First Draft

Metaphors are used as a basis for comparison between two seemingly unlike things;
connections that are not immediately apparent are noted between the concrete, abstract, or both.
Within the context of medicine and illnesses, metaphors might be used by patients or physicians
to better communicate their perspectives. However, if these metaphors are misused, they might
be more harmful than helpful to the patient because of their rigidity and oversimplification which
may stigmatize the suffering or detach the physician and surrounding personnel from sympathy.
For instance, in “On Immunity” by Eula Biss, it states, “Vaccination, like slavery, raises some
pressing questions about one’s rights to one’s own body.” (Biss 26) Biss compares forceful
vaccination to slavery, which relates to the figure of the Homo Sacer in “Homo Sacer: Sovereign
Power and Bare Life” by Giorgio Agamben, who can be killed without it being considered
murder. In both scenarios—the victim of forceful vaccination and the Homo Sacer—society is
desensitized, the dehumanization of human beings is overlooked, and they lose autonomy over
their bodies.

The first metaphor compares compulsory vaccination to slavery because the people do
not have the choice of refusing. Similar to slavery, vaccination is being attempted to be
rationalized towards the victims while objectifying them. Mass vaccination can indeed provide
herd immunity, which prevents the large-scale transmission of any disease and lowers the risk for
those who are not eligible to get the vaccine (D’Souza). However, it comes at the expense of a certain group of people. Biss states, “…when smallpox arrived in Middlesboro, Kentucky, everyone in the black section of town who resisted vaccination was vaccinated at gunpoint.
These campaigns did limit the spread of the disease, but all the risk of vaccination…was
absorbed by the most vulnerable groups. The poor were enlisted in the protection of the
privileged.” (Biss 25-26) Although the vaccine may have reduced the spread of the disease, the
vaccine itself may have been harmful in ways that were not understood because of the lack of
testing at the time. Not just physically, but mentally, it added to the negative perception of
vaccines, which prevents people from voluntarily getting a vaccine even today (Elliott).

The second metaphor compares the figure of the Homo Sacer to a nonhuman. Although
the term “Homo Sacer” translates from Latin to “sacred man,” the Homo Sacer can be murdered
without the murderer facing any charges, and they cannot be used as sacrifice in religious rituals.
They are designated with such an identity for many reasons—committing heinous crimes,
threatening political stability, violating sacred law, or just being a prisoner of war. Within the
system, the Homo Sacer is easily disposed of, and their life holds no meaning; their death does
not hold any weight in court, and they are not worthy of being presented to the Gods. Essentially,
their value is condemned to their basic biological essence, and they are stripped of their social
and political rights (Guignion). Their treatment is left to the mercy of the sovereign, which is
every other member of the society who still has their humane rights. For the Homo Sacer, moral
frameworks are twisted because there is no ethical obligation to treat them as human; they have
no rights and their mistreatment may be justified as benefitting society—eliminating the evil for
their wrongdoings.

Within both metaphors, they speak about the dehumanization of a group of people and
how society accepts and justifies it. In the context of vaccination, forcing marginalized
communities to vaccinate against their will prioritizes public health while sacrificing the
autonomy of certain individuals. While it may seem that they are given the choice not to
vaccinate, they will give up even more rights such as their occupational position or entry to
public spaces. Similar to the Homo Sacer, they are at the disposal of the sovereign’s authority,
and prioritize the public opinion over their own. The moment the people are forced to vaccinate,
they have lost certain human rights, and are exploited by the very law which was supposed to
protect them, such as the Homo Sacer.

Regarding medicine, these metaphors both shape and obscure our understanding of suffering and illness. They shape our understanding because it establishes the idea that we do not have full control over our suffering, which is caused by the disease that can unexpectedly relapse at any given moment despite being cured. Similar to the forcibly vaccinated or the Homo Sacer, patients without any understanding of medicine may also be powerless against the medical system, which includes insurance issues, or simply a lack of understanding of what drugs and treatments are being administered to them. These metaphors expose that we are obscured by the system in that we do not know to what extent we can lose our rights. Whether it is giving up autonomy through vaccination, or completely losing the right to be a human, there is no capacity for the amount of humanity we abandon in the face of suffering and illness.

Final Draft

Metaphors are used as a basis for comparison between two seemingly unlike things;
connections that are not immediately apparent are noted between the concrete, abstract, or both.
Within the context of medicine and illnesses, metaphors might be used by patients or physicians
to better communicate their perspectives. However, if these metaphors are misused, they might
be more harmful than helpful to the patient because of their rigidity and oversimplification which
may stigmatize the suffering or detach the physician and surrounding personnel from sympathy.
For instance, in “On Immunity,” Eula Biss states, “Vaccination, like slavery, raises some pressing
questions about one’s rights to one’s own body” (Biss 26). This concept is also examined through
the figure of the Homo Sacer in “Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life” by Giorgio
Agamben, who can be killed without it being considered murder. Biss reviews the established
notions of comparing forceful vaccination to slavery, which relates to the Homo Sacer
juxtaposed to a liminal state of presence and absence. In both scenarios, society is desensitized,
and the dehumanization of human beings is overlooked as they lose autonomy over their
existence.

