Back in the early days of the pandemic, masking was thought to be the best tool we had when it came to protecting each other from contracting COVID19. And people were generally willing to go along with it, because the idea was that once a vaccine became available, we’d no longer need to wear masks everywhere.
Well, vaccines became available, but the masking never really went away. We needed to continue masking until everyone was vaccinated, and then we’d be good to go. If you still had to wear a mask, you could just blame the unvaccinated (even the ones who had natural immunity because they’d had COVID19 already) for that.
Well, more people got vaccinated. But it still wasn’t enough, because the vaccinated could technically still contract COVID19 and spread to others (never mind that that didn’t mean the vaccines weren’t effective). The unvaccinated were still disgusting, of course, but if you were vaccinated and hadn’t gotten your booster, too, you were disgusting in your own right.
That’s where we’re at now:
People who have only received two COVID vaccine shots are gross, and I'm grateful that the Atlantic stepped and bestowed them with a shameful new name — the Unboosted — while suggesting they perhaps must be shunned along with their even more filthy brethren: the Unvaccinated.🤮 pic.twitter.com/u6jrb9mtqm
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 7, 2021
Beware the Unboosted. What a time to be alive.
I think the point is not that they are "gross" but that they might have COVID-19
— Nathan J Robinson (@NathanJRobinson) December 7, 2021
People who get 8 booster shots might also have COVID-19. Did you know this was the reason the CDC reversed itself and said that even vaccinated people should continue to wear masks?
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 7, 2021
This like Scientology: no matter how high up on the ladder you get, you’ll never get to the very top.
Some truly chilling conclusions in this article regarding the Unboosted: pic.twitter.com/QdUsvaGIir
— Nondescript Roman Statue (@cancelkultur) December 7, 2021
I can't believe Greenwald jumped to a negative conclusion about this
— Marky Marx 🐵 (@MarkyMarx_) December 7, 2021
Your sarcasm is noted, Marky. Never mind that the fact that we’re even talking about “Boosted” vs. “Unboosted” is the disturbing part. These conversations shouldn’t even be on our radars, but here we are, discussing vaccination status like social status.
The Atlantic, April, 2022:
Should the Three-Boosted Still Be Permitted to Work and Leave Their Homes?
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 7, 2021
Ugh.
It’s been fascinating to watch the rules evolve as tools against COVID19 threaten to wrest authority from the authoritarians, but we can’t say that it’s been surprising.
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