I guess I have to. It’s my job.
Let’s consider this head-exploding moment from today on CNN by asking a few questions:
- Is there any way a competent news organization doesn’t realize how ridiculous this “scoop” is?
- Is a news host—here, Brian Stelter, running neck and neck with his colleagues Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo for the title of “Most Embarrassing Excuse for a Journalists in the Cvilized World—— who actually thinks this is a point worth making anything other than deranged and unfit for his job?
- Has there ever been an instance when anyone under any circumstances had an ethical or professional obligation to take a selfie, much less share it? (Full disclosure: I have never taken a selfie, and I never will.)
- Is there anyone who isn’t clinically ill that would find the Fox News “stars'” decision not to post selfies of themselves getting the Wuhan virus shots newsworthy in any way?
- Could a news organization possibly have a lower opinion of the American public than to think it cares what selfies anyone on earth doesn’t take and share?
This network hasn’t just jumped the shark. It has set a new record for bias, stupidity, and journalistic lunacy.
Ethics Alarms 
Sheesh Jack…what are they supposed to talk about when there is nothing else of note going on in the world. Sigh.
I rarely take selfies also, since I am not at all photogenic. I will take pictures of myself if I meet someone famous, not so much to brag as to silence jerks who say, “pictures or it didn’t happen.” Occasionally my friends and I will take pictures together to remember things by. By mutual agreement, though, both people in the picture must approve before it can be posted. I also sometimes photograph the emergency services in action if I am lucky enough to see them. As a rule, it’s no different than what you’d see in a newspaper – speeding emergency vehicles, firemen using hoses or tools, policemen directing traffic or throwing someone up against the wall, etc. However, one rule of photographic ethics I am scrupulous about, and I think everyone should be scrupulous about, is: no photographing medical treatment, and that goes double for needles. It’s not ok to photograph someone who’s helpless and at their most vulnerable, especially if they are in pain, experiencing an intrusion into their body.
There’s really nothing all that attractive or interesting about seeing someone get stuck. I for one hate getting stuck, even though it is nowhere near as painful as it was when I was a kid. I get that it’s a fact of life and sometimes necessary, but I never look when I get an injection. I sure as the devil am not taking a picture of myself getting injected, leave alone posting it for all the world to see, nor do I feel the need to strut it, like “what a good person I am for doing my part to fight this pandemic.” That’s a lefty attitude – look at me, I feel so much, I care so much, I want to help so much. Chapter 6 of the Gospel according to Matthew says NOT to look for applause for doing good deeds, in fact not to let one hand know what the other is doing. The anchors of other networks don’t owe CNN a public display of whether they did or didn’t get the vaccine any more than they owe the public one. Those who DO choose to display this should ask themselves, “why am I doing this? Am I trying to set a good example, or am I just trying to show that I am somehow “good?” ” If you’re just showing off, skip it.
I am at a loss about the whole “let’s celebrate getting the vaccine” thing, It is very strange theater.
I posted that I had gotten the first round along with an amusing story about growing a third arm as a result (well, it was amusing to me anyway – Facebook flagged it as dysinformation). The responses were fascinating. I was congratulated for having done something heroic. Why was it heroic? I did no such thing.
Heroism is doing something out of the ordinary and putting oneself at great person risk as a result. Saving a child from a burning building. Landing a crippled airplane – and not having any aviation experience whatsoever. Rescuing a someone from drowning in a raging river or body of water. Stepping into a fight to save someone from getting the living snot beat out of them. Taking on a powerful adversary and never backing down until the bitter end. Firefighters, police and soldiers do that on a regular basis. They run toward the chaos and danger. Frankly, I think Chauvin’s lawyer is doing something heroic, even though he is bound by professional ethics to put on the best defense he is capable of based on the facts of that case. He is representing the most hated individual on the planet at the moment and his preparation for trial had to come at terrible personal costs to him and his family. So far, he has done a masterful job.
I, on the other hand, sat in the front seat of my car whining about getting something sharp and pointy stuck into my shoulder. I don’t think getting a flu shot is all that heroic, either, even though I whine about that, too.
jvb
But you know their job is to paint the opposition in broad evil colors, right?
