General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why would your un-vaccinated kids be a threat to my vaccinated kids? [View all]laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)both ways. Some become militant, some are more pragmatic, some just don't really care that much. I've seen rabid anti-vaxxers change their mind and vice versa. All that article states is the usual method of showing stories of babies sick with diseases and quoting statistics doesn't work. We know that already. Look at when you try to argue with republicans about the economy (by the way, it's interesting to note most anti-vaxxers I know are FAR lefties) they will deny everything you tell them. Go ahead and show a republican a chart of the stock market under democratic and republican presidents. They will pretend they don't know what the hell you are talking about. Why? Because they have a narrative in their head and you are confronting them with facts...most people would rather deny those facts than lose face. Remember, our culture is one of winner takes all. No one wants to lose. No one wants to admit defeat. The cognitive dissonance is huge. The proper way to go about it is never in a confrontational matter. People don't take kindly to pontification. Ever.
The way to get anti-vaxxers to vaccinate are to offer free, separate vaccines, counseling, follow up if vaccine is refused, put them in contact with families who do vaccinate (because most anti-vaxxers I used to know are only friends with other like-minded people) and befriend them. I'm pretty sure calling their kids crotch fruit and using insults won't do it. There are ways to get people to change their minds, but it generally takes patience and tolerance. I doubt that was part of the study.