Antivax Campaigns, Glitches in the Matrix and Political Correctness in Comedy

Every now and then, we find ourselves with opinions that can be more questionable and can even divide people over them. Unpopular opinions are the ones that are always on our minds: everyone's got them, but not everyone talks about them. It can be about whether pineapple goes on pizza or more serious subjects.

In this slogging thread, the unpopular opinion community discussed what were the most controversial opinions they have heard or even had.

This Slogging thread by Sara Pinto, Alexa_it, Mónica Freitas, Ellen Stevens and Abeer occurred in slogging's official #unpopular-opinion channel, and has been edited for readability.

What's the most controversial opinions you've heard/you have?

I have a friend who is journalist and started investigatating this : Antivax campaigns on facebook (and other social platforms) could be privately financed by vaccine industry. He is reasoning like that : if everybody take the vaccine, the virus stop spreading in a year or two so they can't sell vaccines anymore. So if you finance antivax campaigns you have this minority of people that carry and keep spreading the virus.

Btw i'm fascinated by the story of Andrew Wakefield so this theory interests me a lot.

Alexa_it Oh wow. I've always heard something similar about cancer. They do say that health entities are the ones making a bigger profit with the fact that it doesn't exist definitive cures to some diseases

Sara Pinto I'm not sure if this is controversial but I've been seeing a lot of content of people believing they've experienced a glitch in the matrix.

What's a 'vaccine industry'? Pharma companies produce vaccines, but they also produce a bunch of other medications. It's likely that a vaccinated person will stay alive longer to buy more drugs, it's a net benefit. Having a bunch of unvaccinated people means less people, less life longevity, potentially less drugs consumed in old age. Staying alive longer works for big pharma. It doesn't work for the government, because they have to make the social support payments.

"Not sell vaccine anymore"? Firstly, there are massive sections of the global population who don't currently have access to these vaccines. There will be a mass market until further notice even without antivaxxers. Secondly, there is a list of mandatory vaccinations given to pretty much everyone in civilized countries all over the world (meaning anyone new being born). I'm pretty sure they didn't just stop making money off of the polio vaccine etc. or whatever other vaccines which are mandated. It's gov't mandated in many places. I don't think the logic adds up here tbh. Thirdly the mRNA technology can be used for so many different ailments. They can just focus on selling other products using this tech. There's more than enough viruses and problems out there. The idea that drug companies would fund anti vaxxers seems shortsighted. Maybe, I don't really know though.

My controversial comment is: Just because you want something to be a certain way, doesn't mean it actually is that way, or can be. Ignoring reality and proper critical assessment is a terrible way to construct policies and perspectives. It can cause way more damage than good for everyone. (That wasn't in relation to the above rant haha)

Mónica Freitas How come a glitch in the Matrix?

Ellen Stevens Well, that's a very business way to take a look at it. I may be naive, but in a way, it's the government interest as well. Even though they have to make such payments, it's in their best interest to help the population, at least the bare minimum. But I see what you mean when it comes to pharma companies. It seems that's more profitable for them to ease the disease, but not fully heal.

Ellen Stevens We can't forget that probably the ones that don't have access to it, aren't taking it because they don't wish to or are anti-vaxxers, but because it's not present to them. And about the never-ending need for vaccines for the new population, that is true but, it's something limited. But, I see what you mean. At the end of it, and I know this is very conspirational haha, we don't know what the real intentions are. We end up having to trust that these companies and government are thinking about our well-being, but it's a lot of trust they ask of us

Ellen Stevens I actually agree! Many of us can't separate the actual reality and the desired reality. We end up in a bubble, and it can have a pretty bad impact on our lives. But many aren't ready for this conversation haha

Sara Pinto I can't seem to find the video - it's lost in TikTok now. But a woman was claiming that she'd had this experience: she was an adult, married with kids, and she went to sleep like any typical day; then, she woke up in the middle of the night with her mother next to her in bed and got up and encounter her sister on the bathroom (her sister had died in her teens, so she couldn't be there), and realized she was a kid again; she goes on telling how she had to relive her childhood, teenage years and so on, knowing that that wasn't her life, that she'd had gone back in time or jumped to an alternative universe/timeline. Though this is a weird story, she did seem very adamant about the reality of that past life, and from the comments on that video,m she wasn't the only one who had experienced something like that. So, either we believe, or now, there's a wave of new content claiming these glitches in reality.

Mónica Freitas Oh wow, those are quite the claims, and even more weird that other people say that happened to them too. What's your take on this? Do you believe it?

Jack Boreham Limarc Ambalina Abeer Khamisi Hamisi What about you? What's most controversial opinions you've heard/you have?

Sara Pinto I'm sceptical by nature. I find these stories interesting, but I take them as entertainment. It would be fun to experience the multiverse - well, maybe not - or have actual proof. But I just can't seem to take random online people's words for it. What are your thoughts on this?

Mónica Freitas Pretty similar to yours. It's something that I found curious, but I wouldn't believe it unless there are actual proofs or I had an identical experience. We have to stop using the "if it's on the internet, it must be true"

Sara Pinto Exactly. Especially when it comes to the unverified content.

Sara Pinto A controversial topic I’ve been hearing about a lot is comedy and political correctness. Many comedians have been saying that cancel culture and political correctness is ruining comedy. The opposing opinion is that many comedians’ routines are simply thinly veiled oppression.

Abeer Ah yes! That one has been around for quite some time. It's a sensitive subject. Many comedy sketches are about controversial topics, so it's very easy to cross the line, but I don't think we even know where to draw it. Where do you stand in this situation?

Sara Pinto  I’m honestly not sure where I stand regarding it. On one hand, they’re just jokes. On the other hand, I understand that they will offend and trigger certain people. The point of comedy is to make people laugh and have fun so while I don’t think jokes should be censored or filtered, maybe comedians can try to give a trigger warning before telling potentially problematic jokes. Though, that is pretty annoying and I’m sure it’ll get old fast. I definitely don’t have a solution to this issue but what I can say is that anyone who does comedy or listens to comedy and uses that as justification to be prejudiced or discriminatory can go fuck off :man-shrugging:

Abeer I completely agree! I don't think there's a right or wrong answer in this one, other than being conscious that might hurt others and don't be an idiot if you are doing it on purpose