What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “Anti-vaxxer”? Do you conjure an image of a moron, so ignorant of science, that they are not worth arguing with? Well, guess what? That is precisely what that epithet is meant to do. It is meant to derail and avoid an intelligent discussion before it even starts.

While a handful of people may actually be completely anti-vaccine, most of the people lumped in this category are not. They are decent, reasonable people with legitimate concerns. But by calling anyone with even the mildest questions about even a single vaccine an “anti-vaxxer,” the media (and politicians) get to avoid any and all discussions of the subject.

This is a very clever technique that shields, in this case, Big Pharma from challenge. The liberal media and politicians engage in this strategy to silence opposing viewpoints.  

A Cheap Way to Avoid Challenge

Why? Questions might show just how thin the veneer of lies covering one’s overall agenda is. Perhaps it might just reveal the flaws in an otherwise legitimate system that need to be fixed.

Anti-vaxxers are not the only group to be abused with this technique. A second group being targeted this way are climate change deniers. The left informs us they are a group of numbskulls and ne’er-do-wells, to whom we should not listen.

To really drive home the point, the liberal media uses the line, “All the science is in.” I’m sorry, did I say “line”? I meant “lie.” I’m not a scientist, but I know enough about science to know that it is never all in. Science is never “settled.” We have theories which we haven’t been able to disprove yet, but debate and speculation are what science is all about. The minute someone uses that phrase, you know they’re hiding something.

As if that were not enough, some prominent politicians and scientists have actually suggested that deniers be jailed! That last sentence should have just made the tiny hairs on the back of your neck stand up and put you on full alert in much the same way as Freddy Kruger walking into your room would. I’m pretty sure jailing dissenters is the polar opposite of what our Founding Fathers had in mind for this country. 

And the Tea Party Too

Finally, a third group of activists who have been so thoroughly vilified, no “serious journalist” would deign give them airtime is the Tea Party. You’d think it would be difficult to tar and feather a group of people quoting our Founding Fathers and the Constitution. Yet, they proved to be the easiest of all to silence. From the moment the mainstream media began to cover this group, they called them, “Tea-baggers.” Wham! Done! No need for debate.

This clever little nickname, with its obscene implications, was enough to undercut their credibility from the very beginning. Bear in mind, this was not The Daily Show doing a comedy spoof. These were what passed for serious, professional journalists on MSNBC. I’ve got news for them, name calling is neither objective nor responsible journalism.

Vaxx Populi or Vox Pandemic

And now, it’s happening again. After seven weeks of quarantine, Americans are starting to ask some pointed questions. Questions that people like Dr. Fauci, Bill Gates, and governors Cuomo, Newsom and Whitmer don’t want to answer. So, as the cry of revolt went up, the message went out: anyone who is against the quarantine is selfish and/or greedy. In other words, “Don’t listen to the protesters. They care more about money or a haircut than they do about human lives.”

We’re living a textbook example of disparaging a group for daring to not submit to the liberal dogma they are being force-fed. Now that you know what to look for, don’t fall for it.

George Janek is a conservative thinker encamped in Northern California. His previous article for The Stream was Mourning the Death of Healthy Debate.