When I was in Providence, I got in the habit of reading the Denver Post online. It was far superior to the Providence Journal and I've always been a local news junkie. The downfall of the DPO in many ways however is its open message board feature attached to all articles (seldomly disabled for those involving a sensitive death or the like but seldom). Ya de ya free speech is great and I support it, but I have the right to think that 90% of the posters are cretin red neck idiots who have brain cells of an amoeba. Somehow even an article about... a car hitting a cow in Parker is related to illegal immigrants or evil democrats. It's the same pathetic group who I doubt graduated from high school, and don't have any world view outside their house in Lakewood or Longmont or the eastern plains they've lived in for 30 years.
Anyway I usually resist commenting but every so often the urge bites me, despite my learning my lesson about arguing online (a frustrating waste of time, better of spent doing tangible work for your cause). However this issue has bothered me since I've been aware of it. I'll probably get some slack on it since it's anti-indivudal rights (in some sense, anti your right to choose not to get your kid shots, but giving me the right for your kid not to kill my kid with the germs), anti-eco friendly I guess (i'm not well versed on the practices of pharmaceuticals outside my dad representing GlaxoSmithKline back in the dow con shield [IUD]) case). But in my defense, I think the idea of keeping children free of horrible debilitating diseases takes priority over the conspiracy of teh big evil companiez exploiting us. Science (usually doesn't lie). While many argue the counterargument is in favor of social justice, I think to not vaccinate children against deadly diseases is an injustice to both them and most of all the shrinking group of children vaccinated who will no longer be protected by collective immiunity.
Let me present what I said on the topic of people not getting their kids vaccinated before I continue to defend myself against possible attacks. I've become so self concious as I grow old...
I had two parents that were born pre-1955. They saw the effects of measles, Meningoccocal viruses, polio, mumps, rubella, etc. They without doubt, vaccinated myself and my brother born in the early to mid 1980s. Like almost every parent born in that era they saw NO problem with vaccinating their children (don't respond with exceptions I said most).
Now we have a group of parents born in the 70s and 80s mostly, that have never experienced a true pandemic (SARS and swine flu don't count they're hyped up media ciruses, most of these parents haven't been to India to see what diphtheria can do to a community of chilren). Who have never seen how sick a child with measles gets, or worse, known a friend in an iron lung from polio or worse, known a young friend who has died of the disease. I've read testimony from doctors, especially older ones, that fear that this trend will continue as young parents blessed with parents who vaccinated them, chose not to vaccinate their children as both the conspiracy an the trendiness of it grows.
Their concerns come from la-la land. Autism? It was ADHD in the 90s, now it's autism. Every "special" kid has it. And while I believe it truly is a disease I believe it's over diagnosed by the hands of over zealous parents. (I could dig up evidence but school is out for the summer, if you truly insist I'll dig up some primary and secondary source supporting research).
You don't want to vaccinate your kids without true medical reason (and listening to Jenny McCartney [who in a sidebar, claims to have cured her son's autism with a different diet.... let's see having your kid die of polio or making them eat less processed sugar... toughie] over the CDC and claiming it's because you're being brainwashed by the government [as opposed to a celebrity who probably never passed secondary school biology and does biased online research])? Fine. I think it's child abuse, you think it's your right, but fine.
But in some communities (some schools in Boulder, a town in Oregon) the number of unvaccinated children has dropped so low the collective immunity has dropped dangerously low. You want to make that choice, you should have to live in quarantine. I'll be damned if some cushy cushy believe every new 'liberal' hype hump the earth type is responsible for a pandemic that could kill or maim myself, my friends, my family and especially any future children I have. (And I'm a liberal, so these people piss me off more). They're equally as bad as the misogynistic assholes who won't vaccinate their young daughters against HPV/cervical cancer because "it will make them whores". Yes, preventing cancer you can get even if you wait until marriage makes you promiscuous. Doubt there would be less controversy against a vaccine for males that prevented testicular cancer through HPV (hypothetically).
It comes down to people thinking their children are special, people thinking they know more than medical professionals, people being easily influenced and frightened by others and oh yeah, people being utter idiots.
( Cut for fairly graphic but neccessary and somewhat large photos.... but look )A child with diptheria (yes the thing that used to kill you, your friends, your ex, or the kid you has a crush on and named a character after on the Oregon Trail in elementary school.
I'll stop now, mostly because the other hug list of very serious diseases that you should be vaccinated against don't have as graphic visual effects, but they are still very dangerous and very deadly.
Just get your kid their shots. God forbid anyone I know reproduces anytime soon.
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