In the dusty outskirts of Seminole, Texas - just past the cotton fields and under the relentless spring sun - Peter Hildebrand stands outside a gas station, his eyes rimmed red and voice cracking.
There’s no cognitive dissonance here, and far too many people misuse the term. Cognitive dissonance is a feeling of discomfort a person feels from holding beliefs that contradict each other or from behaving contrary to their beliefs.
This is just plain old stupidity. These assholes believed vaccines are a hoax, their daughter died as a result, and they still believe vaccines are a hoax. They behaved exactly as one would expect antivaxxers to behave.
There’s no cognitive dissonance here, and far too many people misuse the term. Cognitive dissonance is a feeling of discomfort a person feels from holding beliefs that contradict each other or from behaving contrary to their beliefs.
This is just plain old stupidity. These assholes believed vaccines are a hoax, their daughter died as a result, and they still believe vaccines are a hoax. They behaved exactly as one would expect antivaxxers to behave.
Willful ignorance?