Divided Club fans - Slade antivaxxing

[twitchy]

[Banquo]

[Mikey Brown]

Has anyone actually read the Telegraph article?

[Raggs]

Has anyone actually read the Telegraph article?

Yes. Why?

He's beginning to get a bit of backlash from diabetes groups now too.

[TheNomad]

He should get backlash from everyone apart from the anti-vaxxers, who as far as I’m concerned are medically crazy and should be put down

It’s such a backward perspective - were there not overwhelming evidence to the contrary, you could sort of understand it, but there is, so it’s hardly different to accusing someone of being a witch.

I’m surprisingly annoyed by this

[Digby]

This isn't vaccinating, it's failing without style

[Mikey Brown]

What do you mean why? For some context maybe?

It’s not exactly uncommon for sensational comments to get taken out of context or everyone to get mad about a headline that doesn’t really match the content of an article.

I didn’t know if there was anything to the comments others had made that he was perhaps just waiting for the off season or maybe a diabetes related reason.

[Epaminondas Pules]

#bekind

I vehemently disagree with him but fuck me he is allowed a different opinion.

[Magic_sponge]

#bekind

I vehemently disagree with him but fuck me he is allowed a different opinion.

100% you're allowed an opinion but when you are patently not qualified to speak on the efficacy of something, something that is realistically the only route out of a global pandemic, maybe it's best to have an ounce of sense and not share it, when your voice is so 'loud'?

If the question was around whether the points system used in rugby should change, fair enough. Not going to lead to potential poor personal health decisions and he could be said to be qualified to address. But this is very, very different.

In my opinion, lol.

[Epaminondas Pules]

Yeah but nobody is going to talk about that are they, and certainly not write an article about it. If nothing else a lesson in the press agenda, and yes he’s naive at best, but piling on is hardly a good outcome.

[Magic_sponge]

The fact no one would write about it wasn't really my point! But I do agree with you to an extent about piling on, although when you're saying something actually quite dangerous I think it's reasonable to be a bit effed off about it. And for there to be consequences.

For me the question is how much professional sports people/celebs in general should have this 'role model' tag applied. He could argue he never asked for it, and the counter could be that's part and parcel of the role. I'm on the latter side, so I think he should face some consequences, but not some sham trial to make it look like 'they' (whoever 'they' are) are taking it seriously.

[Dan. Dan. Dan.]

More than happy to 'pile on' him.
I reckon given the context it should come with serious consequences...

[Puja]

#bekind

I vehemently disagree with him but fuck me he is allowed a different opinion.

If he has an unpopular opinion on staying as a monarchy vs going to a republic, that's fine. If he has an unpopular opinion on politics, that's fine. If he has an unpopular opinion on Eurovision, that's fine.

What isn't fine is casting doubt on a public health measure that is saving lives when he has absolutely no expertise or knowledge in the field. It's not just a different opinion - it's something that could result in people dying and I see no great difference between it and Folau's commentary.

At the very least he should be viciously mocked the next time his social media says something anodyne about supporting the NHS key workers.

Puja

[TheNomad]

Well said

[Raggs]

What do you mean why? For some context maybe?

It’s not exactly uncommon for sensational comments to get taken out of context or everyone to get mad about a headline that doesn’t really match the content of an article.

I didn’t know if there was anything to the comments others had made that he was perhaps just waiting for the off season or maybe a diabetes related reason.

The widely reported comments are pretty spot on, hard to misinterpret what he's said. No quote mining etc.

[Epaminondas Pules]

#bekind

I vehemently disagree with him but fuck me he is allowed a different opinion.

If he has an unpopular opinion on staying as a monarchy vs going to a republic, that's fine. If he has an unpopular opinion on politics, that's fine. If he has an unpopular opinion on Eurovision, that's fine.

What isn't fine is casting doubt on a public health measure that is saving lives when he has absolutely no expertise or knowledge in the field. It's not just a different opinion - it's something that could result in people dying and I see no great difference between it and Folau's commentary.

At the very least he should be viciously mocked the next time his social media says something anodyne about supporting the NHS key workers.

Puja

Fair enough, though if any of you post about mental health you should also be viciously mocked as many are advocating pile ons? Is that fair? Because who decides what’s worthy of pile on or not? Should we pile on anyone who voted Tory, cause that likely cost lives also? I’m being flippant, but online abuse is online abuse.

I vehemently disagree with his stance, but I don’t need to jump on him for that stance, no matter how much I disagree with it.

We disagree, it’s cool.

[Mikey Brown]

What do you mean why? For some context maybe?

It’s not exactly uncommon for sensational comments to get taken out of context or everyone to get mad about a headline that doesn’t really match the content of an article.

I didn’t know if there was anything to the comments others had made that he was perhaps just waiting for the off season or maybe a diabetes related reason.

The widely reported comments are pretty spot on, hard to misinterpret what he's said. No quote mining etc.

Sure. I’m not necessarily defending him, I suppose I just wanted someone else to do the work of seeing how the quotes actually came about in this conversation.

