Conspiracy theories cover all subjects and all topics, though most of them seem to devolve into arguments over politics, religion, and faith. That's because conspiracy theories are based upon FAITH far more than fact – and this includes the conspiracy theories that associate themselves with science. Two of the more persistent anti-scientific conspiracy theories are Creationism and anti-vaccination. Even in the 21st century, both of these subjects are receiving far more attention, media coverage, and celebrity endorsement than they deserve. What's more, the groups promoting these conspiracy theories are dangerous, because they are causing legitimate resources to be wasted by having to respond to these nutters, time and time again.
Creationism has its own page here at Cast Iron Chaos, but this page here is a focus on a truly sad and dangerous anti-scientific conspiracy theory: anti-vaccination. The dangers of this movement are not only social, due to the effect it has on genuine and legitimate scientific inquiry – but there is also a genuine physical danger to people here. The anti-vaccination movement uses every excuse, every crackpot theory, every scare story imaginable (true or false, especially false) to convince people not to be vaccinated. This is putting people's lives at risk – right now, in the 21st century, in the United States of America.
Here's an example of the hysteria promoted by the anti-vaccination crowd:
The answer is, of course, that there are none. This is because the anti-vaccination movement isn't based on science. It's based on FAITH. "We BELIEVE vaccines are dangerous!" No amount of evidence will ever shake a belief based on faith. Just like Creationism and Holocaust denial, anti-vaccination activists willingly ignore and brush vast amounts of evidence and proof because they don't agree with it. That's faith.
This particular topic is worth consideration. There are always going to be a small percentage of people who cannot receive a vaccine for a legitimate medical reason (such as a transplant patient, someone who is immunocompromised, etc.). In addition, there are always going to be a small percentage of people who do not seroconvert (do not make antibodies) from the vaccine (or from the illnesses themselves). Therefore, the more people who are vaccinated in a population, the more EVERYONE is protected.
Using an exemption because "I heard vaccines are evil!" is called "hiding in the herd," and it's freeloading off society's existing vaccine rates. The problem with that is that thanks to the anti-vaccine lies, too few people who could be vaccinated are actually getting vaccinated.
Conspiracy Theory Sites
Vaccines Are Evil And Dangerous! Really!
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