nighthawk wrote:

I feel as though I should apologize for starting this conversation, but back in January it didn't seem controversial or political!  It does seem like a lot of topics are secretly sowed with landmines now, in August.  

Shall we talk about the weather instead?  I woke up to a thunderstorm, and when I saw that the nearest lightning strike was 0,1 miles away my morning walk was postponed.  Maybe later.

You are so right! There was no reason in January to expect this issue would be so fraught. But it is. Definitely not your fault for raising it!
I understand the strong feelings the topic engenders, but I would strongly encourage people who want to focus on vaccination behavior they object to to do it elsewhere. It’s not that these feelings are wrong, it’s that the way we keep this place civil and useful is not to say all the things that are going to make civil conversation impossible.

Roci wrote:

nighthawk wrote:

Shall we talk about the weather instead?  I woke up to a thunderstorm, and when I saw that the nearest lightning strike was 0,1 miles away my morning walk was postponed.  Maybe later.

I have been fortunate the past couple weeks, but 3 weeks ago a storm passed by my house. Rain was falling 90 degrees sideways, coming up from under the window sills. 3 tree limbs came down, and a 4th was weakened enough to fall several days later on the road in front of my house.

I live in a valley. A couple hundred feet up the road, the most storm damage anyone had was a few leaves scattered along their yards. Sometimes, it feels like there's just going to be a particular day that I in particular am doomed for not having suffered through enough hardships.

A hurricane which turned into a tropical storm hit my state dead on yesterday. I live fairly inland and on the third floor and other than it being very windy with a fair amount of rain, it I hadn't known I would have thought it was just a really bad rainstorm. On the other hand, thousands of people closer to the shore lost power and there was a lot more damage a few miles to the west of my state. 
 

Kokipy wrote:

Sorry for speaking out. I know several people who have left this community in the past because of vehement disagreements about matters of importance just like this one. 

I'm sorry to hear that. IMO, the problem arises when people get mean spirited and personal. Or refuse to shut up.

It shouldn't be a problem if someone says something controversial. Someone disagrees. They go back and forth three or four times and drop it. Where the problem comes in is where the argument continues and spreads to other threads. This is a thread about vaccination so discussion about vaccination is on topic. But what happens sometimes is that people continue the argument on a thread that has nothing to do with the vaccine. That needs to be nipped in the bud.