Vio-lence vocalist Sean Killian has released a new video in which he attempts to justify his decision not to get the COVID-19 vaccine by ostensibly sticking his tongue out and declaring “You’re not the boss of me!”
Killian, age 57, successfully underwent a liver transplant necessitated by cirrhosis in 2018. He was hospitalized with COVID-19 the week of August 20, forcing Vio-lence to cancel their appearance at Psycho Las Vegas that weekend.
Despite these close calls with his health, Killian maintains in the new video that he will not be vaccinated against the coronavirus because to do so would somehow impinge on his freedom:
“I have been vaccinated more than anyone you probably know who hasn’t been through the same shit that I’ve been through. Because I’ve been through a lot of shit. Before my [liver transplant] surgery — Jesus Christ — I couldn’t count the vaccines I had to take. And there were deadlines, like if you didn’t take it now, you ain’t getting your surgery. So… I’m not against people getting [the vaccine].”
“You wanna get the vaccine? Get the vaccine. I support you a hundred percent. It’s your choice — it’s your choice. And it’s not even about the vaccine for me; it’s about freedom. I’m a free man. I’m internal. My freedom comes from within, not from anyone else. Nobody determines my freedom. So, don’t step on my freedom — that’s all. And don’t step on other people’s [freedom].”
Killian did not provide any additional explanation as to why he won’t get vaccinated beyond “freedom,” which leaves us with no choice but to assume that he is simply contrarian for the sake of it, and that he holds things like traffic lights, anti-theft devices, and democracy in equally low-regard.
Nor did Killian explain why, if his freedom is “comes from within, not from anyone else,” how anything, ever, could truly be a violation of his freedom.
He did, however, draw a false equivalency between COVID-19 and unhealthy lifestyle choices while attempting to paint himself as some sort of bastion of good health by referring to fast food as “crap”:
“I heard comments about, ‘Oh, if you don’t take the vaccine, you deserve what you get.’ Well, guess what. Do obese people deserve to have heart disease? Should they be left out? Should smokers not be treated for lung cancer because they made these choices to do this? Obese people have heart disease, diabetes — all these things. Now, under the same analogy of, ‘If you don’t take the vaccine, you should suffer,’ well, then those people, you should apply it to them too. Because they should suffer. But I don’t believe that. I believe people should be free to do what they want. If you wanna go to fucking McDonalds and eat 20 cheeseburgers and fucking wake up in the morning and eat 20 breakfast fucking McNugget shit — whatever the fuck they serve over there, ’cause I don’t eat that crap — go for it. That’s your business. My business is not someone else’s business. Like I said, my freedom’s internal. I decide — no one else.”
Except you can’t catch obesity and high blood pressure from someone else eating a Big Mac. A more accurate metaphor would be that because I refuse to take my medicine, every time Killian goes outdoors, he has to be actively aware and avoidant of people trying to shove Quarter Pounders into his mouth whether he wants one or not. Which is why, in instances like this one, your business is other someone else’s business — your deeply stupid decision doesn’t just impact you.
But yeah. Freedom. Cool.
[via]