their freedoms of speech and assembly, and when they’re not silent on the subject they’re actively stoking the flames of discrimination and furthering the hysteria directed towards those of us labeled “antivaxxers”. Facebook, google, YouTube, Instagram, twitter and Pinterest have all censored the free flow of information regarding vaccines and replaced it with government approved propaganda, and instead of keeping these entities accountable for their actions, the mainstream media has encouraged it.
Religious freedom is the cornerstone of a free nation, and yet no one appears to be batting an eye as religious exemptions for vaccine mandates are being stripped away, state by state. Instead of standing on the foundation of freedom that guarantees us the security of a free press, the ability to assemble and freely share ideas and information, the promise of petition for the redress of grievances against the government and the freedom to exercise the religious practices of our choice, the media has instead decided to stand on the backs of those of us who are directly affected by such blatant violations of our civil liberties.
Today’s culture has made it far too easy to silence, slander, threaten and intimidate those we disagree with when we should be listening to each other; the majority of anti-vaxxers are actually ex-vaxxers who have experienced vaccine injury within their own families. Instead of demonizing us, I implore you to simply listen to our stories. We are not Russian bots, we are not uneducated and we are not a threat to public health. I am a nurse with 10 years of experience and I’ve witnessed the declining health of our children over the last few decades; we have replaced benign childhood illnesses with life altering chronic diseases. Under the supervision of the CDC, NIH and AAP, we have watched as chronic childhood illness has skyrocketed to 54%; we’ve trusted these agencies with the health and safety of our children, and they have failed us time and time again without fear of reprisal. Vaccine mandates violate our right to physical autonomy, informed consent and religious freedom. As long as there is risk, there must be choice, and that choice must be ours to make without fear of intimidation or discrimination.
First prove Jesus really exists.
Myths.