Reddit's pre-covid anti-antivaxxer hysteria: Trying to nail down the time frame.

submitted by wristaction from (self.DownTheMemoryHole)

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[–][deleted] 6 insightful - 2 fun6 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 2 fun -  (5 children)

One thing that sticks out in my mind is the movie Vaxxed or whatever it was called, and especially the celebrities (De Niro?) and RFK Jr. being involved. I don't remember vaccines being so contentious before that, but then again maybe I just wasn't paying attention.

[–]bjam27 6 insightful - 3 fun6 insightful - 2 fun7 insightful - 3 fun -  (4 children)

I think you're right but even more was the "vaccines cause autism" thing where ever it came from was a big turning point for pro-vax. That was the ridiculous Alex Jones type thing people needed to make fun of it and to discredit anyone who disagreed.

[–]jet199 5 insightful - 2 fun5 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Combined with the sheer number of (often self declared) autistic people on social media who see that diagnosis as a mark of pride rather than a very serious disability which can leave someone incommunicable and dependant for the whole of their lives.

Anyone who points out parents might want to avoid having a kid with autism, through any cause, if they have the choice will get tarred as some kind of moral devil.

[–]wristaction[S] 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

I think the "causes autism" thing was from that Lancette study which was issued or retracted in 2011. The forced "anti-antivaxxer" hysteria I'm talking about came much later.

It also came as a highly polarized narrative plied by progressives against people they perceived to be to the right of them, despite that the effects of antivaxxerism (outbreaks of measels and such) were entirely localized to the deepest blue counties in the country, evidencing that the typical antivaxxer was not the flyover, trailer park Christian cultural boogieman of their narrative but rather the organic vegan hippie mom in their own backyards. So the entire anti-antivaxxer kulturkamph was falsely-premised and illegitimate to begin with.

[–]jet199 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

In Europe the anti vax movement has always been mostly left wing and far more popular among minorities (although churches were also clearly involved).

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Oh, I remember that well. It was Rolling Stone magazine who published the now infamous article from Wakefield I believe. I think other publications had refused to run it, but R$ was trying to be cool.