# What IS it with Republicans and not wanting to get vaccinated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 8, 2021, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004 "2021-11-08T21:26:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/283 "2021-11-23T03:05:40Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > And when someone bigger and meaner than you comes along and steals your stuff, you won’t complain to the cops because, after all, he’s just being rational. In fact it may be _irrational_ of me to pass up the opportunity to make myself whole again by invoking the law when it is to my advantage. Rationality isn’t a moral or legal excuse. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/284 "2021-11-23T03:16:07Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Could we say that the world-view proposed by @Max_S is “amoral” (not to be confused with _im_ moral) and “transactional”? You could say my view of rationality is amoral, transactional, solipsistic, perhaps even sociopathic - but not my worldview. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/285 "2021-11-23T03:28:37Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I"m trying to wrap my head around how you think this in any way excuses a world view that says that society has rules for MY benefit, but I don’t have to follow these same rules. > > “I can refuse to follow societies rules because I probably won’t get caught” is not really a defensible position from a moral, ethical or logical standpoint. “I can refuse to follow the rules of society because the benefits of doing so outweigh the risks of ill consequences” is amoral, unethical, and highly logical - highly _rational_. An example of this kind of behavior is the young, healthy, possibly-vaccinated-probably-unvaccinated UPS person who routinely barges into rooms full of geriatric patients with immunodeficiency disorders. Without a mask. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/286 "2021-11-23T03:40:45Z")
It is not rational to spread disease around your community, resulting in overwhelming the hospitals, which he may depend upon to save his life if he has a heart attack or accident. It’s not rational to damage the society that sustains you. Ignorance is not rational. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/287 "2021-11-23T03:49:23Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It is not rational to spread disease around your community > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > resulting in overwhelming the hospitals > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > which he may depend upon to save his life if he has a heart attack or accident. These are not guaranteed consequences. You would have to say, it is not rational to increase the risk of spreading disease around your community. And you would still be wrong. The rationality of a choice depends on the options and knowledge at hand. It is impossible to say, _ipso facto_, this choice is irrational in all situations - _possibly_ with one exception, the guaranteed destruction of self. Even this may be rational in some circumstances. > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It’s not rational to damage the society that sustains you. It can be, if damaging that society sustains you better. Specifically, if it advances your self-interest more than the alternative. > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Ignorance is not rational. Nor is it necessarily irrational. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/288 "2021-11-23T03:53:05Z")
You are describing anarchy, not a functioning society. You are describing the actions of amoral lawbreakers who only succeed by not being caught and subsequently removed from society. I’m done playing sophistry games here. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/289 "2021-11-23T04:02:58Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > You are describing the actions of amoral lawbreakers who only succeed by not being caught and subsequently removed from society. I describe a rational person who refuses to get vaccinated, when the golden rule of moral society would that he did, but those in positions of personal trust tempt otherwise and reinforce ignorance, and the law stands indifferent. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/290 "2021-11-23T07:12:02Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > but those in positions of personal trust tempt otherwise and reinforce ignorance Well, that kind of renders the issue of rationality moot. If you don’t have reliable information about facts, abstract “rationality” becomes pretty much irrelevant to the question of whether you’re making wise decisions. We could ask, of course, to what extent a rational person has a responsibility to maintain sources and standards of reliable information that extend beyond a few people “in positions of personal trust”. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/291 "2021-11-23T13:55:39Z")
Just a reminder that the argument “Better that a thousand strangers be placed at risk of death than I be minorly inconvenienced” is not an “amoral” position; it is a morally bankrupt one. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/292 "2021-11-23T14:02:43Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Just a reminder that the argument “Better that a thousand strangers be placed at risk of death than I be minorly inconvenienced” is not an “amoral” position; it is a morally bankrupt one. - Pretty much the GOP in a nutshellcase. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/293 "2021-11-23T14:09:18Z")
Just as morally bankrupt as “one who brandishes a gun cannot for a moment feel that he is in danger, and if he does he may kill without fear of punishment”. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/294 "2021-11-23T14:16:06Z")
Warned y’all 90-odd posts ago. 😛 > [@What IS it with Republicans and not wanting to get vaccinated?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/212): > > Oh, ok. So your statement of fact was merely an opinion. Got it. I reject your argument as baseless as it requires one to conform to individually redefined words, and I have no desire to reconceptualize the English tongue in which to have a simple message board chat. ¯\_(ツ)\_/¯ ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/295 "2021-11-23T15:32:53Z")
Thanks, I should have listened to you. It’s come down to - It’s rational to make decisions on dangerously wrong/crazy information, even when correct information is readily available. You can be a criminal and flout societies laws, endangering others as long as you figure you won’t be caught. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/296 "2021-11-23T17:18:53Z")
I think I felt that way once for about two weeks after reading Atlas Shrugged at age 19. I recovered quickly, though. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/297 "2021-11-23T17:31:14Z")
Obligatory quote: > “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: _The Lord of the Rings_ and _Atlas Shrugged_. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." ---
**Author:** ![Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bag_of_mostly_water/32/1029_2.png) [@Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bag_of_Mostly_Water)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/298 "2021-11-29T21:35:57Z")
Relevant Doonesbury: > **[Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for November 28, 2021 | GoComics.com](https://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/2021/11/28)** > > November 28, 2021 ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/299 "2021-11-29T22:41:17Z")
And then there’s the [latest crackpot Republican theory](https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/29/politics/omicron-ronny-jackson/index.html) about the Omicron variant: > “Here comes the MEV - the Midterm Election Variant,”[tweeted Jackson](https://twitter.com/RonnyJacksonTX/status/1464697497042006024), who, not for nothing, is also a physician. “They NEED a reason to push unsolicited nationwide mail-in ballots. Democrats will do anything to CHEAT during an election - but we’re not going to let them!” > > And then there was [this](https://twitter.com/heartlandsignal/status/1464672241568862223?s=21) from Fox News personality Pete Hegseth: “Count on a variant about every October, every two years.” ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/300 "2021-12-01T16:17:07Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > And then there’s the [latest crackpot Republican theory](https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/29/politics/omicron-ronny-jackson/index.html) about the Omicron variant: So… Biden is so powerful… that he’s able to get countries from around the world, and scientists and doctors as well… to go along with a “fake” variant. He was able to convince the entire country of South Africa that a variant exists. And then make all of the countries in Europe and Asia play along. Just so he can “push” mail in ballots so that (something something) this will help his party win. This is simply moronic and a three year old could see that it’s moronic. It will probably convince many Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/301 "2021-12-01T16:30:56Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It will probably convince many Republicans. Yes, and rather than have a President powerful enough to turn the world around his finger, they prefer the impotent dunce that allowed the election to be stolen right out from under his nose. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004/302 "2021-12-01T16:54:52Z")
Biden is Schrodinger’s president. You don’t know whether he’s an evil genius who controls the world, or a senile old coot until you open the box. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-republicans-and-not-wanting-to-get-vaccinated/954004.md?page=16)