Reading about vaccine resisters makes me anxious. My just-finished summer trip, visiting family in Mansfield, Ohio, dropped me into the thick of it. Being up close was scary.
After my spectacularly green 50-minute drive north from Columbus Airport, my grandson met me in his condo parking lot and offered an elbow bump. I hadn’t seen him for over two years and wanted a hug. I’m vaccinated and he has had Covid, but I wasn’t wearing a mask. I reckoned it was an acceptable outdoor risk.
Later that day, his uncle, my brother-in-law, dropped by. I gave him a hug, assuming he was vaccinated. Wrong! I was surprised and shocked. Later I talked with my non-Ohio daughter who reminded me that context is everything. I’m in a red state.
The next morning as I drove my grandson to his athletic training, I explained how important it was to me for him to get the vaccination. He laid out his reasons against it. I could see there was no point in trying to convince him when (my) reasons and even a significant bribe, weren’t enough.
The next day I realized that I’d been in denial. This is a polarized country. I’d flown from the Blue zone to the Red. It felt like an alternate reality. By the third day — being outside of my California, coastal bubble — I felt frightened, briefly imagining flying out early.
Educating an Alien
But I calmed down enough to plan a little data collecting on family and friends and a few fellow Starbucks coffee lovers. The results: around 30% of my biased sample had had Covid (quite possibly related to the lack of masks?). Almost no one wore masks, even though door signs on Kroger’s grocery store clearly stated the Federal requirements. Vaccinations were at less than 40%. The explanations people volunteered to me for not vaccinating were:
- “I am free to have my opinion, and you are free to have yours.” Most people said this or a variation of it.
- “I don’t trust the vaccine. There’ve been no long-term studies of its effects. It was developed in less than 12 months. That’s too fast. I’m healthy and probably won’t get sick if I get it [Covid].” These were part of most responses.
- “I wear a mask all the time and wash my hands regularly. My son is going to college in the fall so we will soon have to decide about vaccinations. When we do, we will make that decision as a family.” A masked, health care worker awaiting her Starbucks coffee.
- “The vaccine will change my genetic makeup.” “The vaccine might kill me.” An otherwise levelheaded techie.
- “My family isn’t vaccinated. The vaccine isn’t properly tested, we don’t know its effects. My patients ask if I’m vaccinated. They are afraid that if I am, I’ll shed virus cells onto them. We haven’t changed our protection protocols. It still mask and face shield.” A dentist.
- “I’ve had Covid. God gave me the antibodies. I don’t need the vaccine.” A fundamentalist Christian.
As many studies reveal, there is no point in discussing or arguing against such family/tribal beliefs. When we join a tribe, we take on its opinions and beliefs as our own. Everyone around us, friends and family, validate our beliefs. Changing the story means abandoning group membership. That’s highly unlikely.
In Ohio, I was the outsider, the stranger, the disbeliever, the naysayer, the alien from the coast — to be tolerated but ignored.
Lesson Learned
By the third day, I started wearing my mask in indoor public places, something I haven’t done in Marin County for weeks. My mother-in-law had some tie tacks. To better fit in, I pinned an American flag on my T-shirt pocket (I have to admit it was partly facetious). I brought home a GOP Elephant pin. Although, ‘General Opposition Party’ is a better description of what I experienced in Ohio. For conservatives, opposing vaccines is just the latest addition to a long list of oppositions.
PS: I Googled ‘tribal beliefs and pictures’. The response was entirely indigenous, non-white, pre-industrial groups. But where are we in this? I want pictures of a white, middle-aged male mob fighting a racially mixed mob, all properly attired in mass-produced industrial clothing. Alas, it’s not to be found! Could “tribal” be the wrong word for our American version? If so, what’s right? I’m thinking “family-tribal”. But that omits political polarization and our self-righteous, enraged battleground.
Ideas, suggestions?
Please let me know.
Thank you,
Barry
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