a322x1n
2021-07-30 21:15:00 UTC
<https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/07/10598731/stephen-harmon-covid-n
bc-twitter-backlash-reason>
<https://tinyurl.com/wf9kkkyp>
When A Person Dies From COVID, Its Okay To Tell The Truth About Who
They Were. DANIELLE CAMPOAMOR
LAST UPDATED JULY 26, 2021, 5:28 PM.
As the number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths increase
across the country, particularly among those who aren't vaccinated, the
way in which these instances are being covered has grown in intensity,
too. Most recently, this can be seen in an NBC News and Associated Press
article on the death of 34-year-old Stephen Harmon, who died from COVID
after having publicly mocked the vaccine. Headlined "Man who made fun of
vaccination efforts social media dies of Covid," the article generated a
fervid response on Twitter, with some finding its framing "incredibly
distasteful," and others wondering if this news might "bring a handful
of folks from his inner circle to a different understanding of the virus
and the vaccine." Harmon's understanding of the vaccine was
well-documented. Prior to his COVID diagnosis and eventual
hospitalization, he openly mocked vaccination efforts, tweeting, "I got
99 problems but a vax aint one" just last month. On July 8, he also
mocked President Joe Biden's door-to-door vaccine outreach plan:
"Biden's door to door vaccine 'surveyors' really should be called
JaCovid Witnesses" before adding #keepmovingdork for good measure. After
contracting the virus, Harmon posted pictures of himself from his
hospital bed in Corona Regional Medical Center, tweeting: "If you don't
have faith that God can heal me over your stupid ventilator then keep
the Hell out of my ICU room, there's no room in here for fear or lack of
faith!" He also shared that he had "pneumonia and critically low oxygen
levels" and that he was going to be intubated, writing that he didn't
know when he'd wake up and asked his followers to "please pray." He died
shortly thereafter. NBC's article recounts all of this Harmon's
tweets, his hospital stay, and how he died. It doesn't add a judgmental
lens to what Harmon did or said, but merely presents the facts. While
some may question the need to include Harmon's tweets and misinformation
he spread about COVID prior to dying of it, the reality is this: The
34-year-old would likely have been over 95% protected from the very
virus that killed him had he listened to infectious disease experts and
medical professionals. So if the article is really distasteful, is that
just because the truth is? Given the misinformation and outright lies
about both COVID-19 and vaccines currently proliferating around the
U.S., it's reasonable to assume that many people who aren't vaccinated
might not be so because of a misunderstanding or lack of knowledge about
the vaccines, their safety, and their efficiency. Recently, ICU doctors
and nurses have started sharing heartbreaking stories of patients who
refused vaccines, believing COVID was a hoax, just before dying. Harmon
may very well have been one of those people, but that doesn't change the
fact that he also did make fun of the vaccine and did mock people who
decided to follow the science and get vaccinated. He indulged in those
talking points and proudly regurgitated them to his over 600 Twitter
followers. He knowingly and happily disregarded the lives and well-being
of others by refusing to take COVID-19 seriously. It may be true that
the article about his death didn't portray this in a flattering light,
but the only way to have done that would have been by not telling his
story at all. While it would have been an option not to tell Harmon's
story, it's possible that by sharing it, others will be deterred from
befalling a similar fate. Sharing it might show that COVID-19 doesn't
care about your vaccination jokes or conspiracy theories. This isn't
morbid or mocking it's honest. That people are openly pointing out
that Harmon died from the very thing he treated with such cavalier
indifference is not harsh it's the truth, cruel though it might be.
Telling this part of Harmon's story doesn't change the person he was,
and the other good he may have done in his lifetime. Telling this story,
about the life of a person who died of COVID a person who refused to
get vaccinated, and refused to listen to science, and refused to even
tolerate those that did isn't going to change the outcome for Harmon,
but it might change it for someone else. And that's worth a dose of the
truth, difficult though it may be to hear.
