Memes are typically relevnt or relatable to all audiences in one way or another. Attending yearly checkups at the doctor’s office as a child, I often times received a vaccination. The topic of vaccinations became relevant to me when I was a kid and now as an adult, the topic is still relevant. Vaccinations are a common topic for new parents as they make the decision to vaccinate their child or not. Without vaccinations, your body is not protected from viruses and it makes it easier for you to fall ill or possibly die from these viruses. You also become a danger in society because you are more susceptible to illness most people receive vaccinations for. The vaccinations don’t mean a person is immune to the virus, only that our immune system is stronger and more capable to fight viruses off. There is an overload of research done on vaccinations and how it effects the human body. Professionals claim that vaccinations are safe to use and that they save children’s lives in preventing them from getting sick. The anti-vaccination side does not believe in vaccinating their children for multiple reasons. Some argue that vaccines are dangerous and that by not vaccinating their child, they are protecting them. Or the individual doesn’t trust their doctor’s opinion.
In this meme, we can see the underlying persuasion of the pro-vaxxers side pointing out a con in the anti-vaxxers side: that not vaccinating your child “sounds like abortion with extra steps”. The ethos in the meme is using moral values (arete) to persuade the audience away from the anti-vaxxers. People hold strong moral values when it comes to abortion; I had a friend whose mother would only vote for people supporting pro-life. It is safe to say that those who feel strongly for pro-life would be heavily persuaded to agree with the pro-vaxxers. The emotions (pathos) the meme appeals to is shame. By saying that anti-vaxxing your children is the same as abortion, the emotions that come along with abortions are now made apart of anti-vaxxing. Shame is the biggest emotion received from this meme because the pro-vaxxers are shaming anti-vaxxers and trying to make them feel the shame. The logos of the meme is the enthymeme which is the written reasoning. The reasoning written in the meme is that if you think abortion is bad, then you should know that anti-vaxxers are causing a slow form of abortion to their children. You have to have similar values to the pro-vaxxers and pro-life to find the written words of the meme meaningful.