Covid vaccination status?

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I don't think a lot of people who are pushing vaccines really understand that they are only driving neutral/on the fence people away by being so aggressive in their stance.

Of course not, but modern America is full of tankies. There was already some commentary upthread about tying people who don't want to get vaccinated down and jabbing them against their will. It may have been presented as a joke, but don't for a second think there aren't a significant number of people out there who would be okay with this actually happening, if not outright supportive of it.

So I doubt the average person being a pain in someone's ass about their decision not to get vaccinated really cares whether it is effective at convincing them. Because it doesn't matter - if it convinces them great, but if it doesn't then their continued refusal will be used as justification for finding ways to punish them for their decision. And if that still doesn't work, it will be used as justification for ultimately taking away their freedom to make the decision for themselves.

Just a few pages back people in this thread were suggesting fining people, and not letting them go to college or have a job if they don't get vaccinated. It's disturbing to me that people want to take other's freedoms away over this just because they don't agree with them.

It's disturbing to me that many people's barometer of liberty is how much they're allowed to endanger unwilling/unknowing strangers that they may encounter. Many people believe incorrectly that they only risk themselves through their actions. I'm no bleating "you could kill someone's grandma", and this goes to many issues beyond vaccines.

[hbelkins]

Great news. Hopefully vaccinations rise back up.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/10/health/pfizer-covid-vaccine-teens.html

My whole family can get it now.

My sister is hesitant and she doesn't want it.

Tell her that she's prolonging the pandemic by not getting vaccinated.

Anti-vaxxers don't care.

Hence why I called them brats.  "Science, public health departments and half the population are going ahead and getting vaccinated, but I am going to sit here and make everyone pay attention to me as long as I can like a third-grader waiting to pick the first person to be on their team."  The game can't begin until they do and everyone is tired of the wait.

But here's the thing, being antagonist towards people on the fence about vaccination does more to push them away than encourage them (subjective opinion from first hand observations).  In the case of Tolbs and his sister that's a literal captive audience who really ultimately doesn't have a say because she's a child.  Conversely when people get on my wife's case about vaccines I can see the level of annoyance just compounding over time.  She definitely isn't being encouraged by people trying to guilt her into doing something she isn't ready to do (myself included).  I suspect that a lot of people who are equally on the fence feel the same way and only get discouraged by people giving the riot act on vaccines.  All this "social encouragement"  stuff throughout COVID has really just fallen flat on it's face from the word go.

Exactly my point:  The more they annoy the rest of us by not picking a team member, the more enjoyment they get out of it.  They harden their resolve to stand up there and show how strong they are in ruining everything for the rest of us.

So, still brat territory.  And you're right, the way to deal with brats is not to give them the attention they deserve.

Truth be told, I'm only venting on here because I'm just tired this whole ridiculous situation.  Whether it is persuasive or not, so be it.

All Rothman and his incessant "everyone should get the shot" babble is doing is convincing me that he's a jerk.

*personal opinion emphasized 

Truth be told, I might be more inclined to get the shot if people -- and by people I mean AA Roads posters, celebrities, random Twitter blue-checks, governors, television networks, etc., basically everybody -- would just shut up about it. The more you push me to do something, the more resistant I am to do it, whether it's cleaning out the garage or getting a shot. There's honestly more peer pressure involved in getting this stupid shot than I ever experienced as a teen to smoke, drink, do drugs, skip school, or anything else.

I have weighed the pros and cons of getting the shot and find that no benefits accrue from me taking it. If you can still catch covid, if you can still spread covid, if you still have to wear a mask and not gather in large groups, then why would I take a shot with possible known short-term side effects and unknown long-term side effects if it's not guaranteed to keep me from catching a virus that I don't have that great of a chance of catching in the first place? Especially given my own history with the flu; in that I've never had a flu shot and I've never had the flu despite numerous exposures over the years that would have gotten me imprisoned at home for two weeks if it had been covid, regardless of whether or not I got sick?

I respect the decision of those who took the shot under the presumption that it was in their own best interests. I don't think it's too much to ask for the same respect for a different decision.

And I honest-to-God hope that Dan Moraseski never reproduces. I don't have any kids. I didn't really want to have any, for a variety of reasons, but I understand that many (most) people do. Whether he was kidding or not, that statement was way out of line.

[Roadgeekteen]

Great news. Hopefully vaccinations rise back up.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/10/health/pfizer-covid-vaccine-teens.html

My whole family can get it now.

My sister is hesitant and she doesn't want it.

Tell her that she's prolonging the pandemic by not getting vaccinated.

Anti-vaxxers don't care.

Hence why I called them brats.  "Science, public health departments and half the population are going ahead and getting vaccinated, but I am going to sit here and make everyone pay attention to me as long as I can like a third-grader waiting to pick the first person to be on their team."  The game can't begin until they do and everyone is tired of the wait.

