Who could possibly be so heartless as to claim that the survivors of the Parkland high school shooting are actors faking their distress?
How vicious do you have to taunt the parents of the first graders massacred at Sandy Hook elementary school?
How could anyone with a modicum of compassion insist that the Pulse night club horror was faked?
[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]What’s the difference between tormenting a father whose son died at the hands of midwives and tormenting a Sandy Hook parent whose child died at the hand of a gun user? Nothing.[/pullquote]
Right wing trolls have done all three. Even more horrifying than their utter lack of decency is the fact that other right wing commentators/Facebook users/Tweeters haven’t rebuked them, but embraced these vile lies instead. Apparently it is easier and more comforting for gun rights activists to believe outrageous falsehoods than to acknowledge the tragedies that arise as a result of their beloved ideology.
Lest you think that such vicious behavior is somehow restricted only to gun rights activists, consider the response of midwives and lactation consultants to the tragedies that arise as a result of their beloved ideologies.
UK midwife Sheena Byrom, ironically author of the a book about “kindness, compassion and respect” in maternity care has relentlessly trolled loss father James Titcombe who has had the temerity to insist that the death of his son at the hands of midwives could have been prevented.
Highlights include:
oh James-don’t let’s get on that roll again …
and:
getting out of bed in the morning has risks
What’s the difference between tormenting a father whose son died at the hands of midwives and tormenting a Sandy Hook parent whose child died at the hand of a gun user? Nothing.
In the wake of newspaper reports detailing the massive increase in UK liability claims as a result of injured and dead babies, Australian midwife Hannah Dahlen declared that the dead babies were “fake news.”
For all those UK midwives feeling hammered this week by Fake News remember “thinking is difficult which is why most people judge” #ENOUGH!
What’s the difference between claiming that dead babies are fake news and claiming that the Pulse nightclub massacre didn’t happen? Nothing.
Lactivists are no better. When the story of Baby Landon Johnson broke, the story of a baby who died of dehydration from insufficient breastmilk, various lactation professionals and lactivists weighed in with their belief that the baby didn’t die of dehydration, some people even going so far as to fabricate the vile slander that Landon had been suffocated by his mother’s inattention when she was holding him.
What’s the difference between claiming that Landon’s mother lied about his death and claiming that the survivors of the Parkland school shooting are lying about their suffering and grief. Absolutely nothing!
Even more horrifying than their utter lack of decency is the fact that other midwives and lactation consultants commentators/Facebook users/Tweeters haven’t rebuked them, but embraced these vile lies instead. Apparently it is easier and more comforting for midwives and lactation consultants to believe outrageous falsehoods than to acknowledge the tragedies that arise as a result of their beloved ideologies.
The reason there’s no difference is because midwives and lactation consultants are afflicted by the same problem that bedevils right wing trolls: cognitive dissonance.
In A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (1957), Leon Festinger proposed that human beings strive for internal psychological consistency in order to mentally function in the real world. A person who experiences internal inconsistency tends to become psychologically uncomfortable, and is motivated to reduce the cognitive dissonance. This is done by making changes to justify their stressful behavior, either by adding new parts to the cognition causing the psychological dissonance, or by actively avoiding social situations and/or contradictory information likely to increase the magnitude of the cognitive dissonance.
Gun rights activists insist that lax gun laws have no impact on public safety. When a gun massacre occurs precisely because of lax gun laws they have two choices to reduce cognitive dissonance. They can give up their treasured belief that widespread gun ownership is not dangerous, or — easier and more comfortable — they can pretend that gun massacres didn’t happen, blame the suffers as faking their suffering, or, worst of all, insist that the survivors are somehow responsible for their own suffering.
Many midwives and natural childbirth advocates insist that unmedicated vaginal birth (so called “normal” birth) is safest. When babies die because of the philosophy of normal birth, they have two choices to reduce cognitive dissonance. They can give up their treasured belief about normal birth or — easier and more comfortable — they can pretend that dead babies are “fake news”, insist that grieving parents are unfairly blaming the ideology, or, worst of all, insist that the survivors are somehow responsible for their own suffering.
Lactation consultants are certain that breastfeeding is best for every baby. When babies die because of aggressive breastfeeding promotion, they have two choices. They can give up their treasured belief about breastfeeding or — easier and more comfortable — they can pretend that dead babies are “fake news,” insist that grieving parents are unfairly blaming the ideology, or, worst of all, insist that the survivors are somehow responsible for their own suffering.
I have some sympathy for those suffering from cognitive dissonance. If you base your identity on a belief that turns out to be not merely false, but dangerous, it is very difficult to reconcile that treasured belief with the even more powerful need to feel you are a good person. It’s so much easier and more satisfying to insist that the tragic result of your belief didn’t happen and to troll the people whose suffering is making a mockery of your treasured belief.
I have no sympathy whatsoever for the wider community that fails to call those issuing vile accusations to account. I have no sympathy for gun owners who won’t disavow the ugly tactics of those who insist that deaths are fake news and grieving survivors are actors. Indeed, I find it inexplicable and indefensible. Similarly, I find it inexplicable and indefensible for the wider midwifery community’s failure to call the Sheena Byroms and Hannah Dahlens to account for their reprehensible claims that dead babies are fake news and grieving survivors have nefarious motives or even deserve their suffering. I find it inexplicable for the wider lactation community’s failure to call those questioning the sincerity and motivations of the Fed Is Best founders and community members.
What do midwives and lactation consultants have in common with right wing trolls? Their willingness to do and say anything, no matter how vile, to ease their own cognitive dissonance.
