Misplaced Mistrust

Handsome devil: Allan Gardens painted turtle,
one of at least 20 living in the greenhouse water feature.

I've heard some stories recently about people who, because of their distrust in government, have gotten themselves into trouble.

These stories may prompt harsh judgement. But my intention is to illustrate, not shame. Mistrust can feel like a good strategy - as in, don't trust strangers, or don't trust everything you hear - but it can steer you wrong ....

The Toronto Star ran a story about a since-reformed vaccine-hesitant mom, who, a third of her way through her career in birthing and raising ten children, decided to believe the unsubstantiated but compelling stories she read on Facebook that said vaccines posed disproportionate risks to her kids. By then she already had four (vaccinated) children. She was on her seventh (unvaccinated) child before a measles outbreak in her community made her wonder about her choice. 

She shared her dilemma on Facebook. Among the threats and shaming that instantly followed, one compassionate bona fide medical researcher got in touch with her and kindly coached her through how she could do her own research to resolve her dilemma.

After two days of looking at the stories she had once found so persuasive, she said to her husband: "There's no proof for all these claims of harm."

She promptly put her kids on a vaccination schedule. Even more promptly her youngest caught whooping cough. Soon all seven had it. That's a hard price for anyone to pay for their mistakes, let alone a mother who sincerely believed she was protecting her children (the kids all recovered and are fine).

What drove this woman to believe false claims and imperil her children? She explained that she "had always been skeptical of government ..."

Next up, the story of the Bitcoin exchange CEO who suddenly and unexpectedly "died" in India. CBC made a podcast, A Death in Cryptoland, about Gerald Cotten, the thirty-year-old Belleville native whose YouTube videos include him microwaving a $20 bill. 

Cotten "died," leaving a quarter of a billion dollars worth of Bitcoin in an electronic vault, the only key to which was in Gerry's mortal brain. 76,000 people lost their money.

Investigations after his "death" revealed Cotten was a practiced con artist who ran Ponzi schemes so transparently it is hard to believe that any rational adult would have given him any of their money. But thousands did. One person interviewed for the podcast explained that he invested in Bitcoin, with Gerry, because he "didn't trust the government."

The last story is about the guy shown in a clip on the John Oliver Show. He was interviewed for the cameras from his sick bed, still strapped into hospital paraphernalia. He absolutely refused, even after his bout with COVID, to get vaccinated. When asked why, he said “because it’s the government’s agenda” to have people vaccinated.

Questioning authority is always a good idea, just like it's a good idea to not let the guy who's obviously drunk drive you home. 

But don't let your judgement against the drunk guy persuade you that it's safe to be driven around by a meth head. 

One Question ...

Are there any men on the Canadian Olympic team?

Thanks for reading!

Happy long weekend!

Karen