This is not new. It has actually been a long time coming. I've been writing about how antivaxxers have coopted far right rhetoric and have been becoming more extreme. Unfortunately #COVID19 has accelerated the process. 1/
For instance, in the 2016 election @delbigtree visited Michigan and ranted on about standing and, if necessary, dying for freedom, as his group went around buttonholing state legislators. 2/ respectfulinsolence.com/2016/10/28/nob…
Before that, Bigtree was on video saying "Now's the time for guns." 3/ respectfulinsolence.com/2016/07/20/the…
I've been writing about the increasingly violent rhetoric and memes of the antivaccine movement and its alignment with far right "health freedom" and antigovernment conservatives nearly five years now. 4/ respectfulinsolence.com/2015/12/03/the…
The violent rhetoric got turned up a notch after the release of @vaxxedthemovie in 2016 and the birth of the #CDCwhistleblower conspiracy theory. 5/ respectfulinsolence.com/2016/07/19/the…
Then was born the "vaccine Holocaust" angle. 6/ respectfulinsolence.com/2017/05/17/the…
Then last year, an antivaxxer took a disturbing step towards actually acting on the violent rhetoric. 7/ respectfulinsolence.com/2019/08/22/aus…
And so it goes, with threats against pediatricians and other doctors who stand up to defend vaccines on social media. 8/ respectfulinsolence.com/2019/05/03/vio…
She's correct. Now, we're at a very disturbing point, where antivaxxers have allied themselves with far right wing #COVIDIOTS carrying Confederate flags and guns to intimidate state lawmakers. These fools have been especially prominent in Michigan. 9/ sciencebasedmedicine.org/covid-19-pande…
A video full of #FireFauci conspiracy theories and antivaccine misinformation went viral, with the help of rightwing social media hubs. 10/ sciencebasedmedicine.org/plandemic-judy…
It's even wilder than most people know, with far right wing protesters joining with antivaxxers, full of conspiracy theories about #COVID19, chemtrails, plutonium, GMOs, glyphosate, and worse. 11/11 respectfulinsolence.com/2020/05/11/wha…
Oops. Forgot. The worst thing is that the @GOP has started tolerating and even pandering to antivaxxers, making their views mainstream. 11a/11 respectfulinsolence.com/2018/10/25/the…
What that means is that school vaccine mandates, which used to have wide bipartisan support, have become politicized. They're now a partisan issue. 11b/11 respectfulinsolence.com/2017/02/22/in-…
Perhaps the most disturbing incident slamming the politicization of school vaccine mandates home to me occurred at a "vaccine roundtable" hosted by a @MIGOP candidate for Congress in my district. I attended. 11c/11 respectfulinsolence.com/2018/08/03/jef…
I note that, at the time, my state senator was antivaccine and running for governor, and my state rep was willing to pander to antivaxxers in the name of "freedom." Both are out of office now, thankfully. 11d/11
The problem is getting worse in @GOP. For instance, antivaxxers are now openly bragging about how many @ohiogop state legislatures are antivax or antivax-sympathetic. 11e/11 respectfulinsolence.com/2019/11/13/ohi…
Anyway, I addressed the question of whether antivaccine groups are becoming hate groups. At the time I said, "Not exactly," but acknowledged disturbing trends. Today, it's much worse. 11f/11 respectfulinsolence.com/2018/03/16/are…
How many @ohiogop state LEGISLATORS. 🤦♂️
