From COVID-19 to climate change, scientists are facing a flood of hate mail, threats and harassment from conspiracy theorists.
You see this even on much smaller scales, like trying having an honest conversation about veganism and it’s benefits on the internet, people get so mad and absolutely refuse to acknowledge reality.
It feels like a lot of people don’t even want to think about the argument of the person on the other side. Its almost like they are afraid of trying to understand.
This is a spot on observation. There’s a guy on TikTok that talks about healthy masculinity that really resonates with me and talks about this exact phenomenon and how it harms us all. The video I link here really nails it. He puts into words what I’ve always felt. His examples are based in politics, and his expansion is based on interpersonal relationships.
Huge caveat, though: this only works when speaking to people in good faith. And it isn’t always easy to spot when someone is speaking in good faith or in bad faith, especially when we’re talking about subjects that effect us directly. The quote about anti-Semites not being unaware of the absurdity of their comments comes to mind.
Understanding would mean admitting that they themselves might have been acting wrongly and that they should change.
Admitting your own faults is hard and change is scary.
It sucks how hard it is to have honest and good faith conversations.
Beware of anger.
Conspiracy theorists intimidate scientists with anger, but their anger is a bluff to overcome the fear that lies deep within them.
Likewise, defenders of scientists need to stop reacting with fear-based anger against conspiracy theorists.
We need to put aside our anger and just discuss the facts in a straightforward manner to advance science.Scientists are bearing the brunt of this, but it is very much everyone’s problem. The people being harassed are doing things we urgently need them to do. That includes things like warning us about about immediate dangers, telling us what precautions we need to take, and doing research that could lead to workarounds and solutions to the problems themselves.
We need to speak against this. We need to act against this. And we need to change the system to provide protections and remedies. Otherwise we are all going to suffer.
Speaking does not stop those who are willing to harass and intimidate those who are working to improve our world. They cannot be reasoned with because they are categorically unreasonable.
I will leave what actually DOES work to your imagination. Cowards are cowardly.
