When I was young, I used to work at sports camps and I enjoyed messing with the younger kids. I’d ask trivia questions all the time, but then I’d slip a piece of nonsense like, “Is it colder in New York or in the winter?”
That question comes to mind every time I hear an anti-vaxxer speak. These people are back in the news because a disease that should no longer exist is making a roaring comeback. Imagine that: a disease that was the scourge of the planet completely eradicated. That should be cause for universal jubilation. Instead, the disease is back because of an unholy confluence of crackpot politics and anti-science dumb-ass-ery.
What is perhaps most frustrating is that the entire anti-vaxxer (bowel) movement began with a fake study conducted by a fake doctor using fake(d) data. This idiot made the specious claim that there is a link between vaccinations and autism. There is no such link; never has been, never will be. But the falsehoods were picked up by a few dumbasses, who then spread it exponentially to other dumbasses, and here we are. The study was completely debunked and the guy who did it lost his medical license but the false news was out there and it spread like pollen on the wind.
It got picked up by the fringe right as an anti-government screed and then became a cause celebre for Republican politicians. Together, this cabal created a controversy where none had existed. They started carving out exceptions to the law for people who are “philosophically” opposed to vaccinations. That’s the same as being religiously opposed to electricity. What’s most disappointing is that the typical anti-vaxxer is a suburban woman with at least some college. Just enough education to be ignorant.
For many years, Arizona has allowed people to be openly and proudly anti-science. Actually, in general, that’s OK. Not everybody can be smart. But neither should our state legislators conflate dumbass-ery with nobility. It was never a good idea to allow people to opt out of vaccinating their children because Jerry Springer told them not to. And now, with measles coming back because not enough kids are being vaccinated, what do our moronic legislators want to do? They want to make it easier to opt out for no good reason whatsoever.
It reached a new low last week when State Representative Kelly Townsend claimed that vaccinations are not American, but rather “communist.” Townsend’s daughter has epilepsy, which Townsend (without any scientific evidence whatsoever to back her up) claims was caused by childhood vaccinations. Townsend says that no amount of scientific evidence will convince her otherwise, which is why she refused to have her second child vaccinated.
“My son’s body is sovereign,” says Townsend. “The line of me is that the government does not have authority to inject him with something and put him at risk.”
I mostly agree with her. She should not be forced into it. The fact that 99.9 percent of the population with triple-digit IQs understand that vaccinations are in the best interest of the child and society as a whole doesn’t really matter. She doesn’t want the kid to be healthy, that’s fine (to a point). But that kid should not be allowed to go to school with normal kids. That’s where the line should be drawn.
But every time the New York part of the question (allowing them to infect other kids) comes up, Townsend and the rest jump to the winter part and scream sovereignty. They need to realize that, in life, you gotta give something to get something. You don’t want your kid vaccinated, fine. Just keep him away from healthy kids. Y’all can go gather in a village like in that really bad M. Night Shymalan movie. The men can dress like Cotton Mather and the women can watch their kids die from childhood diseases.
To be fair, Townsend wasn’t the only elected person to spout stupidity last week. State Senator Eddie Farnsworth, who has banked millions of our tax dollars by operating a charter-school scheme (that’s pronounced “scam”), will probably vote against a bill that would make it illegal to text while driving. His argument: “If I put (my phone) to the side and it falls on the floor under my feet, I can’t legally even pick it up.”
Why not use some of those millions that you fleeced us out of to buy a car with hands-free technology. Or hire a kid who “graduated” from one of your charter schools and have him ride around with you, holding the phone up while you blab away. You can even pay him less than minimum wage.
Representative Paul Gosar made a complete fool of himself during the Michael Cohen hearings in the House. First he brought along a poster that read “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire.” Then he struggled to put together coherent sentences in his questioning on Cohen. Daniel Webster, he’s not.
