Personally, I distinguish between folks who were anti-vax before COVID, and then those who became so after COVID.
For the "before" group... I think this group was largely sorta radlib (they would say lefty) or somewhat apolitical. Or a Rogan-esque mishmash of ideals. Their anti-vax stance is driven usually by broadly being anti-corporate and being pro-organic/anti-GMO. The type of people who are fairly restrictive regarding what they ingest in their bodies. They would argue that if we think corporations will do anything to increase profit, is it really a stretch to think they would push unnecessary vaccines on the public? I obviously disagree as I think science shows how important these vaccines are, but I also can help but feel a twinge of sympathy for this position because I absolutely wouldn't put it past a corporation (really the capitalists who own the corporation) to do this.
Then you have all the folks - nearly all of them reactionaries - who've jumped on the wagon recently. They will come up with all sorts of rationalizations to not get the vaccine but ultimately it's about as rational as them throwing tantrums over wearing a mask in the supermarket. The reasons are secondary. It's all about them showing defiance against a system they think is pitted against them. It's why you have stories of health care centers in the Ozarks who are giving vaccines to people who are terrified that it will be found out that they got the vaccines. These people have decided that getting the vaccine in a sign of being subservient to a state and system that is against them, and they just come up with whatever rationalization they need to that works in the moment. Funny enough I get this impression this group isn't against all vaccines, just the COVID one.
Fair enough, my perception might be skewed as I was really into organic food and stuff like that for a while so that group might appear larger to me than it is.
Personally, I distinguish between folks who were anti-vax before COVID, and then those who became so after COVID.
For the "before" group... I think this group was largely sorta radlib (they would say lefty) or somewhat apolitical. Or a Rogan-esque mishmash of ideals. Their anti-vax stance is driven usually by broadly being anti-corporate and being pro-organic/anti-GMO. The type of people who are fairly restrictive regarding what they ingest in their bodies. They would argue that if we think corporations will do anything to increase profit, is it really a stretch to think they would push unnecessary vaccines on the public? I obviously disagree as I think science shows how important these vaccines are, but I also can help but feel a twinge of sympathy for this position because I absolutely wouldn't put it past a corporation (really the capitalists who own the corporation) to do this.
Then you have all the folks - nearly all of them reactionaries - who've jumped on the wagon recently. They will come up with all sorts of rationalizations to not get the vaccine but ultimately it's about as rational as them throwing tantrums over wearing a mask in the supermarket. The reasons are secondary. It's all about them showing defiance against a system they think is pitted against them. It's why you have stories of health care centers in the Ozarks who are giving vaccines to people who are terrified that it will be found out that they got the vaccines. These people have decided that getting the vaccine in a sign of being subservient to a state and system that is against them, and they just come up with whatever rationalization they need to that works in the moment. Funny enough I get this impression this group isn't against all vaccines, just the COVID one.
There was a significant if not majority far right component to the before group too.
Fair enough, my perception might be skewed as I was really into organic food and stuff like that for a while so that group might appear larger to me than it is.
Yeah I guess that exists too however all the hard anti vaxxers I know are deep into shitty fascist boomer FB pages and/or religious nonsense.
Yeah, you had Trump saying some anti-vaxx stuff before the pandemic, it's absolutely not something entirely new.
woke individualist consumerists interacting with the world via choice in the market
Like Afghani doctors who have to insist they aren't CIA