But here's the thing, being antagonist towards people on the fence about vaccination does more to push them away than encourage them (subjective opinion from first hand observations).  In the case of Tolbs and his sister that's a literal captive audience who really ultimately doesn't have a say because she's a child.  Conversely when people get on my wife's case about vaccines I can see the level of annoyance just compounding over time.  She definitely isn't being encouraged by people trying to guilt her into doing something she isn't ready to do (myself included).  I suspect that a lot of people who are equally on the fence feel the same way and only get discouraged by people giving the riot act on vaccines.  All this "social encouragement"  stuff throughout COVID has really just fallen flat on it's face from the word go.

Exactly my point:  The more they annoy the rest of us by not picking a team member, the more enjoyment they get out of it.  They harden their resolve to stand up there and show how strong they are in ruining everything for the rest of us.

So, still brat territory.  And you're right, the way to deal with brats is not to give them the attention they deserve.

Truth be told, I'm only venting on here because I'm just tired this whole ridiculous situation.  Whether it is persuasive or not, so be it.

All Rothman and his incessant "everyone should get the shot" babble is doing is convincing me that he's a jerk.

*personal opinion emphasized 

Truth be told, I might be more inclined to get the shot if people -- and by people I mean AA Roads posters, celebrities, random Twitter blue-checks, governors, television networks, etc., basically everybody -- would just shut up about it. The more you push me to do something, the more resistant I am to do it, whether it's cleaning out the garage or getting a shot. There's honestly more peer pressure involved in getting this stupid shot than I ever experienced as a teen to smoke, drink, do drugs, skip school, or anything else.

I have weighed the pros and cons of getting the shot and find that no benefits accrue from me taking it. If you can still catch covid, if you can still spread covid, if you still have to wear a mask and not gather in large groups, then why would I take a shot with possible known short-term side effects and unknown long-term side effects if it's not guaranteed to keep me from catching a virus that I don't have that great of a chance of catching in the first place? Especially given my own history with the flu; in that I've never had a flu shot and I've never had the flu despite numerous exposures over the years that would have gotten me imprisoned at home for two weeks if it had been covid, regardless of whether or not I got sick?

I respect the decision of those who took the shot under the presumption that it was in their own best interests. I don't think it's too much to ask for the same respect for a different decision.

And I honest-to-God hope that Dan Moraseski never reproduces. I don't have any kids. I didn't really want to have any, for a variety of reasons, but I understand that many (most) people do. Whether he was kidding or not, that statement was way out of line.

You have a much lower chance of catching and spreading covid and you can gather in large groups with vaccinated people. The vaccine isn't perfect, but it's very effective.

[NE2]

Holy crap, I found something I agree with H Belkins about.

[Roadgeekteen]

Holy crap, I found something I agree with H Belkins about.

Do you not want the covid vaccine either?

[webny99]

Even if you're trying to be funny you probably ought not tell someone that his wife hates the world for waiting to near middle age to have one kid.  I'm not really offended, I'm more disappointed.  A lot of us interact and know each other outside this forum, we talk about people in the road community.  A lot of people go to bat for NE2 despite the things he says to people on this forum.  I want to give people the benefit of the doubt, but how can I in this instance when there is so much evidence (by his own actions on this forum) to support that he meant what he said?  I'm not the nicest person myself, but what he said took  things to a whole another level.

Plus you are all missing that he also said that Jessica wants the pandemic to go on because she is hesitant to get a vaccine.  That plays right into the point I was making pages back on how that attitude can backfire and push people away from getting one.

I don't want to further derail this thread, but I will add that I completely agree with what you said here. I'm not defending his comment at all, I found it to be unscrupulous and unnecessary, and didn't think it added anything to the discussion.

But my point is that it is also important to take anything said on the Internet with a few grains of salt and not read too much into it, since it's basically impossible to know for sure what someone's thoughts/feelings/motivations are. In other words, neither "Haha, funny joke" or "NE2 is terrible!" is the appropriate response here. Ultimately, discussing his comment only amplifies it further, so the best response might just be no response at all.

[webny99]

Holy crap, I found something I agree with H Belkins about.

Do you not want the covid vaccine either?

Goodness gracious, we are off the rails, but anyways, I think this is what they agree about:

And I honest-to-God hope that Dan Moraseski never reproduces. I don't have any kids. I didn't really want to have any, for a variety of reasons, but I understand that many (most) people do. Whether he was kidding or not, that statement was way out of line.

[JayhawkCO]

There's honestly more peer pressure involved in getting this stupid shot than I ever experienced as a teen to smoke, drink, do drugs, skip school, or anything else.

Because getting this shot helps society at large.  Those other things you could have been pressured to do have a far more limited scope in their effect on others.  If we can't come together on wanting to eliminate a pandemic, what can we have society unite on at this point?

Chris

[NWI_Irish96]

There's honestly more peer pressure involved in getting this stupid shot than I ever experienced as a teen to smoke, drink, do drugs, skip school, or anything else.

Because getting this shot helps society at large.  Those other things you could have been pressured to do have a far more limited scope in their effect on others.  If we can't come together on wanting to eliminate a pandemic, what can we have society unite on at this point?

