While antivaxxers seem to be everywhere thanks to the internet, railing against vaccines, armed only with dubious anecdotal evidence unsupported by science or medicine, dates all the way back to 1796.
That was the year Edward Jenner introduced the smallpox vaccine. Public pushback and organized antivaxxer leagues sprung up almost immediately afterward.
Since then, skepticism has waxed and waned, largely dependent on what public health crisis is currently occurring and how deadly or debilitating it is. In the digital age, sound science and medical research is at everyone's fingertips, but so is misinformation fueled by grifters getting rich off other people's ignorance and gullibility.
A vaccine proponent turned to the "Am I The A**Hole" (AITAH) subReddit for feedback after a conflict with her antivaxxer cousin.
Similar to AITA, the AITAH subReddit allows posters to ask for advice and post about ending romantic relationships—both things that are banned on AITA. However, there are no required voting acronyms—only suggested ones—and no official final judgment declared.
Anonymous_poster43 asked:
"AITAH for asking my cousin for her medical degree?"
The original poster (OP) explained:
"I am 29, female. My cousin (30, female) has three kids (10, 9 and 4). She has not vaccinated any of them."
"Now let me preface this by saying this: I don’t care what you do with your child. If you vaccinate, don’t vaccinate, etc... it’s your child and your choice."
"However, my cousin will go to great lengths to tell ANYONE who disagrees with her stance on vaccines to 'educate themselves' or 'do your research'. This absolutely drives me up the wall."
"Because her research is based on Google searches. Not peer reviewed journals, not pediatricians advice. Just simple 'should I vaccinate my child?' plugged into Google.
"Well, one day we had a discussion about me having children one day. She already tried to say 'well don’t vaccinate your kids. It’s bad for their health'. I said I would follow whatever my OB or my future children’s pediatrician advised."
"Then she said 'well, I highly recommend you educate yourself and do your research before you do so'."
"Well, I straight up asked her, 'well, show me your degree. Not your Google searches. Not your Facebook mom groups that agree with everything you already believe. I want to see your degree where you’re qualified to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do with my baby. You can do whatever you want with your kids. But don’t you dare tell me how I should raise my future children'.”
"She got mad and left. Our families are divided over the issue. Some say that I was right. Some say 'you should have just heard her out'."
"I feel bad for upsetting her. But I’m not going to let someone say I’m 'uneducated' when all they do is research pure bullsh*t they find on Google and in Facebook mom groups and just run with it."
"So, AITA?"
The OP later added:
"I did not expect this to blow up the way it did. Wow. Thank you for all the comments. I wanted to clarify some things.
"Yes, I absolutely care about vaccines. I plan to vaccinate my future children. Where I was saying 'I don’t care' was because other parents are unfortunately gonna do what they are gonna do instead of listening to a qualified doctor's advice."
"I feel like everyone should vaccinate their kids and listen to doctors. My point was if someone is gung-ho on not vaccinating their kids, then I’m not going to push it."
"But I agree!!!! They are the main reasons why measles and other diseases are coming back!"
"Also, I can’t help but laugh at some people who are saying this post is AI. I swear, someone could fart and y’all would claim it is AI!"
Some Redditors weighed in by using the AITA voting acronyms:
- NTA - Not The A**hole
- YTA - You're The A**hole
- NAH - No A**holes Here
- ESH - Everyone Sucks Here
- INFO - more information needed
Redditors decided the OP was not wrong to call out their cousin's bullsh*t (NTA).
"I am old, but not that old, but I remember older folks thinking Salk was a god of science for ending Polio and measles and mumps were eradicated in the US for a long period BECAUSE of most parents listening to their doctors and getting their kids vaccinated."
"Now, preventable childhood diseases have snuck back into the population, not only puttingthe antivaxxers' unvaccinated kids at risk, but the kids that COULD NOT be vaccinated are at risk because as a country, we've fallen below the level of herd immunity that used to protect the small minority of kids with cancer or autoimmune disorders."
