The jokester wasn't on trial for bullying but for discrimination and his jokes were found not to be discrimination. I put up this link to show what it's like to be bullied, which has no legal definition, as far as I know.LuckyR wrote: ↑November 6th, 2021, 3:14 pmSeveral things.Empiricist-Bruno wrote: ↑November 6th, 2021, 12:45 pmSome people define bullying differently, indeed. Here is a recent concept that's not in line with what you seem to think is but as you say, it all depends. Being the but end of jokes is bullying for instance.LuckyR wrote: ↑November 4th, 2021, 2:00 amAt the current time bullying is a pejorative term used by many who seek to hide behind victim status. What is your definition of bullying?Empiricist-Bruno wrote: ↑November 3rd, 2021, 10:05 pm
I think this is a case of controling the narration. The media does it and the people repeat it. In my experience, the best way to brand those of us who reject the COVID-19 vaccines is that they are anti bullying. I think it's a farce to suggest that they are somehow bullied into their views. As you know, I am pro-vaccine but anti-animal cruelty and so I get to be branded as an anti-vaccine person when I am not one bit that way. But as I see the effort being put into bullying people into taking the vaccine, I feel as if I have a second reason now to reject the vaccine as it is being associated with coercion. Bullying is a problem in society and the root causes need to be addressed and if you are openly critical of those of us who reject the vaccine, then, in my opinion, I think you are in sinc with the bullies of our species, and I am critical of that.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59015486
There is more subtle bullying going on too.
The joke you tell about anti-vaxxers, "IMO most antivaxxers are old school contrarians who naturally bristle when they feel they are being told what to do. The sort who walk on the grass right next to the Don't Walk on the Grass sign" is also bullying in my opinion.
I would also consider Average Bozo's remarks as a form of bullying, "I don’t think it’s anti-bullying sentiment that leads to most instances of anti-vaccism. Rather it is fear, a powerful human motivator, whether it be fear of an unfamiliar substance injected into the body, fear of pain inflicted by the injection, fear of loss of autonomy, fear of injury at the hands of a bully or some other fear all together."
Suggesting that antivaxxers are eccentrics has for obvious purpose to marginalize them and their views. It's also a great way to deny their existence. They bring to the table issues you do not wish to confront/address and the only way you can deal with them is claiming that they are something that they aren't, and that the way for them to no longer be what you wrongly claim that they are is by helping them get over their understandable fears. I think it goes beyond being condescending because as you deny their issues, you get to suppress them and although I understand this is often not done very thoughtfully by most people as they repeat points found everywhere in mass media, I feel certain that those mass media directors know exactly what's implied in what they decide to print, and that's wrong. It's dodging the discussion that they know they can't win.
I think that even sitting in a cafeteria after getting your vaccination certificate and ID checked out is a form of bulllying if non vaccinated people are around. It's bullying by provocation aimed at restricting privilege to those who believe in the state's divisive approach to fighting the pandemic.
To effectively fight a pandemic, you need leadership and the development of intelligence to fight the disease. An intelligent approach would be to target zero cases, and have a world wide approach to fighting this scourge. And you won't get that with bullies leading the world's political systems. Remember that lots of very rich people have become a lot richer under the pandemic and so expect that not everyone want it to go away.
In other words, ethical vaccine delivery of the COVID vaccine is simply not possible. It will necessarily be delivered in an unethical way as it is a product of morally bankrupt minds.
First your link was to a court case that supported the jokester, that is: said that the jokes weren't bullying.
Second, you are free to water down your definition of bullying to anything that upsets someone, but be aware that it puts bullying into a category of behavior that warrants almost no notice nor reaction.
As to your last paragraph, the actual delivery of the vaccine by definition meets the local standard and thus is ethical in that context. You may find it and it's logic underpinnings immoral, but many, if not most find it perfectly moral. Agree to disagree.
To portrait my definition of bullying as "anything that upsets someone" is misrepresenting how I view bullying. I smell the strawman argument here, and the use of such arguments against anti-vaxxers is in my opinion part of a broad attempt at bullying them in general.