Chris

To add to this: there are two main reasons why there is so much pressure. The first is that there is literally no other way you can help so many people by doing so little. Just going and getting a simple vaccine helps the life, health, and yes, economic status of so many people because we need to reach a certain percentage of immunity to get back to normal life.

The second is that, from the very beginning of the pandemic, the President chose to lie about it and politicize it because the response to the pandemic made the stock market go down. Those lies began to spread like wildfire and people believed them. Remember the Plandemic video and "America's Frontline Doctors"? That stuff was scientifically and demonstrably proven false yet people still cling to those things rather than listen to what actual science is saying. That has made it infinitely harder to convince people of something so basic as getting a vaccine saves other people's lives.

[JayhawkCO]

And not to mention those that are holding out to see what the "long term side effects" are.  I have a friend that is a nurse and got his second vaccine almost 6 months from today and (obviously) hasn't had any issues.  Is that long enough?  Will one year be long enough?  Is it ten years?  At some point we have to realize that scientists are experts in their field and we need to trust science over hunches, anecdotes, rogue "news" stations, and faith.

Chris

[TheHighwayMan3561]

And not to mention those that are holding out to see what the "long term side effects" are.  I have a friend that is a nurse and got his second vaccine almost 6 months from today and (obviously) hasn't had any issues.  Is that long enough?  Will one year be long enough?  Is it ten years?  At some point we have to realize that scientists are experts in their field and we need to trust science over hunches, anecdotes, rogue "news" stations, and faith.

Chris

There's a lot of "I heard my spouse's cousin's daughter's father's cousin's mother's distant friend had X happen" but no one seems to know someone directly who had X happen.

[Rothman]

Great news. Hopefully vaccinations rise back up.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/10/health/pfizer-covid-vaccine-teens.html

My whole family can get it now.

My sister is hesitant and she doesn't want it.

Tell her that she's prolonging the pandemic by not getting vaccinated.

Anti-vaxxers don't care.

Hence why I called them brats.  "Science, public health departments and half the population are going ahead and getting vaccinated, but I am going to sit here and make everyone pay attention to me as long as I can like a third-grader waiting to pick the first person to be on their team."  The game can't begin until they do and everyone is tired of the wait.

But here's the thing, being antagonist towards people on the fence about vaccination does more to push them away than encourage them (subjective opinion from first hand observations).  In the case of Tolbs and his sister that's a literal captive audience who really ultimately doesn't have a say because she's a child.  Conversely when people get on my wife's case about vaccines I can see the level of annoyance just compounding over time.  She definitely isn't being encouraged by people trying to guilt her into doing something she isn't ready to do (myself included).  I suspect that a lot of people who are equally on the fence feel the same way and only get discouraged by people giving the riot act on vaccines.  All this "social encouragement"  stuff throughout COVID has really just fallen flat on it's face from the word go.

Exactly my point:  The more they annoy the rest of us by not picking a team member, the more enjoyment they get out of it.  They harden their resolve to stand up there and show how strong they are in ruining everything for the rest of us.

So, still brat territory.  And you're right, the way to deal with brats is not to give them the attention they deserve.

Truth be told, I'm only venting on here because I'm just tired this whole ridiculous situation.  Whether it is persuasive or not, so be it.

All Rothman and his incessant "everyone should get the shot" babble is doing is convincing me that he's a jerk.

*personal opinion emphasized 

Truth be told, I might be more inclined to get the shot if people -- and by people I mean AA Roads posters, celebrities, random Twitter blue-checks, governors, television networks, etc., basically everybody -- would just shut up about it. The more you push me to do something, the more resistant I am to do it, whether it's cleaning out the garage or getting a shot. There's honestly more peer pressure involved in getting this stupid shot than I ever experienced as a teen to smoke, drink, do drugs, skip school, or anything else.

Yeah, my comments have been jerky, but you just confirmed that you're bratty, just like I described (i.e., "I'd get a shot if people would shut up about it.").

The shot's safe, short-term effects are tolerable and long-term effects are nonexistent.  The shot is free.  Getting the shot gets us back to something closer to normal.

Therefore, by not getting the shot, you're preventing us from getting out from under restrictions...just out of spite more than anything.

So, by not getting the shot because people won't shut up about it, you're just like that third-grader in PE class I talked about: Enjoying the attention they get from inconveniencing the majority.

[Max Rockatansky]

And not to mention those that are holding out to see what the "long term side effects" are.  I have a friend that is a nurse and got his second vaccine almost 6 months from today and (obviously) hasn't had any issues.  Is that long enough?  Will one year be long enough?  Is it ten years?  At some point we have to realize that scientists are experts in their field and we need to trust science over hunches, anecdotes, rogue "news" stations, and faith.

Chris

But one could make the argument that if people are that level of afraid of vaccines, shouldn't an actual live virus scare them just as much?  But then again, that's me on the outside looking at a irrational thought with rational thinking. 

[SSOWorld]

Time to take a break.  Let's all calm down.  Thread locked until cleaned up.