Originally posted by mothmonsterman:
Originally posted by huskerfan1000:
If you read thru my posts I never mentioned what side I was on as far as vaccines, thats one of those things where your not going to change anyones opinions one way or the other.
My points were clear and were made in response to a poster who was hijacking the thread telling people that they had no right to their own opinion or to do their own research. Then you got the childish posts that try to use ridicule to intimidate people from posting an opposing opinions/thought, while offering zero substance.
1. That experts are not infallible (my experience with my mercury fillings), and how experts can and do manipulate data.
2. That if its important to you, you should do your own research to get comfortable with what your being told.
3. That all people have a right to their own opinion.
I agree with your general sentiment, the problem, and it's a tricky one, is that some things are so firmly established that dissenting from them is not brave iconoclasm, it's just wrong. If we were talking about history and someone wanted to challenge the prevailing thesis about the role of Jacobin ideology in the Terror, that would be a perfectly valid and interesting debate based on the evidence presented. But, if someone were to deny the Holocaust based on something they read on a fringe website no sensible person would argue that Holocaust denial is a valid historical perspective worth engaging. There are plenty of questionable common medical practices (much of the Low-T therapy industry is a racket), and it is certainly the case that a small portion of the population reacts badly to vaccinations, some probably in ways the medical community hasn't recognized yet, but vaccines do not cause autism and a kid has a better chance of being injured in the car on the way to get a vaccine than they do to suffer a serious reaction to the vaccine. If someone is genuinely concerned that the prevailing opinion is wrong, then by all means they should research it. But, they should carefully evaluate their sources, and if and when their research starts to involve things they don't understand, they need to acquire the necessary expertise to fully understand all sides of the issue if they want to be taken seriously. One is entitled to their opinion, but if that opinion is based on falsehood and the works of cranks, they shouldn't expect others to respect their opinion. And, when their opinion can lead them to endanger innocent people, it's understandable that others will be upset about it.