Speaking at an anti-vaccine rally in 2022, Malone spread dangerous falsehoods about mRNA COVID-19 vaccines: “These genetic vaccines can damage your children. They may damage their brains, their heart, their immune system and their ability to have children in the future. Many of these damages cannot be repaired.”
Malone aligned with the anti-vaccine crowd during the pandemic and has become a mainstay in conspiratorial circles and an ally to Kennedy. He has claimed that vaccines cause a “form of AIDS,” amid other nonsense. He has also meddled with responses to the measles outbreak that erupted in West Texas in January. In April, Malone was the first to publicize news that a second child had died from the highly infectious and serious infection, but he did so to falsely claim that measles wasn’t the cause and spread other dangerous misinformation.
In a newsletter post earlier this week, Malone proclaimed: “Some people still believe that the term anti-vaxxer is a pejorative. I do not—I view it as high praise.”
The phrase “the lunatics have taken over the asylum” never seemed more apt. I know, we’ve lived in an asylum for awhile. We had a lunatic fringe, but even if we had to interact with them at least sane adults were in charge. Those halcyon days are over.
I just think COVID and social media have allowed people’s historical “well-rounded” selves - the crazy bits getting sanded off by friction with sane people, which they’ve steadily now removed from their lives - to slowly disfigure until so many in the country have become grotesqueries. Superficially well-rounded people but when you turn them a bit, you see bizarre outgrowths of insane propaganda-fed mutation. And all of those people coalesced this election around Trump.
My neighbor is a nice, friendly person, but was talking about moving out of state during COVID because she didn’t want her daughter to have to get the vaccine. I’m sure she is cheering this move. And goddamn, it’s depressing.
I think social media might have amplified their reach, but the Republican movement has always been so. Sure, they had the thin veneer of respectability from “moderates” that only wanted deep tax cuts for the rich, deregulation for companies, no protections for workers and they’d be very careful about blowing the dogwhistle to get dumbass racists to vote for them.
But it was always a thin veneer. The base has always been chock full of crazies, cranks, conspiracy theorists, racists and people that just generally hate freedom and the American experiment. They want the “betters” (the rich and the white) to rule, and they want to make normal Americans cry, and they don’t give a fuck about anything else.
The phrase “the lunatics have taken over the asylum” never seemed more apt. I know, we’ve lived in an asylum for awhile. We had a lunatic fringe, but even if we had to interact with them at least sane adults were in charge. Those halcyon days are over.
I just think COVID and social media have allowed people’s historical “well-rounded” selves - the crazy bits getting sanded off by friction with sane people, which they’ve steadily now removed from their lives - to slowly disfigure until so many in the country have become grotesqueries. Superficially well-rounded people but when you turn them a bit, you see bizarre outgrowths of insane propaganda-fed mutation. And all of those people coalesced this election around Trump.
My neighbor is a nice, friendly person, but was talking about moving out of state during COVID because she didn’t want her daughter to have to get the vaccine. I’m sure she is cheering this move. And goddamn, it’s depressing.
Edit: A word.
Every other “influencer” I happen to come across online has become one of these people. It’s not looking good.
I think social media might have amplified their reach, but the Republican movement has always been so. Sure, they had the thin veneer of respectability from “moderates” that only wanted deep tax cuts for the rich, deregulation for companies, no protections for workers and they’d be very careful about blowing the dogwhistle to get dumbass racists to vote for them.
But it was always a thin veneer. The base has always been chock full of crazies, cranks, conspiracy theorists, racists and people that just generally hate freedom and the American experiment. They want the “betters” (the rich and the white) to rule, and they want to make normal Americans cry, and they don’t give a fuck about anything else.