It’s not quite embracing the worst people (or the UFC) to advance right-wing narratives, but the Media Research Center came somewhat close by defending the right of an ex-member of a washed-up ’90s band to refuse to get a COVID vaccine. Abigail Streetman wrote in an Aug. 4 post:
Vaccine mandates have been growing in popularity over the last couple months with companies like Tyson, Walmart, Google and Disney now all requiring the shot. But it’s not just theatres and businesses now. Pete Parada, drummer for The Offspring has been booted by his own band members for refusing to get vaccinated due to possible complications related to his medical history
Parada has been a member of this band since 2007 and stated in a lengthy Instagram post that he plans to release music with his daughter now. The musician took to his social media account to explain why his fans would no longer be seeing him on stage or around the band during their upcoming tour.
[…]He explained that for him “the risks outweigh the benefits” and he holds no grudges towards his band. But he can’t promise that many of his fans won’t be upset, and rightfully so. We don’t accept racial discrimmination but prejudice against the unvaccinated, that’s perfectly acceptable.
[…]Parada also explained that those who haven’t yet been vaccinated have varying reasons for their decisions whether it’s a medical condition, “conscientious risk/ benefit analysis,” or “financial instability.” He also had a strong message for those who aren’t willing to accept perspectives that differ from their own. “Let’s avoid the unfortunate tendency to dominate, dehumanize and shout down at each other.”
Streetman clipped a portion of Parada’s lengthy statement, in which he mentioned “infomred consent,” but said nthing else about it. That phrase is a buzzword for anti-vaxxers (like Physicians for Civll Defense, run by AAPS extremist and anti-vaxx fearmongerer Jane Orient) He also spouted more veiled anti-vaxx gobbeldygook that undermined his case. As Wonkette noted: “If he had said something like, “Please please please get your damn shots to protect yourselves and everyone else, and also to protect people like me who literally can’t get the shots,” that would have been OK. As it is, he kinda showed his cards.
And as others have pointed out, the band’s leader, Dexter Holland, holds a doctorate in molecular biology, so Parada’s dismissal is not without a medically informed basis.
Still, Streetman concluded by huffing, “If only our politicians actually knew how to control their desire for power, or at least hide it better. Pay attention, this is only the beginning of a much larger issue.” We’ll take the word of a Ph.D. in molecular biology over that of an agenda-driven right-wing blogger.