After all, the hosts of conservative news show that don’t post vaccination photos are
1. anti-science dissidents who not only didn’t get the vaccine themselves, but also
2 anti-science dissidents unwilling to encourage the population to get this particular vaccine.
In this brave new world, you must conform to the standard of signalling your virtue, otherwise, you signal that you have none.
I never understood this selfie phenomenon myself. I’ve only taken a selfie once or twice for a dating profile about 10 years ago and that was with a regular camera – not a smart phone (I’ve mentioned before I have no smart phone and not getting one). This CNN report (or whatever you call it) has to be on the top ten most absurd things I’ve seen. One thought that almost always comes to mind when there is talk of selfies or “look at my selfie” or “here’s my selfie doing ” is “Why the F**K do I care about your selfie?”
And all this talk about did you get the vaccine – it’s an individual choice and should be private if the individual wishes it to be private – no vaccine passports or similar should even be discussed. Anyone that doesn’t want the vaccine isn’t going to get any harsh criticism from me – or even mild criticism. I chose to get the vaccine but the way it should work in the USA is that it should be your own private decision unless you want to disclose your choice.
I dunno about that last part. If other vaccines can be required for school attendance, etc,, then it’s probably ok to require this one for various activities. However, it needs to be treated with the same privacy as any other health information.
Yes, I agree. I had to show proof of MMR for college decades ago. My objection to a “vaccine passport” is the scope. If it’s limited to a few venues like school attendance, okay. But, if it’s required for travel, going to restaurants, going to the movies, etc. then that’s too much. Requiring proof of vaccination for previously routine public outings is unacceptable to me.
This vaccine is only authorized under emergency use. It is experimental. mRNA vaccines have never been used before, and there are already studies coming out of MIT and Harvard showing that the vaccines can permanently alter DNA. We have no idea what effects that can have. We may find in 5 or 10 or 20 years that it causes cancer. No one knows what the long term side effects of the vaccine are, because no one has studied it. Forcing children and young adults, who are at extremely low risk from the virus, to submit to an experimental protocol just because it makes some people feel better, is unethical.
The government has already said that the vaccine does not stop you from catching the coronavirus. Continue wearing masks, don’t go to restaurants or take vacations or interact with people, is their current advice for people who took the vaccine. That tells me that they do not know what the vaccine is going to do.
I took all my vaccines my entire life, because they had been proven safe and effective at preventing the diseases they were intended to prevent. These vaccines have been proven to be neither. I’m not taking it.
Banning me from going anywhere or doing anything will not make me take it. It will only make me very, very angry. I’m not a guinea pig, and treating me like one for some supposedly virtuous reason is not virtuous. It is wrong.
I find the statement questionable that nobody has studied the vaccine. From what I’ve read they have tested, in clinical trials, the vaccines that have been approved. They’re not just tossing them out willy-nilly. Also, I’ve seen people criticize organizations the FDA for dragging their feet on approving good drugs to satisfy that bureaucratic itch. Now they’re NOT dragging their feet and people get all suspicious.
https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/clinical-trials-and-post-trial-monitoring-show-that-covid-19-vaccines-reduce-the-spread-and-occurrence-of-the-disease/
No one has studied the long term effects. They skipped all of the normal protocols in order to rush the vaccines out. They are brand new vaccines, there hasn’t been time to gather long term data.
Now, I’m not saying that they are unsafe. I’m saying I don’t know if they are safe. I’m not willing to test whether or not they are safe on myself. Other people are, and that is fine. Everyone should do what they feel is right for themselves. Forcing people to do what they are uncomfortable doing is wrong.
I suspect that the basis of the vaccine has already been around. COVID viruses are not unknown. The current strain – COVID-19 – didn’t have a vaccine because it was a novel virus, based on viruses manipulated in the lab for testing. The DNA structure was known at the time, so they didn’t have to start from scratch to develop a vaccine – it was probably easier to figure out how and where to develop something to cut off the disease’s infectioustivity (don’t cyberyell at me – I made up that word because I am not a scientist or epidemiologist or virologist and I don’t even play on TV and “infectiousness” sounded even weirder).
jvb
I have no particular aversion to selfies, but I have maybe 3 on my phone.
