Vaccination is a controversial topic. Many people feel that the medical profession is using vaccines to control the population. Others feel that they are not necessary for health. It is important to think about the type of language that is being used when talking about vaccines. The language used is designed to make people sympathize with the cause and to demonize the people that give the vaccines. There is a lot of strong language used by Samuel Thomson and anti-vaccine groups on the topic of vaccinations and the profession of medicine. The purpose of this paper is to examine how Thomson and these groups talk about the profession of medicine. It will become clear that the language that they use is designed to make people feel very strongly about vaccines and against the medical profession.
One of the most obvious things when reading anti-vaccine websites is that they are strongly against the medical profession. This is generally because they believe that the medical profession is forcing vaccinations on people without good reason. This is evident from sentences like “The Vaccine Industry is literally at war with natural immunity” (vaccineresistancemovement.org web). This sentence is forceful and shows how much these groups believe that their position is right. They feel that they are warring against a dominant force to get their point across. They also use strong language when it comes to the effects of vaccines. This is shown with phrases like “vaccine related neurological damage” and “vaccine-derived neurotoxins” (vaccineresistancemovement.org web) which are very strong claims to make and use scientific language to describe how these groups feel about vaccination. It is used to make the claims seem like they are logical and part of science and medicine, but still going against mainstream science.
Samuel Thomson also uses strong language when talking about the medical profession. He describes medicine that he took as “poisons which I had formerly taken” (Thomson 274). He also describes the medication as something “from which my system was not entirely cleansed” (Thomson 274). This is similar to the language of the anti-vaccine groups. He is highlighting that the medications he has taken have done him damage and have not worked the way that he wanted them too. He is also hinting that the medical profession have made him feel worse rather than better. Again, this is designed to make the reader feel as though he knows what he is talking about as there is some scientific language used, but he is stating his case against the medical profession by taking a strong stand against them with the language and words that he uses.
Overall, both of these examples give insight into how these groups feel and talk about the medical profession. They both use the language of science in their sentences, but highlight the damage that these medications can do. They are trying to sound as though they are experts in medicine, but at the same time take a strong view against them. This is a way of twisting the language of what they are against and then describing vaccines and medicine as a war. They are using the language of poisoning and battle to describe medicine. It is a way of making the reader feel as though there is a serious point being made as the language is strong. It is also a way of making the reader feel sorry for the person writing it, whether that is Thomson or the anti-vaccine groups. It is obvious that neither group feels any solidarity with the medical profession.
Works Cited
Thomson, Samuel. A Narrative of the Life and Medical Discoveries of Samuel Thomson. N.p., 1832. Print.
“Vaccine Resistance Movement.” N.p., n.d. Web. 22 June 2016.
