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Author Name: BoingBoing
This story was originally published on Boingboing.net. [1]
License: CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0.[2]


A subreddit gives the "Herman Cain Award" to anti-vaxxers who die of Covid

2021-09-22 00:00:00

Nearly 300,000 Redditors are in the r/HermanCainAward subreddit, and it's still growing rapidly. In it, Redditors posts story after story of Covid deaths, and the subreddit serves as a grim reminder of the virus's continuing dangers. ward subreddit, and it's still growing rapidly. The name derives from Republican fast-food giant Herman Cain who died of Covid some weeks after attending a Trump rally maskless in the summer of 2020.

The subreddit's posts, for the most part, follow a predictable format: first, photos and screenshots show a person's egregiously irresponsible Covid behavior. Then, the post has evidence of a person contracting and struggling with the virus. The stories of the Covid deaths come from Facebook screenshots or personal stories, and they show a close-up picture of what having the disease is like. One notable feature of the subreddit is the flairs: a hospitalized person's flair is "nominated." If they die, it changes to "awarded." Here's the community description:

Nominees have made public declaration of their anti-mask, anti-vax, or Covid-hoax views, followed by admission to hospital for Covid. The Award is granted upon the nominee's release from their Earthly shackles. r/HermanCainAward

While the Herman Cain Award brings attention to the importance of Covid safety, it may wade into the dangerous territory of mocking those who die of Covid. A rule of the subreddit is "Don't be a dick. Don't root for nominees to be awarded." Still, some posts and comments may contain elements of schadenfreude.
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[1] URL: https://boingboing.net/2021/09/22/a-subreddit-gives-the-herman-cain-award-to-anti-vaxxers-who-die-of-covid.html
[2] URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

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