The first metaphor was commonly used to compare compulsory vaccination to slavery
because the people do not have the choice of refusing. Similar to slavery, vaccination is being
attempted to be rationalized towards the victims while objectifying them. Mass vaccination can
indeed provide herd immunity, which prevents the large-scale transmission of any disease and
lowers the risk for those who are not eligible to get the vaccine (D’Souza and Dowdy). However, it comes at the expense of a certain group of people. Biss states, “…when smallpox arrived in
Middlesboro, Kentucky, everyone in the black section of town who resisted vaccination was
vaccinated at gunpoint. These campaigns did limit the spread of the disease, but all the risk of
vaccination… was absorbed by the most vulnerable groups. The poor were enlisted in the
protection of the privileged.” (Biss 25-26) Although the vaccine may have reduced the spread of
the disease, the vaccine itself may have been harmful in ways that were not understood because
of the lack of testing at the time. Additionally, not just physically, but mentally, it added to the
negative perception of vaccines being a mechanism of power and manipulation, which brought
in a similar fear of surrendering control as in slavery. This is one factor that prevents the victims
of forceful vaccination from voluntarily getting a vaccine even today (Elliott).

The second metaphor compares the figure of the Homo Sacer to the conjunction of a
human and a nonhuman. Although the term “Homo Sacer” translates from Latin to “sacred
man,” the Homo Sacer can be murdered without the murderer facing any charges, and they
cannot be used as sacrifice in religious rituals. They are designated with such an identity for
many reasons—committing heinous crimes, threatening political stability, violating sacred law,
or being a prisoner of war. Within the system, the Homo Sacer is easily disposed of, and their
life holds no meaning; their death does not hold any weight in court, and they are not worthy of
being presented to the Gods. Essentially, their value is condemned to their basic biological
essence, and they are stripped of their social and political rights (Guignion). Their treatment is
left to the mercy of the sovereign, which is every other member of the society who still has their
humane rights. For the Homo Sacer, moral frameworks are twisted because there is no ethical
obligation to treat them as human; they have no rights and their mistreatment may be justified as
benefitting society—eliminating the evil for their wrongdoings (Agamben 45-67).

Within both metaphors, they speak about the dehumanization of a group of people and
how society accepts and justifies it. In the context of vaccination, forcing marginalized
communities to vaccinate against their will prioritizes public health while sacrificing the
autonomy of certain individuals. While it may seem that they are given the choice not to
vaccinate, they will give up even more rights such as their occupational position or entry to
public spaces. Similar to the Homo Sacer, they are at the disposal of the sovereign’s authority,
and prioritize the public opinion over their own. The moment the people are forced to
vaccinate, they have lost certain human rights, and are exploited by the very law which was
supposed to protect them, such as the Homo Sacer.

Regarding medicine, these metaphors both shape and obscure our understanding of
suffering and illness. They shape our understanding because it establishes the idea that we do
not have full control over our suffering, which is caused by the disease that can unexpectedly
relapse at any given moment despite being cured. Similar to the forcibly vaccinated or the Homo
Sacer, patients without any understanding of medicine may also be powerless against the
medical system, which includes insurance issues, or simply a lack of understanding of what
drugs and treatments are being administered to them. These metaphors expose that we are
obscured by the system in that we do not know to what extent we can lose our rights. Whether it
is giving up autonomy through vaccination, or completely losing the right to be a human, there
is no capacity for the amount of humanity we abandon in the face of suffering and illness.

Works Cited

Agamben, Giorgio, and Daniel Heller-Roazen. “Part 2: Homo Sacer.” Homo Sacer: Sovereign
Power and Bare Life, Stanford University Press Stanford California, 1998, pp. 45–67.

Biss, Eula. On Immunity: An Inoculation. Graywolf Press, 2014.

D’Souza, Gypsyamber, and David Dowdy. “Rethinking Herd Immunity and the Covid-19
Response End Game.” Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 13 Sept. 2021,
publichealth.jhu.edu/2021/what-is-herd-immunity-and-how-can-we-achieve-it-with-covid
-19.

Elliott, Debbie. “In Tuskegee, Painful History Shadows Efforts to Vaccinate African Americans.”
NPR, NPR, 16 Feb. 2021,
www.npr.org/2021/02/16/967011614/in-tuskegee-painful-history-shadows-efforts-to-vacc
inate-african-americans.

Guignion, David. “What Is Homo Sacer? | Giorgio Agamben | Keyword.” YouTube, 13 Apr.
2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn8277dSK_Q.