Although this is addressed to one individual, it is obviously germane to many, many more. Rabbi Schoenfeld, In the months since the covid vaccines have been made available to the public, you have been an extremely aggressive advocate for everyone to get vaccinated. Ensuring the health of the community is certainly a laudable mission. But in your zealous and single-minded pursuit of functionally 100% vaccination uptake in our community, you have systematically and derisively dismissed the rational, reasonable, and plausible concerns of anyone who doesn’t share your rugged enthusiasm for the covid vaccines. Worse, you have levelled serious attacks upon everyone who disagrees with your view, disparaging their intellect, honesty, religious observance, and character. You have gone to such an extreme as to express support for the criminalization of more than a quarter of the religious orthodox Jewish community (at minimum). Yet you have stubbornly refused to allow someone
I am trying to have a conversation with a friend in NYC and I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction. I represented to him that in spite of the mandates NYC is struggling to contain Covid, much more so than places with less draconian policies. I had read that somewhere and now I can't find the source. (Of course, given that early treatment protocols work, the conversation is pretty one-dimensional, but I am trying to address some of his specific claims.) Do you happen to know of reputable source for this? It is all over the mainstream but I was hoping for charts, graphs, etc. Thank you so much.
Wow, what a fantastic letter. Thank you for taking the time to articulate this basis for the unwillingness to be vaccinated in many. You have really nailed it. May the recipient of the letter stay awake at night wrestling with his disabled conscience.
I think every single person wanting/ not wanting to get the vaccine does it for unique/ not identical/ perhaps not even similar reasons. I don't appreciate the 'band-wagon' mentality. Nor do I appreciate the exclusive, us vs. them, or taking sides fall-out from that mentality.
First, it is not my contention that everyone opposed is identical. But the reality on the ground is that the pro-vax forces are persecuting anyone and everyone who wishes to not get the vaccine.
Second, I am writing to push back on behalf everyone who wishes to avoid vaccination, but I cannot portray every type of individual who is against vaccinating for an endless list of reasons, so I have to depict what I am at least confident based on my personal experience and grasp of the political and social reality on the ground is a clear majority of those in my community who are anti- the covid vaccine.
Third, this by necessity requires to portray as an "us vs them", since I am calling out the behavior of the "them" against the "us". :) In a perfect world, this would not be necessary, but reality is what it is. The anti- covid vaccine also deserve to be defended in the public square.
Fourthly, this is also intended to be educational for a broad swath of people, that those opposed to the vaccine are not irrational, anti-science, or any such nonsense. This, too, requires an "us vs them" depiction, because again it is in reality an "us vs them" insofar as the "them" who are doing the bullying and persecuting are a "them" against a defined group that is the "us".
To the degree that fallout such as you're alluding to is inevitable, so be it, but it does not constitute a sufficient justification to not write at all or greatly alter what I wrote in a way that severely diminishes its effectiveness.
The enormous amount of positive feedback and gratitude I have received so far is - to me anyway - a strong signal that I was right in how I wrote this.
I am trying to have a conversation with a friend in NYC and I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction. I represented to him that in spite of the mandates NYC is struggling to contain Covid, much more so than places with less draconian policies. I had read that somewhere and now I can't find the source. (Of course, given that early treatment protocols work, the conversation is pretty one-dimensional, but I am trying to address some of his specific claims.) Do you happen to know of reputable source for this? It is all over the mainstream but I was hoping for charts, graphs, etc. Thank you so much.
Wow, what a fantastic letter. Thank you for taking the time to articulate this basis for the unwillingness to be vaccinated in many. You have really nailed it. May the recipient of the letter stay awake at night wrestling with his disabled conscience.
I don't think I ever noticed your comments before :)
I think every single person wanting/ not wanting to get the vaccine does it for unique/ not identical/ perhaps not even similar reasons. I don't appreciate the 'band-wagon' mentality. Nor do I appreciate the exclusive, us vs. them, or taking sides fall-out from that mentality.
Thank you for the feedback :)
Let me explain my thinking.
First, it is not my contention that everyone opposed is identical. But the reality on the ground is that the pro-vax forces are persecuting anyone and everyone who wishes to not get the vaccine.
Second, I am writing to push back on behalf everyone who wishes to avoid vaccination, but I cannot portray every type of individual who is against vaccinating for an endless list of reasons, so I have to depict what I am at least confident based on my personal experience and grasp of the political and social reality on the ground is a clear majority of those in my community who are anti- the covid vaccine.
Third, this by necessity requires to portray as an "us vs them", since I am calling out the behavior of the "them" against the "us". :) In a perfect world, this would not be necessary, but reality is what it is. The anti- covid vaccine also deserve to be defended in the public square.
Fourthly, this is also intended to be educational for a broad swath of people, that those opposed to the vaccine are not irrational, anti-science, or any such nonsense. This, too, requires an "us vs them" depiction, because again it is in reality an "us vs them" insofar as the "them" who are doing the bullying and persecuting are a "them" against a defined group that is the "us".
To the degree that fallout such as you're alluding to is inevitable, so be it, but it does not constitute a sufficient justification to not write at all or greatly alter what I wrote in a way that severely diminishes its effectiveness.
The enormous amount of positive feedback and gratitude I have received so far is - to me anyway - a strong signal that I was right in how I wrote this.