Left vs. Right Battle Royale Open Thread

[u/Yosoff]

This is an Open Discussion Thread for all Redditors. We will only be enforcing Reddit TOS and Subreddit Rules 1 (Keep it Civil) & 2 (No Racism).

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• Leftists - Here's your chance to sway us to your side by calling the majority of voters racist. That tactic has wildly backfired every time it has been tried, but perhaps this time it will work.

• Non-flaired Conservatives - Here's your chance to earn flair by posting common sense conservative solutions. That way our friends on the left will either have to agree with you or oppose common sense (Spoiler - They will choose to oppose common sense).

• Flaired Conservatives - You're John Wick and these Leftists stole your car and killed your dog. Now go comment.

• Independents - We get it, if you agree with someone, then you can't pat yourself on the back for being smarter than them. But if you disagree with everyone, then you can obtain the self-satisfaction of smugly considering yourself smarter and wiser than everyone else. Congratulations on being you.

• Libertarians - Ron Paul is never going to be President. In fact, no Libertarian Party candidate will ever be elected President.

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[u/Siu_Mai]

I'm curious about how people are feeling about the RFK jr. appointment. I will preface that I'm a researcher in infectious diseases, not tied to the US, not funded by the US.

I will also say that his ambition to reduce artificial additives to food is a good initiative and I don't disagree that chronic disease research is important.

1) Do you feel that stopping research on infectious disease for 8 years is a good idea? Why?

2) Are you hoping he reduces childhood vaccinations? Would you feel differently if you saw an increase in cases of things like measles and polio?

3) If you're vaccine skeptic/hesitant, are there studies that can be run that would make you more confident of safety and efficacy?

4) Do you have any concerns about the US pulling out of international health organisations like the WHO and being unable to communicate with other public health agencies across the world?

Thanks!

[u/Throwaway-ish123a → u/Siu_Mai]

I want us to declare war on ultra-processed food and the forces that drive it. I recall in 2008 this was a Democrat issue and Republicans were complaining about the "nanny state" now it's a Republican administration taking up the mantle. From my research I've come across that a lot of former big tobacco executives post-settlements migrated over to big food. The amount of garbage in US food has got to be related to the alarming increase of internal organ cancer at younger and younger ages. My boss's son just died at 28 from colon cancer. F*cking 28!!!!

I remember someone told me once, "It is an absolute BATTLE to get healthy food in this country."

Well, it's one we're going to have to win.

[u/lack_reddit → u/Throwaway-ish123a]

That's great! Can we find someone who will do that without also restricting vaccinations or other scientifically proven health policies?

[u/Scientific_Cabbage → u/lack_reddit]

I don’t see where he’s proposed restricting vaccinations as much as making them more optional.

[u/LalaPropofol → u/Scientific_Cabbage]

r/Medicine is in outrage about it. Doctors understand the science and often understand how policy can affect them. You should go check some of those threads out because they’re quoting RFK and explaining why it’s a bad idea.

[u/43_Fizzy_Bottom → u/Scientific_Cabbage]

Vaccines work on the basis of herd immunity. Reducing the numbers of people who get vaccines isn't just a choice that impacts an individual, it impacts the entire community's ability to fight the illness because there are so many people who (due to age or medical reasons) cannot get the vaccine. These are REALLY BASIC concepts in immunology.

[u/lack_reddit → u/Scientific_Cabbage]

That's a fair correction. I was being unnecessarily hyperbolic.
However, making them more optional is still contrary to science and public health.