By Patrick Robinson

A lot has been written and said about vaccination hesitation. 
Wow, can I relate. 

Of course men, in general are reluctant about seeing the doctor or going for any medical procedure. Needles after all, are sharp. Pain is something almost anyone would prefer to avoid. I confess, I’ve never had a flu shot, and while I did get a Shingles shot a few years ago, I avoid needles completely. Doing a blood sample literally makes me dizzy and hurts too.

But the vaccines for Covid-19 are a different matter. Or they are now. I’ve had two shots of the Moderna vaccine and will get my booster shot in the fall because I came to understand something very clearly.

It’s not about me. Those that are hesitant, or offer reasons why they don’t need it or won’t get it, or are otherwise full of excuses are at their core just selfish. You can tell because just saying that makes them angry. There is no intellectually honest reason to not get a Covid-19 vaccine shot. None. 

But for those who are fearful of needles, or who say the vaccines are experimental, or who plan on “waiting it out” I have a simple analogy.
It’s a little story that if you put yourself in it.. will provide the reasons you
need to stop making excuses and just do it.

You walk into a room. That room is your main way (but not the only way) to get what you need to live. Food, and other supplies)

It is filled with people and incredibly enough somewhere in the room are ALSO  a series of invisible guns. 

When people bump into them, they appear to have velcro coatings and they attach themselves to people and once attached they begin to fire AUTOMATICALLY and randomly. 

Some people are hit, apparently those who can’t move fast enough, and some of them die. 

Their death is slow, agonizing and you can’t comfort them.

Some people who manage to recover go on to suffer lifelong consequences. They are never the same.

Others do not. It’s truly hit or miss. Lots of misinformation about the guns and the bullets is out there. Lots of stories, assertions, fears, lies, and just plain foolishness.

The worst part? Those who are hit are suddenly also equipped with guns. 

People can avoid that room and in fact the government has dictated, and simple math shows that reducing the number of people in that room reduces the chances of people being shot.

It’s common sense.

Then the government comes up with a nearly bullet proof shield. 

It keeps YOU from getting shot but more importantly it keeps YOU from getting that gun and shooting others. But some people refuse to wear it.

“I don’t need a shield” they say, ignoring the fact that they could feel nothing (even if they got grazed) but STILL pick up that randomly firing gun. They could be condemning people to death but none of that matters to them.

Most people would recoil in horror at seeing a loved one being shot or really anyone. Most people would feel the worst guilt of their lives if they were to carry an invisible gun and see someone die because they refused to wear the shield.

I don’t know how to make this clearer. This isn’t political, and it isn’t some plot, and it isn’t unproven science... but most of all it isn’t about YOU.