The difference between him being asked his opinion in an interview, otherwise unrelated to Covid, and “Henry Slade calls press conference to announce that vaccine is unsafe” is quite different I’d say.

I appear to be agreeing with Courtney Lawes and EP here, so something is probably wrong.

[Mr Mwenda]

Slade also earns money from being sort of public figure. Image rights and that for example. I don't think anyone should listen to rugby players' public health opinions but I also don't think he can claim he never wanted to be a public figure.

[Puja]

#bekind

I vehemently disagree with him but fuck me he is allowed a different opinion.

If he has an unpopular opinion on staying as a monarchy vs going to a republic, that's fine. If he has an unpopular opinion on politics, that's fine. If he has an unpopular opinion on Eurovision, that's fine.

What isn't fine is casting doubt on a public health measure that is saving lives when he has absolutely no expertise or knowledge in the field. It's not just a different opinion - it's something that could result in people dying and I see no great difference between it and Folau's commentary.

At the very least he should be viciously mocked the next time his social media says something anodyne about supporting the NHS key workers.

Puja

Fair enough, though if any of you post about mental health you should also be viciously mocked as many are advocating pile ons? Is that fair? Because who decides what’s worthy of pile on or not? Should we pile on anyone who voted Tory, cause that likely cost lives also? I’m being flippant, but online abuse is online abuse.

I vehemently disagree with his stance, but I don’t need to jump on him for that stance, no matter how much I disagree with it.

We disagree, it’s cool.

I think it depends what kind of pile-on we're talking about. If it's a cavalcade of people saying, "What the hell is wrong with you? You're being irresponsible and stupid. You should be dropped for England for this," like he's getting here, then that's not over the top - that's not abuse but consequences of saying something stupid (and then giving a nonpology).

I don't want people to suffer online abuse, but it doesn't mean that you can't face repercussions for saying something idiotic and dangerous.

Puja

[Which Tyler]

He's allowed his opinion, and he's allowed to state it.
I'm allowed my opinion too, and I'm also allowed to state it.

Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequence.

The guy said a fucking idiotic thing that flies in the face of medical knowledge. Everyone who thinks that that's fucking idiotic is perfectly entitled to say as much - or do you like cancel culture and banning people from expressing their opinion of him?

[padprop]

Its obvious that Exeter are in a counter-culture echochamber down there with Williams and Hepburn saying similar things in the past, but the telegraph essentially fished for this nugget knowing full well where Slade would likely stand, chose not edit it out or provide any counter-argument, released it to millions of people and escape most of the criticism.

People have had bonkers of opinions for hundreds of years, only difference is it now gets airtime

[Raggs]

Its obvious that Exeter are in a counter-culture echochamber down there with Williams and Hepburn saying similar things in the past, but the telegraph essentially fished for this nugget knowing full well where Slade would likely stand, chose not edit it out or provide any counter-argument, released it to millions of people and escape most of the criticism.

People have had bonkers of opinions for hundreds of years, only difference is it now gets airtime

Fished for it? There's a lot of ways of saying you've not had the vaccine yet, without stating there's not enough research on the vaccine and you don't know if it's safe.

[padprop]

Its obvious that Exeter are in a counter-culture echochamber down there with Williams and Hepburn saying similar things in the past, but the telegraph essentially fished for this nugget knowing full well where Slade would likely stand, chose not edit it out or provide any counter-argument, released it to millions of people and escape most of the criticism.

People have had bonkers of opinions for hundreds of years, only difference is it now gets airtime

Fished for it? There's a lot of ways of saying you've not had the vaccine yet, without stating there's not enough research on the vaccine and you don't know if it's safe.

Fishing in the sense that I knew where Slade stood on lockdowns and vaccines before this interview based off his and other exeter players social media, Imagine a journo doing their due diligence would have known beforehand.

And now those ideas have been spread by a factor of 10 with the journalist not seeming to provide much of a counter-narrative. Admittedly I haven’t read the whole article.

[p/d]

I thought the article was about how disappointed he was to miss out on the Lions and Blue reunion, plus foreseeing Newcastle scoring a great penalty on the penultimate round of games.

[morepork]

Its obvious that Exeter are in a counter-culture echochamber down there with Williams and Hepburn saying similar things in the past, but the telegraph essentially fished for this nugget knowing full well where Slade would likely stand, chose not edit it out or provide any counter-argument, released it to millions of people and escape most of the criticism.

People have had bonkers of opinions for hundreds of years, only difference is it now gets airtime

In the meantime he gets to fly internationally and breathe, sweat, and bleed on other people who do the same. He is a fucking liability, and his statement is an abuse of the privelege he enjoys. He can take as many knocks to the head as he wishes and deal with that how he pleases, but while he is a vector for an infectious pathogen that is rapidly mutating thanks to hosts like himself he really should take a big mug of STFU. Believing in an omniscient immortal space zombie is bonkers. His stating his decision making process on whether or not to participate in containing the biggest global public health disaster of his lifetime is arrogant, ignorant, bullshit with consequences for other people.