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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To say that there is a huge amount of anti vax threads allowed on mumsnet?

310 replies

visitingagain · 09/12/2021 16:07

I fully expect this to be taken down but I am getting completely fed up with the number of anti vax and anti mask threads on mumsnet at the moment. People should be allowed to express views but some of the misinformation is shocking.

OP posts:
Caggietambellblack · 09/12/2021 17:14

YABU. God forbid you should see opinions that are different to your own!

People are allowed to express views that may differ from yours. As the poster above said, intolerant censorious people like you frighten me far more than ‘anti vaxxers’ or ‘anti maskers’.

Learn to cope with differences of opinion rather than demanding anyone who thinks differently to you is silenced.

Original poster
visitingagain · 09/12/2021 17:14

@IHateWasps do you think we should have 10 drink driving opinions thread though, where people suggest it might be ok ? The covid topic threads are a nightmare.

OP posts:
LittlestLightOnTheXmasTree · 09/12/2021 17:14

@visitingagain

I would use the analogy of drink driving - mumsnet really couldn't have posts up where people argued in favour of it as a personal choice, bodily autonomy " I don't agree with drink driving but if someone wants to do it, they shouldn't be restricted.." and so on. No one can or should be forced to have a vaccine but being anti vaccine isn't a valid point of view, and we shouldn't be accepting it. Any more than people who wanted to have the right to 6 gins and drive home
It's Only YOUR viewpoint that we shouldn't be accepting people discussing the merits of being unvaccinated though

There isn't a wrong or right answer to being vaccinated

Saucery · 09/12/2021 17:16

@IHateWasps

Dissenting opinions are fine. Lies aren’t.

Reading the OP's posts suggest to me that she doesn't much care for the former either.

I don’t see that in the posts but for the sake of argument, dissenting opinions are fine with me, loads of other posters and MNHQ as long as they are civil ones.

It’s like the “masks restrict the oxygen you breath in” rubbish. This has been proved to be untrue, time and time again.
Someone saying their reaction to wearing a mask makes them feel panicky or breathless is ok. Just don’t pretend it’s a lack of oxygen because it isn’t.

Brigittebidet · 09/12/2021 17:16

@visitingagain

I think we have really had enough of that now *@IHateWasps*, if we had a sensible long running side effects board fair enough but it's completely out of hand
Who's we? I don't think you can say you speak for the entirety of Mumsnet OP.

It's terrifying that people want to close down any discussion about vaccination.

LittlestLightOnTheXmasTree · 09/12/2021 17:16

[quote visitingagain]@IHateWasps do you think we should have 10 drink driving opinions thread though, where people suggest it might be ok ? The covid topic threads are a nightmare.[/quote]
God, it's just mumsnet....chat....nobody is using it for dissertation level conversations

Original poster
visitingagain · 09/12/2021 17:18

I don't have a problem with different opinions but I do have a problem with misinformation. The only different opinion you can have on vaccines and masks is " I don't like them" and anything else you want to say about them is misinformation. Funnily enough a whole lot of posters now turn up to censor me for being censorious

OP posts:
Brigittebidet · 09/12/2021 17:20

@visitingagain

I don't have a problem with different opinions but I do have a problem with misinformation. The only different opinion you can have on vaccines and masks is " I don't like them" and anything else you want to say about them is misinformation. Funnily enough a whole lot of posters now turn up to censor me for being censorious
You are allowed to question the reasoning behind multiple vaccinations though OP - or are you not now?

People talking about their own side affects is not "misinformation". People questioning their changes to menstrual cycles and the fact that this is being somewhat brushed under the carpet is not "misinformation".

XenoBitch · 09/12/2021 17:20

You think everything is anti-vax. There is a discussion on the Covid board about needle lengths and subcutaneous fat, and you have labelled that anti-vax. Give it a break. People can have discussions about things without there being some sort of sinister agenda.

LittlestLightOnTheXmasTree · 09/12/2021 17:20

So you know all there is to know about masks now?

Original poster
visitingagain · 09/12/2021 17:21

@LittlestLightOnTheXmasTree there really, really is a right and wrong answer to being vaccinated, unless you have an allergy or a serious medical reason, you should be vaccinated.

