Livestream from yesterday from Creation Myths (creationism debunking channel run by evolutionary biologist Dan Cardinale).
The thesis of the stream is the idea that creationist organizations (e.g. professional creationists) have spent decades training their followers to distrust science and science professionals. In the context of evolution-denial, it's theoretically not a big deal. In the context of the current pandemic and vaccines, however, science distrust is causing real harm.
The video specifically shows examples of professional creationists and creationist organizations promoting vaccines, and then proceeding to get into arguments with anti-vax contingents of their own followers.
There is a palpable irony in seeing creationists arguing in favor of science against other creationists arguing against it. At one point, a quote from Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, whereby Sarfati states that anyone thinking that the vaccine is worse than COVID-19 is living in a "magical world". Meanwhile, I'm thinking, "
you mean like people who believe the world is only 6000 years old? Those people?"
Dr. Dan does credit these creationists and orgs that at least they are being responsible in promoting the vaccines and trying to save lives. But also laments that a lot of the folks posting vaccine conspiracies and other nonsense are basically just "gone" at this point. Words on the internet are not likely to convince them, even from people they otherwise had trusted.
He ends the video by calling on professional scientists to take more responsibility in debunking anti-science and pseudoscientific views no matter what they are. And that by not doing so, scientists are allowing general mistrust of science and science professionals to foster. Which in the context of anti-vax movements has deadly consequences.
