Jeff Sharlet tweeted this the other day and I think he’s right:
I’m for vaccination as mandatory as the law allows and for looking at means within the rule of law to expand that possibility. I’ve been reporting on the Right in books & for national magazines for 20 yrs. I understand how dangerous this position is.
The risk of legal mandatory vaccination is further rightwing violence and political disintegration. Those who want to “go slow” are praying the center will hold. From my perspective as a journalist covering the Right: It won’t. It *didn’t.* …
We don’t have to get into silly self-satisfying arguments about the Right’s ignorance or cynicism to understand that appeasement right now is a liberal pipe dream & even a form of narcissism, a refusal to look at the Right as it openly presents itself. A little while ago I drove slowly across the country visiting rightwing churches & individuals. What I found confirms a change I’ve been observing for the last 5 yrs: It’s really, truly, not issue-driven. What the Right wants, fundamentally, is a fight…
Which, of course, is a core principle of fascism, albeit in its rapidly mutating, inchoate American form: A longing for redemption through violence. So trying to finesse policy differences or even “cultural” differences (read: white supremacy self-aware or not) isn’t noble, or pragmatic; it *misses the point.* The point, of much of the Right now, is conflict for its own sake, a belief that fighting will make them whole again. Which is why I’m for making vaccination as mandatory as law will allow.
Anything short of that as an attempt to avoid a fight will, I think, actually enflame much of the Right, since they believe they need to fight to be authentic. So let’s proceed with trying to save untold numbers of Americans in the short term & trying to stop a vaccine-crushing variant from rising up & spreading globally in the only-slightly-longer term. Let’s do so fully aware of the conflict this effort will engender. How bad will the conflict be?
The good news, so far, is not as bad as the Right wants us to believe. Consider: much of the armed rightwing base believes falsely that Biden took power by coup. Are they in the streets? No–they’re telegramming, tweeting, watching TV. I’ve talked to many militant rightwingers who say “If X happens, it’ll be civil war!” Then X happens. & they move the goal.
Don’t get me wrong: this is staggeringly dangerous. But it shouldn’t be paralyzingly so. We need the strongest legal position for vaccines.
This just keeps happening. They’re just mad. Always.
Appeasement just makes them even madder.