OP posts:
LittlestLightOnTheXmasTree · 09/12/2021 17:21

[quote visitingagain]@LittlestLightOnTheXmasTree there really, really is a right and wrong answer to being vaccinated, unless you have an allergy or a serious medical reason, you should be vaccinated.[/quote]
Nah .... you are making that up.... misinformation

ArblemarchTFruitbat · 09/12/2021 17:21

I don't have a problem with different opinions but I do have a problem with misinformation.

Agree. As the well-worn saying goes, I might disagree with your opinion but I will defend to the death your right to express it.

However, an opinion is one thing but lies and misinformation fall into a separate category.

Everyone has the right to make a properly informed choice about whether to be vaccinated.

My personal opinion is that unless a qualified doctor tells you it's too risky for you to be vaccinated, you should get fully vaccinated ASAP. I've had all 3.

PAFMO · 09/12/2021 17:22

There are a lot of anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers on MN, definitely.
If you report misinformation and lies, it does get deleted.
As pp says, when those sly anti-vaxxers don't exactly post lies, but just cherry pick and give half truths, not quite going into the misinformation territory, then HQ don't delete, but it's pretty easy to quickly debunk.
Their biggest problem of course is that they can only find dodgy data/links etc to prove their point.

Original poster
visitingagain · 09/12/2021 17:23

@XenoBitch I didn't make that very clear, the OP there wasn't anti vax but could easily be misinterpreted because there is so much of that on here. Can't believe you went looking through my posts tbh though.

OP posts:
Tittyfilarious81 · 09/12/2021 17:23

What about the recent thread titles 90% of the ICU beds are took up by unvaccinated patients ? That was absolutely not true and yet posters piled on there some even saying anyone unvaccinated should not be allowed an ICU bed and anyone saying they weren't vaccinated and why were screamed down and labelled thick and other vile names

LittlestLightOnTheXmasTree · 09/12/2021 17:23

So where do you all check that what you are saying is 109% correct and not 'misinformation'?

Is there a definitive source? How do you know it's correct?

XenoBitch · 09/12/2021 17:24

[quote visitingagain]@XenoBitch I didn't make that very clear, the OP there wasn't anti vax but could easily be misinterpreted because there is so much of that on here. Can't believe you went looking through my posts tbh though. [/quote]
I didn't go looking through your posts. I go on the Covid board and saw your comments there.

Aerielview · 09/12/2021 17:25

Free speech.....

LittlestLightOnTheXmasTree · 09/12/2021 17:25

Misinformation there then

thepeopleversuswork · 09/12/2021 17:27

It's terrifying that people want to close down any discussion about vaccination.

I haven't seen anyone closing down discussion about vaccination -- if anything its the reverse, which is what the OP had suggested. There's thread upon thread about vaccination and its merits and drawbacks on here daily.

And challenging the perspectives of the vaccine hesitant is not the same as "closing down discussion". It works both ways: you're free to say you are anxious about taking vaccines and others are free to respond that your anxiety is probably not rational and that your perception of risk might need a bit of work .

I think MNHQ probably takes the view that a) this is a forum for debate so people should be allowed to debate and b) sensible people are usually quite effective at eviscerating people who say things like "I'm not taking an untested vaccine" or "I've done my research".

Proper tin-foil hat behaviour gets robustly dealt with.

Saucery · 09/12/2021 17:27

@LittlestLightOnTheXmasTree

So you know all there is to know about masks now?
Was that to me? Errr, yes, I know the standard medical mask advised lets oxygen in. Obviously, if you wrap 4 layers of Harris Tweed with a hessian filter round your face…..maybe not so much. But then, no one would do that so 🤷‍♀️
Original poster
visitingagain · 09/12/2021 17:28

It's got to the stage where debunking just doesn't work and it's a steady campaign to undermine any health messages. It sows the seeds of doubt. I know how hard it can be to change this mindset once the doubt sets in - MMR for instance-and when we are talking about DC or pregnancy it's just such a huge risk.

OP posts:
IHateWasps · 09/12/2021 17:31

I don't have a problem with different opinions but I do have a problem with misinformation. The only different opinion you can have on vaccines and masks is " I don't like them" and anything else you want to say about them is misinformation. *

Oh BS you don't have a problem with different opinions. The quote above makes it obvious. At least own it. You don't want anyone being allowed to question masks or vaccines in any form.

IHateWasps · 09/12/2021 17:33

I've seen people on here make up Covid laws that didn't exist and grossly exaggerate the mortality rate of Covid. Do you have a problem with that too or is that misinformation fine because it suits your agenda?