Sympathy for the Believer, Not the Belief: Vaccine

[kwombles]

www.thehastingscenter.org/Bioethicsforum/Post.aspx?id=3210
Last portion of the post:


"It’s possible, even likely, that the sympathetic voices of Offit and others have been omitted in news stories in favor of stinging sound bytes. Whatever the cause, the fight between the “pro” and “anti-vaccinationists” has devolved into something nasty; meanwhile, autism’s etiologies remain unknown. In any polarizing argument, there comes a time when, in order to move forward, one side has to reach out. For vaccine proponents to extend the proverbial olive branch doesn’t – and shouldn’t – entail accepting the claim that vaccines cause autism. The importance of standing by the safety of vaccines and making clear the dangers of not vaccinating children cannot be understated. But it is equally important to acknowledge the very real struggles of raising an autistic child, and the pressing need for better systems of support. Somehow, these sympathetic sentiments have been edged out of the picture, leaving only impatience and hostility. We need to move past these knee-jerk, often easier-to-feel emotions, enabling ourselves instead to feel sympathy, and allowing this sympathy to undergird conversations with misinformed parents."

[nicole]

Agreed. But how do you reach out to people whose minds certainly seem to be completely set and closed?

As to sympathy......I feel it deeply, for the parents, and the children. BUT, I feel much more sympathy for the children of the anti-vaxxers, as they have to deal not only with the condition, but their parents often wild attempts to treat it.

The whole thing makes me a little ill.

[kwombles]

That's the real question, isn't it? Moff, Hydra, and Dug have shown themselves to be increasingly closed the more information we provide. Civility doesn't help and snarkiness back to them doesn't seem to negatively impact in that I don't think we lose any more ground with them. Bypassing telling them they are incorrect and why by simply posting studies that disprove their contentions doesn't work either.

And, yes, I agree, the children of these people who are desparate for a cure and fall for all manner of wooquackery are the ones who suffer. Children with ASDs can improve (with each child having his or her own limitations) but the therapy/treatment that appears to have scientific evidence to back it up is behavioral therapy ( encompassing a wide array of therapies with different names), but what it boils down to is time-intensive operant conditioning with the child on the behaviors one would like to see adopted.

[kwombles]

I'd argue against sympathy even being adequate to reach some individuals. Acknowledging their pain, offering empathy can help those who are casting about for a reason, but I don't think from a psychological perspective that it will make any inroads with those who are certain that they know what they know.