Editing 2397: I Just Don't Trust Them

Jump to: navigation, search

Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.

The edit can be undone. Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision Your text
Line 8: Line 8:
  
 
==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
−
This comic is another in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}, specifically regarding the [[:Category:COVID-19 vaccine|COVID-19 vaccine]].  
+
{{incomplete|Created by a BAT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
 +
Cueball echoes a statement made by anti-vaccine activists about "Big Pharma" (the powerful and profit-driven companies who develop pharmaceutical drugs such as vaccines). Anti-vaccine protesters believe that vaccines contain harmful toxins that cause ill effects on the human body, and that the corporations that make them are not to be trusted because they are exploiting a captive public for profit while disregarding public health. The joke is that Cueball is revealed to be not talking about Big Pharma but, instead, bats.  
  
−
[[Cueball]] partially echoes a statement made by {{w|Vaccine hesitancy|anti-vaccination}} activists about "{{w|Big_Pharma_conspiracy theory|Big Pharma}}" (the powerful and profit-driven companies which develop pharmaceutical drugs such as {{w|vaccines}}). Anti-vaccine protesters falsely believe that vaccines contain harmful toxins (such as HIV proteins, {{rw|Anti-vaccination_movement#Aluminum|aluminum salts}}, formaldehyde, {{rw|Thiomersal|mercury}}, and nanoparticles) that cause ill effects on the human body, that just because there has never been a licensed mRNA vaccine before that these new vaccines are not safe in the long term, and that the corporations that make them are not to be trusted because they are exploiting a captive public for profit while disregarding public health. The joke is that Cueball is revealed to be not talking about Big Pharma but, instead, bats.
+
COVID-19 likely originated in bats, so the act of getting the virus would mean having something developed in bats infect his body. Bats, which are unhygeinic disease-carrying animals rather than rational humans, should obviously be trusted less than people to develop something that you should put in your body.  
  
−
According to the WHO, COVID-19 has an ecological origin in bat populations. Hence, Cueball sees the virus as something developed by bats, and the ambiguity by which he expresses his desire to not be infected adds to the joke.
+
The comic thus serves as a compelling argument against the anti-vaccine movement, which is often criticized for spreading misinformation and increasing rates of disease, especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This comic comes shortly after the news of the development of several COVID-19 vaccines with high rates of success; there are concerns that herd immunity may be delayed if people refuse to take the vaccine.  
  
−
The comic could simply be seen to serve as a compelling argument against the anti-vaccine movement, which is often criticized for spreading misinformation and increasing rates of disease, especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This comic comes shortly after the news of the development of several COVID-19 vaccines with high rates of success; there are concerns that herd immunity may be delayed if people refuse to take the vaccine.
+
The title text refers to getting immunity the old fashioned way, i.e. catching the disease and waiting for your immune system to build up a response. This can be dangerous, sometimes deadly, and highly contagious, and so should not be taken if it can be avoided. The joke here is that many Anti-vaxers claim that it is more natural to not take a vaccine. While this is technically true, it is also true that what is "natural" is not necessarily what is most ''beneficial''; many natural substances, items, and events can in fact be lethal.{{Citation needed}}
−
 
 
−
The title text refers to getting immunity the old-fashioned way, i.e. catching the disease and waiting for your immune system to build up a response. This is usually considered healthy when immunity to minor diseases is common, and can avoid the sudden forced evolution of new diseases among extensively hypercareful communities, but developing natural immunity is certainly incredibly dangerous during a pandemic of a serious illness. One joke here is that many anti-vaxxers claim that it is more natural to not take a vaccine. Because many people conflate "natural" with "healthy", the assumption underlying the claim "it is more natural to not take a vaccine" is that it is therefore more healthy. Such arguments are an example of the {{rw|fallacy|logical fallacy}} known as {{rw|Appeal_to_nature|Appeal to nature}}. Thus, the title text is apparently written from a pro-vaxxer's take on the stance of an anti-vaxxer.
 
  
 
The title text also playfully suggests that the immune system would attempt to use an Internet search engine to learn how to manufacture {{w|Coronavirus spike protein|spike protein}} {{w|antibody|antibodies}}. While this may be an effective technique for a human being to acquire knowledge, it would not likely be as efficient for a nonsentient biological system.{{Citation needed}}
 
The title text also playfully suggests that the immune system would attempt to use an Internet search engine to learn how to manufacture {{w|Coronavirus spike protein|spike protein}} {{w|antibody|antibodies}}. While this may be an effective technique for a human being to acquire knowledge, it would not likely be as efficient for a nonsentient biological system.{{Citation needed}}
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
−
:[Cueball stands with his arms to his sides, facing Megan.]
+
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
−
:Cueball: I just don't trust them, and I don't want to put something they developed into my body.
+
:[Cueball, with his arms to his sides, standing next to Megan]
 +
:I just don't trust them, and I don't want to put something they developed into my body.
  
 
:[Caption below the panel:]
 
:[Caption below the panel:]
Line 28: Line 28:
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
−
 
−
[[Category:COVID-19]]
 
−
[[Category:COVID-19 vaccine]]
 
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
 
[[Category:Animals]]
 
[[Category:Animals]]
 
[[Category:Biology]]
 
[[Category:Biology]]
 +
[[Category:COVID-19]]

Please note that all contributions to explain xkcd may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see explain xkcd:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!

To protect the wiki against automated edit spam, we kindly ask you to solve the following CAPTCHA:

Cancel | Editing help (opens in new window)

Templates used on this page:

Retrieved from "https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2397:_I_Just_Don%27t_Trust_Them"