My favorite Gosar quote is: “We are not a democracy. We are a constitutional republic. That is why we have, um, two ways, both from a democracy, voting, and then from…the, uh, where we have the, um, Electoral College. So make sure we get that straight.”
As Olsen Johnson said of Gabby Johnson in the film classic “Blazing Saddles,” that’s authentic frontier gibberish.
This article appears in Mar 14-20, 2019.
Have to agree we need to vaccinate of course but all the anti vaxers I know are also libtards. There was a cop show called The Shield years ago and the star had 2 Autistic kids, they blamed the autism on mercury from vaccines and the characters sued the drug makers. Hollywood and other liberal media spread this crap, not the fringe right.
Most anti-vaxers espouse that required vaccinations are an impingement on parental authority and personal liberty, which, of course, is a conservitard position. Vaccination rates have sunk most in white, wealthy communities.
Mr. Danehy, thanks! Wish I’d written it, a great piece that says what NEEDS to be said. Love your expression, “Just enough education to be ignorant.” God knows we run into those types. I’ve even met a few with law and medical (gasp!) degrees… Ignorance respects no profession, nor does dogmatism and narrow-mindedness. They live amongst us, like those folks who sprouted from pods in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” Heaven help the rest of us.
Be well.
No one can fulminate like Tom D. Appreciated and concur with the column. Really surprised that the usual negative stuff that appears in response to these kind of things in the Weekly are no where to be seen – yet. I don’t always agree with Tom but I take pleasure in the way he sees and says things.
I was born in the early 1960s and, like all kids of my generation, I received full vaccinations as an infant. Since that time, two events have strongly shaped my outlook on vaccines.
The first was in the early 1970s, when my family moved to NJ. Our next door neighbors, a large family, had an oldest son who had contracted polio at the age of 8. When we met him, he was in his late teens, dependent on two crutches to move, and (understandably) angry at the world. It broke my heart to see this kid struggling his way through high school (you KNOW how mean kids can be) and facing a life of hardship that COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED. I could not believe that his parents hadn’t vaccinated their children.
When I was ready to enter graduate school in the mid-1990s, I was informed that I had to receive an MMR vaccine – even though I had my vaccination records, I was told that a booster was necessary. It was made absolutely clear to me that, without this vaccine, I would not be permitted to enter graduate school. That’s the way it SHOULD BE!!!
I am absolutely appalled by the anti-vaxxer movement. Disgusted and horrified. I think that parents who choose not to vaccinate should be charged with child abuse.
Sal
This is the best Danehy has ever done, something that even if it changes one life will be well worth it.
Here’s hoping there’s more to come like this instead of political ranting.
At least he didn’t blame Trump.
With vaccines as well as with comments to Danehy, it becomes obvious that half of Americans are below average intelligence. {Technically below the median, but for a large sample size, median equals mean}
Been thinking of something along the lines of “freedom has its consequences.”
No one prevented some former ISIS brides leaving the US to join the jihad and abet murder. Now they want to come home. Sure, no problem. But they will be met at their selected point of entry, arrested, placed in custody and charged under the appropriate federal terrorism statutes. Stupidity and gullibility are not exculpatory rationales for treason.
Anti-vaxxers have the freedom in some states to deny their children vaccinations under any set of rationales they can conjure up. Again, no problem. But their children can and should be denied access to public schools (including charters, community colleges and other institutions of higher ed. Stupidity and gullibility are not exculpatory rationales for spreading disease among healthy children.
Consider this: if you want to have your dogs and cats attend a daycare center, be boarded overnight, or be cared for by a veterinarian, they need to be vaccinated against rabies, at a minimum, with parvo and distemper also required by many animal caretakers. Arguing against children receiving vaccinations against what can be a deadly disease is far more inane than refusing to vaccinate your pets and constitutes child abuse.
“Hollywood and other liberal media spread this crap, not the fringe right.” Did you even read the article? It was 2 right legislators that are pushing the anti-vax law!
45 dislikes. Not great, but not bad !!