Parents’ Group Asks For The Term ‘Anti-Vaxxers’ To Be Retired, But They Won’t Be Pleased With The Alternatives Suggested By Twitter

You have to be careful what you ask for on Twitter. An organization of “crazy mothers”—if they’ve already reclaimed that accusation, who knows why “anti-vaxxer” is the one they take issue with—have released a statement asking the media to call them “vaccine risk aware,” calling the widespread use of “anti-vaxxers” derogatory and inflammatory. Commenters put forth their criticisms of the proposed term, not to mention hundreds of scathing alternatives.

Maybe people would not have such an “inflammatory” attitude towards anti-vaxxers if they did not spread repeatedly debunked information that is contributing to the resurgence of measles, a disease previously eliminated in the US. As for whether it “marginalizes women and their experiences,” we would guess that women who choose not to put their kids at risk of contracting preventable diseases (which they could also pass on to immunocompromised people and infants who have not yet received their vaccinations) don’t have much of a problem with it.

Twitter users showed that they have a host of other, almost funny if not a bit dark, names they could be calling campaigners against vaccinations. One compared the group’s demand to that of TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical feminists) who have deemed that term derogatory despite doing… well, what the acronym says…

Commenters also added that if these self-described “crazy mothers” were as aware of the risks of vaccines as they claim to be, they would know that said risks are negligible compared to the risks of the diseases they prevent, as organizations like the Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization will tell you.

However, some are suggesting that responding to anti-vax talking points with repeatedly proven counter-evidence does little to stop the spread of their lies, and that we should be focusing on removing their platform to repeat them in the first place. What do you think we should be calling groups like this—if anything at all?