Mocking antivaxxers is not punching down when their decisions and actions are literally murdering people.
Antivaxxers are participating in a systemic genocide of marginalized people, the working class, and the immuno-compromised.
In a perfect world, these ideas wouldn't have spread to begin with. In a still better world than we have right now, we'd have mass re-education programs.
Instead we have a global pandemic made worse by a murder cult.
This is where I take issue with this, there is a difference between a snake oil salesman and their customers.
If the customers weren't murdering people by choosing to become walking pathogen diffusers, then yes.
Example: I feel sadness for anyone choosing homeopathy over actual medical treatments like chemo. That is preventable death and devastating.
My boyfriend lost a family member this way because the person thought they could combine homeopathy and prayer to cure their cancer. That was a tragedy, but it was self-contained.
This is the same phenomenon though, the people that bought into homeopathy also tend to be anti-vaxx
Trust me I fight with these people on a daily basis because of my job and I feel you, but I don't want them to die. I want the people that taught them their bullshit to die.
What do you do when one of them teaches someone desperate and "converts" them? Is that person now on the death list? Most antivaxxers are incessantly trying to spread their beliefs.
Bully them. Don't engage with them, ostracize them and isolate them. Until we can have actual humane reeducation centers there's no other option.
Believe me, I do. Part of how I do that is actively mocking the ones who die.
That's punching down still, unless it's someone who has actual power.
It's not punching down when their decisions and actions are literally murdering people.
Antivaxxers are participating in a systemic genocide of marginalized people, the working class, and the immuno-compromised.