With reddit (hopefully) taking another step toward the digital graveyard, I figured hey, who cares if I get banned from another subreddit. I wondered if the censorship is still as bad as it used to be and tested the waters on /r/Coronavirus:

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What it means to be anti-vax

Let’s say you have a sister and she:

… supports other people’s right to express themselves, but lives a very quiet life and doesn’t like talking. Would you call her anti-free speech?

... supports other people’s right to move about freely and congregate where they please, but is a homebody and has no interest in venturing outside her hometown. Would you call her anti-freedom of movement?

... supports other people’s right to bear arms, but doesn’t own any and picking one up makes her queasy. Would you call her anti-gun?

... honors and respects the members of our military, but disapproves of our self-serving imperialist wars. Would you call her anti-soldier?

... supports legalizing pot, shrooms, and other drugs, but also believes they’re unhealthy and would never touch them. Would you call her anti-drugs?

... supports gay marriage, trans rights, etc., but imagining homosexuality for whatever reason grosses her out. Would you call her anti-LGBT?

... supports people’s right to practice their religion, but is agnostic and sometimes critical of the church. Would you call her anti-religion?

... finds kids adorable and believes they’re the key to our future, but doesn’t want any herself. Would you call her anti-child? Anti-society?

... supports a woman’s right to abortion, but finds the procedure abhorrent personally. Would you call her anti-abortion?

... supports other people’s right to vote, but has no interest in voting herself. Would you call her anti-suffrage?

... supports other people sending their kids to school, but thinks the common standardized school system is a worrying form of indoctrination. Would you call her anti-education?

... supports experimental medical treatments and research, but is the healthiest person you know and refuses even so much as an aspirin? Would you call her anti-medicine?

(and so on...)

No?

Then can we consider avoiding the broad and exaggerated use of “anti-vax” as an epithet? If not for civility’s sake, then at least for accuracy. If you’re actually talking to somebody that wants to ban/eradicate all vaccines from the face of the earth (which they have every right to think/argue), then I can understand calling somebody an anti-vaxxer. Otherwise, pro-liberty, pro-body autonomy, pro-safety, even just vaccine skeptic would be a welcome improvement in discourse, whether you’re for, against, or somewhere in between.

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Inspired by an "anti-fish" "conspiracy theorist".

weeee ♪♪