The vaccine argument is weak. So why all the lingering anger?
As I understand it, the argument is, if you get vaccinated, you may still catch the Covid, but you are less likely to be hospitalized. And if you are hospitalized, you are less likely to die. In other words, your symptoms will be less severe. And if we can believe government statistics, this appears to be true. Of course, the government has proven itself a dishonest broker regarding all things Covid. So make of it what you will.
In any case, I just can't get past the actual words of Obama's tweet:
1. I am vaccinated and boosted.
2. But I caught Covid anyway.
3. You go get yourself vaccinated too.
That's a winning argument if I ever heard one.
But no matter what you think of the argument, it's not very reassuring. And the long term effects of the vaccines are just starting to come out.
What kills me is the moral outrage that people bring to the argument: You unvaccinated plebs are clogging up our hospitals and costing us all a lot of money. In fact, I have read some go so far as to argue that insurance companies should not pay for Covid-related treatment for the unvaccinated. And hey, I don't really have a problem with that. But I find it difficult to believe that anyone can get so exercised about this issue. I'm so angry about this, that I'm willing to let you go bankrupt, or even die; you selfish unvaccinated bastards.
Really? Is that why they are angry? Not buying it.
No, I think the anger is because of simple disobedience. Like parents who get angry at a disobedient child. I told you to clean your room, and you did not. So now you will suffer the consequences. And then there are those who are angry because they obeyed and others did not. That is, little Karen is mad because dad told both her and her brother to wear a coat, and she did, but her brother did not. Yes, yes, that's infuriating. That's how little Karens grow up to be emotionally stunted adult Karens scolding people on airplanes.
To switch metaphors, the good little sheep are angry that the black sheep just might be getting away with something. The shepherds ordered us to vaccinate. We just can't have all these black sheep running around not doing what they're told.
And for the time being, I think there is an element of fear involved. Deep down and unspoken, people are afraid. People are now waking up to their own decisions to blindly follow government advice. Maybe they acted hastily and unnecessarily. Even recklessly? There are questions which may never get a public hearing, but they percolate just below the surface. That too is infuriating.
The problem with this particular strain of anger is where people tend to direct it. Are they angry with the government and media types who bullied them into getting an untested jab? Are they angry with themselves for allowing themselves to be bullied? Or are they angry with those of us who refused to be bullied? I guess we're seeing some of all three.
It will be interesting to watch as this fear and anger either wanes or grows. It will depend on if and how the long term effects of the vaccines develop. And just as importantly, if they are reported. I can make no predictions.
But it's better if we don't think about it. Let's talk about something else. The Russia/Ukraine situation, climate change. Something needs to be done.
This is the world we live in today.