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Polio vaccine delusionReader comment on item: A Conspiracy Theory Spreads Polio Submitted by Elliott Vizel (United States), May 25, 2005 at 14:23 It's amazing how people are susceptible to such audacious fabrications! Like The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Passover libels, and superstitious nonsense, some people, even whole populations, swallow such garbage without question. As the Nazi propagandists knew well, the bigger the lie, the more people seem to believe it.I have concluded that these phenomena fall under the classification of Social Psychosis - a delusional belief system held by a socially identifiable group. Holocaust denial is another such example. This phenomenon exists, just as individual cases of psychosis do (clinical paranoid schizophrenia, eg.). As to the exact pathophysiology of the phenomenon, this has yet to be elucidated - but the empirical fact of the phenomenon is indubitable. E. Vizel MD North Carolina, USA Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments". << Previous Comment Next Comment >> Reader comments (47) on this item
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All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2024 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum.Daniel J. Pipes (The MEF is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Tax-ID 23-774-9796, approved Apr. 27, 1998. For more information, view our IRS letter of determination.) |