Conforting lies for social animals

Why do people who have been vaccinated lash out at those who are unvaccinated?  And when the unvaccinated point out the dangers and/or lack of justification for taking the vaccine, people who have been vaccinated become even angrier—why is this?

Very simple.

People who have been vaccinated cannot take it back. They realize, if only at a subconscious level, that they made an irrevocable decision—and possibly the wrong decision. So they have to double down on their bad decision. They have to insist out loud that they made the right decision. Because they are not trying to convince you or me or anyone else that they made the right decision—they are trying to convince themselves that they made the right decision. That’s why the more you argue with them, the angrier they get.

So why do the vaccinated insist that the unvaccinated get the shot?

Again, very simple.

When you make the right decision—and there is clear indisputable evidence that you made the right decision—you are indifferent as to whether or not others follow you.

But when you make the wrong decision, or a decision you are unsure of, you want to convince others to follow you, because from an evolutionary perspective, there is always safety in numbers. The more people follow you, the greater the collective security. But the more people refuse to follow you, the more they are signaling that you made the wrong decision. So you want to convince them — indeed, even force them — to follow you so that you can say to yourself that you made the right decision.

Imagine you’ve taken a vaccine, and then find out that it can very likely hurt you badly, perhaps even kill you. How would you feel? Would you be able to confront that fact? Would you be able to say to yourself, “I may die because of this vaccine”? Or would you lie to yourself and claim that it was the right decision? Lie to yourself despite all the evidence. Lie to yourself — and silence anyone who spoke the truth.

My guess is, you’d prefer lies and silence.

Incidentally, the same mechanism is at play with the so-called “sex positivity“ movement. A ton of girls with dozens of former sexual partners realize that they made a horrible decision — so they try to convince other girls to follow in their footsteps. And they insist that anyone who points out their bad decision is a prude, or a square, or a bigot, or a whatever.

We are social creatures. And we are self-deceiving creatures. We need our comforting lies, and in the right set of circumstances, we would have no trouble killing anyone who speaks the truth.