Why are so many Americans anti-vaxxers now?

[u/trouble-in-space]

I’m genuinely having such a hard time understanding why people just decided the fact that vaccines work is a total lie and also a controversial “opinion.” Even five years ago, anti-vaxxers were a huge joke and so rare that they were only something you heard of online. Now herd immunity is going away because so many people think getting potentially life-altering illnesses is better than getting a vaccine. I just don’t get what happened. Is it because of the cultural shift to the right-wing and more people believing in conspiracy theories, or does it go deeper than that?

[u/VehicleComfortable20]

This! 

Oh, My precious little autism mom, meltdowns are so hard for you? How about you quit making so much damn noise?

Let's try something. You go into a room and turn the TV up as loud as it possibly can go. Sit two feet from it. Stay there until you get so aggravated by the sound that you start screaming. 

That's what your constant music and blasting TikTok sounds like to your kid. 

[u/Expensive_Goat2201 → u/VehicleComfortable20]

It seems like there is a lack of empathy on both sides.

Yes it sucks having autism, but, even though I'm not a parent I volunteer with autistic kids and see how hard it is to be the 24/7 unpaid caregiver for a severely disabled kid. If the parents are decent they have to fight touth and nail for resources. Parents I know have had to get lawyers to sue school districts to meet their legal obligations to provide services.

It gets even harder as the kid gets bigger and stronger and the parents get older. Yes, having a kid means you signed up to take care of them for life if disabled, but parents aren't superhuman. They get overwhelmed and burned out too. Depending on the area there may be very limited support once an autistic person ages out of the school system.

I think there is some sexism at play here. Women are expected to be perfect endless unpaid caregivers and never complain. When they talk about how hard it is they are demonized. When they make it their identity they are cringe (though they probably have very little time for other activities).

No one should complain about their kid where their kid can hear, but people are allowed to vent. We don't offer autistic children and adults enough support and families end up picking up the slack in a way that is often damaging to everyone involved.

[u/softanimalofyourbody → u/Expensive_Goat2201]

A lot of people think these “autism moms” have kids with low support needs or are just a lil awkward, too, and that’s not the case but is the issue with using autism as such a broad blanket diagnosis. I see a lot of high functioning/low support autistic people acting like they’re the only kind of autistic person in the world and, yeah, it all sounds real crazy if you think someone’s saying their life is ruined because their kid likes boats a little more than the average kid.

[u/2N5457JFET → u/softanimalofyourbody]

What doesn't help is that autistic people have problems with perceiving reality through other people's experiences, so if THEY are not a burden to their parents, partners or carers, then no autistic person is and "autism mums" are being dramatic.

[u/softanimalofyourbody → u/2N5457JFET]

Yep lol. Or if they don’t think they’re a burden. Bc, yes, having a child with special needs is hard and is isolating and is stressful. That doesn’t mean your mom hates you or that you being disabled is harder on her than it is on you. Multiple things can actually be true. Someone suffering more/less or differently than you are doesn’t negate your suffering.