<https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-who-made-fun-vaccination-effort
s-social-media-dies-covid-n1274922?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma>
<https://tinyurl.com/k98tbv6f>
<https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2021/07/23/hillsong-church-stephen-harmo
n-dies-covid-19-unvaccinated/>
<https://tinyurl.com/n73vp9f8>
bc-twitter-backlash-reason>
<https://tinyurl.com/wf9kkkyp>
When A Person Dies From COVID, Its Okay To Tell The Truth About Who
They Were. DANIELLE CAMPOAMOR
LAST UPDATED JULY 26, 2021, 5:28 PM.
As the number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths increase
across the country, particularly among those who aren't vaccinated, the
way in which these instances are being covered has grown in intensity,
too. Most recently, this can be seen in an NBC News and Associated Press
article on the death of 34-year-old Stephen Harmon, who died from COVID
after having publicly mocked the vaccine. Headlined "Man who made fun of
vaccination efforts social media dies of Covid," the article generated a
fervid response on Twitter, with some finding its framing "incredibly
distasteful," and others wondering if this news might "bring a handful
of folks from his inner circle to a different understanding of the virus
and the vaccine." Harmon's understanding of the vaccine was
well-documented. Prior to his COVID diagnosis and eventual
hospitalization, he openly mocked vaccination efforts, tweeting, "I got
99 problems but a vax aint one" just last month. On July 8, he also
mocked President Joe Biden's door-to-door vaccine outreach plan:
"Biden's door to door vaccine 'surveyors' really should be called
JaCovid Witnesses" before adding #keepmovingdork for good measure. After
contracting the virus, Harmon posted pictures of himself from his
hospital bed in Corona Regional Medical Center, tweeting: "If you don't
have faith that God can heal me over your stupid ventilator then keep
the Hell out of my ICU room, there's no room in here for fear or lack of
faith!" He also shared that he had "pneumonia and critically low oxygen
levels" and that he was going to be intubated, writing that he didn't
know when he'd wake up and asked his followers to "please pray." He died
shortly thereafter. NBC's article recounts all of this Harmon's
tweets, his hospital stay, and how he died. It doesn't add a judgmental
lens to what Harmon did or said, but merely presents the facts. While
some may question the need to include Harmon's tweets and misinformation
he spread about COVID prior to dying of it, the reality is this: The
34-year-old would likely have been over 95% protected from the very
virus that killed him had he listened to infectious disease experts and
medical professionals. So if the article is really distasteful, is that
just because the truth is? Given the misinformation and outright lies
about both COVID-19 and vaccines currently proliferating around the
U.S., it's reasonable to assume that many people who aren't vaccinated
might not be so because of a misunderstanding or lack of knowledge about
the vaccines, their safety, and their efficiency. Recently, ICU doctors
and nurses have started sharing heartbreaking stories of patients who
refused vaccines, believing COVID was a hoax, just before dying. Harmon
may very well have been one of those people, but that doesn't change the
fact that he also did make fun of the vaccine and did mock people who
decided to follow the science and get vaccinated. He indulged in those
talking points and proudly regurgitated them to his over 600 Twitter
followers. He knowingly and happily disregarded the lives and well-being
of others by refusing to take COVID-19 seriously. It may be true that
the article about his death didn't portray this in a flattering light,
but the only way to have done that would have been by not telling his
story at all. While it would have been an option not to tell Harmon's
story, it's possible that by sharing it, others will be deterred from
befalling a similar fate. Sharing it might show that COVID-19 doesn't
care about your vaccination jokes or conspiracy theories. This isn't
morbid or mocking it's honest. That people are openly pointing out
that Harmon died from the very thing he treated with such cavalier
indifference is not harsh it's the truth, cruel though it might be.
Telling this part of Harmon's story doesn't change the person he was,
and the other good he may have done in his lifetime. Telling this story,
about the life of a person who died of COVID a person who refused to
get vaccinated, and refused to listen to science, and refused to even
tolerate those that did isn't going to change the outcome for Harmon,
but it might change it for someone else. And that's worth a dose of the
truth, difficult though it may be to hear.
<https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-who-made-fun-vaccination-effort
s-social-media-dies-covid-n1274922?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma>
<https://tinyurl.com/k98tbv6f>
<https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2021/07/23/hillsong-church-stephen-harmo
n-dies-covid-19-unvaccinated/>
<https://tinyurl.com/n73vp9f8>