"The paper that started all the hysteria has been proven false and the author was banned from practicing medicine and their article was retracted from publication - something that rarely happens in peer reviewed journals."
"NTA for holding onto common sense and reason against hysteria and pseudoscience. More people should, maybe the weak-minded fools will rethink their stance if enough folks push back." ~ 2dogslife
"My grandparents were strict Seventh Day Adventists who basically lived in a commune in the middle of the rural Alabama woods. They rarely went to doctors and preferred all-natural herbal remedies to medicine if possible. They had a medicinal herb garden in with the vegetable one."
"When the polio vaccine came out, my grandfather still lined his kids up to get it. He lost siblings to polio. Stopping polio from taking his kids was far more important than his scriptures and 'echinacea will fix it' lifestyle. He disagreed with doctors on many things, but never vaccines."
"People today don't remember polio, truly remember it. We eradicated the bad things and people have forgotten what it was to live amongst polio and measles outbreaks. But if things keep going as they are, we will all get to experience it as the previous generations did."
"And this anti-vaccination trend will stop because the antivaxxer's kids will be dead. That is until we forget again at least." ~ Bluevisser
"I've seen several articles interviewing people who lost children to measles in the last few years, where the parents say if they could go back they still wouldn't vaccinate their kid."
"Death is somehow better than vaccination to some of these people, they are so lost in their delusions." ~ Svihelen
"NTA. I can’t stand when people say 'you’re uneducated' or say 'do your research' when they don’t even have a degree or know what peer-reviewed research is."
"You’re right. She can do whatever she wants with HER kids. But she doesn’t have a right to bash someone because they chose different."
"I would have asked for that degree too, OP." ~ socialwerkchik_
"NTA. And it does matter whether or not parents vaccinate their children. Failure to vaccinate places both her children and immunocompromised people at risk." ~ dvatty
"Was gonna say, it’s not good for the kids (who are waaay more likely to suffer/die from something that has been preventable for decades and was all but eradicated), and it’s especially not good for organ recipients, cancer patients, etc..."
"Based on a 'study' that has since been torn to shreds by the scientific/medical community and exposed as a fraud? Anecdotal 'well, Susie’s kids got vaccinated and now she has autism' type evidence? *Gut feelings*?"
"That’s why you’re potentially letting your children/immunocompromised strangers/friends/neighbors suffer and/or die‽‽"
"I agree, do your research, get second opinions, whatever makes you comfortable, but get the info from DOCTORS WHO SPECIALIZE IN IT, not YouTube conspiracy rabbit holes, Facebook, or TikTok." ~ ChickenBossChiefsFan
"I have only ever heard the 'uneducated' and 'do your research' arguments from people who do not have any peer review research to back up their claims."
"NTA- as you stated, she can raise her kids as she likes, you can raise your kids as you like." ~ nonchalantenigma
"Someone invited a life coach to our little group to give a presentation. When it came to question time I asked them what their degrees were and how they had become a life coach. Turns out this chick hadn't even finished one semester of community college—she just declared herself a life coach and found people dumb enough to give her money. I got up and walked out." ~ PurpleSailor
"NTA. Let her be upset. These people should be told off and shamed for putting their children at unnecessary risk because they’ve fallen for fear tactics and misinformed propaganda." ~ fIumpf
"I generally don’t judge what other people do with their lives, unless it becomes a public health issue."
"Measles cases are rising where I live and it makes my husband and I very pissy about it. There should be zero tolerance for anti-vaxxers." ~ Tsukaretamama
The OP provided a short update:
"My cousin is still not talking to me, but she keeps sending me Facebook posts and TikTok’s about 'how bad vaccines are' created by people who have the same medical and scientific credentials she has—absolutely none—and spout wild claims with zero proof to support any of them."
"So still no actual research. I blocked her."
"Thank you again to everyone who commented!"
OP's solution is probably best.
Her cousin appears very dedicated to remaining woefully ignorant while telling others to educate themselves.