What I have an aversion to is herd mentality (maybe not the right phrase here). I am not sure why people feel the need to advertise their vaccination status any more than they would regale us with the account of their latest colonoscopy. Maybe it is part of a coping mechanism to the lock-down (and the prospect of it coming to an end). Maybe it is just virtue-signaling.
Having said that, I have been interested in the reactions people have had to the vaccines. Let’s face it: these are new vaccines that have not been tested thoroughly. I am in no rush to get vaccinated and will patiently wait my turn. In the meantime, I am just paying attention to the experiences of other people.
-Jut
This is an example of the polarization of everything, and it’s not a healthy habit. Facebook is the worst offender at promoting this.
I got my shot on Wednesday and was excited. I considered posting a rare “selfie” with the card and/or sticker the clinic gave me. Then I read the depressing litany of pontificating that accompanied these kind of photos, and said “Fuck This”. It ranged from simple “Yeah!”, to “Happy to do my part!”, to criticizing anti-Asian violence and/or Donald Trump. Obviously, getting a needle stuck in your arm makes people authorities on these subjects. People can’t help but abuse their moment in the sun. I did not want to be associated with these assholes that in other contexts are my friends.
How fast was Cool Papa Bell? That man could take a selfie without turning the camera around.
Bravo for that Negro Leagues classic reference!
Reminds me of the shocking breaking news that President Trump eats his steak with catchup. Oh the horror!
One of the more blatant examples of the class bigotry Trump suffered through.
Wait. Ketchup with steak is unacceptable? Who knew?
jvb
You never watched the Odd Couple with Felix (Tony Randall) and Oscar (Jack Klugman)?
Moving from merely signaling one’s own virtue to demanding that others (loudly) signal those same virtues seems to be where the woke left and the MSM (but I repeat myself) have arrived. I refuse to participate.
Concerning selfies, I also find the practice of taking and posting a constant stream of selfies peculiar and distasteful. One of my FB friends, actually a former employee, seems to post at least two or three new selfies every day. She’s a lovely person but, to me, it screams of insecurity. I have never taken a selfie, but I have been included in the selfies of others from time to time. I don’t object to having my picture taken or even posted on social media with explicit consent, but I certainly don’t encourage it.
As for the China Virus vaccine, I have received both doses with no ill effects. My wife had decided not to take the vaccine, but recently donated blood at our local blood bank and tested positive for the antibodies. Several of her coworkers had contracted the virus late last spring, and although my wife repeatedly tested negative after these exposures, she apparently contracted the virus and was merely asymptomatic. I was tested for the virus prior to a cardiac procedure last August, and tested negative, but may have been previously exposed as well. I respect each individual’s autonomy to make these medical decisions. As with all major decisions, I hope they will be made thoughtfully and with full appreciation for the potential consequences of the choices involved. “What others may think” should be at the bottom on the list of considerations.
Next Fox headline: “No CNN host aware of term ‘virtue signaling’!”
That may be close to true. I’ve observed, from their comments, that many leftists don’t really seem to grasp how/when to apply the term “snowflake”.
A positive observation… Selfie sticks seem to have fallen out of favor to a large degree from their obnoxious high point a few years back. That may be at least partly due to improved cell phone camera functions, however. Whatever reason, it’s a benefit to society.
This might exist only in my head, but I think I sense a touch of condescension in that chyron… Do you think that Stelter was throwing shade at Fox from a “We have news anchors, you have stars angle? I just have it in the back of my head that Stelter in particular would be the kind of whiney manbaby that would be particularly aggrieved at the idea that his team of professional, very serious, not at all clownish peers would be referred to as *hack, ick, ptooey* stars.
No, I really think it’s “Those Fox Nazis are trying to make Americans skeptical of vaccines when they are getting the shots themselves.” But who knows what stupidity lurks in the hearts of CNN?
Jeez, I can’t keep up. It seems for weeks just before this point the news was saying not to post selfies with vaccine cards since it provides material for counterfeiters… And now not taking selfies is bad?
Anything Fox News does is bad. Eating. Sleeping.
Obviously, Brian Stelter has never heard of HIPPA. He should just cram his entire self up his own hind end, vaccinated or not.
Violating HIPPA is only bad when Republicans do it.
Democrats obviously do it for a noble purpose and it is ok.
Isn’t that how the law reads?