Vaccines and Violence

If you have even a passing interest in vaccine issues you have no doubt heard of that Boston Herald "editorial staff" declared that not vaccinated should be a "hanging offense". This was in response to a small outbreak of measles in a Minnesota Somali community - many of whom have chose to not have their children vaccinated with the MMR due to fears of autism (which is higher than average in this community). 

Our public discourse has reached the point where those who hold certain opinions (or worldviews) feel free to advocate violence against those who do not share their views (see also, The Islamification of Vaccines). 

Here is a Facebook post in response to the Boston Herald editoral that makes some important, and valid points (in particular that there is much ado about an illness that by and large is generally benign).  He points out that the risk of the illness is conflated while the risk of the vaccine is minimized. That is not intellectually honest, nor is it informed consent. 

This progression fits with the four stages of conflict: intellectual, emotional, verbal, and physical. This happens on an individual as well as cultural level - we fight intellectually, move on to include an outright emotional component while the tone of voice and verbal content escalates, ultimately leading to physical violence unless the conflict is resolved. 

There are many parents who are familiar with being emotionally bullied into vaccinating their children even when they had decided it was not in their child's best interests - being told their child would die if they did not vaccinate (stats regarding the infections for which we vaccinate do not back up this assertion), or being informed they are required to sacrifice their child to the risks of vaccination for the good of the wider community (ie: herd immunity, some have compared this to setting yourself on fire to keep someone else warm), or even worse, being threatened with having their children removed from the home by being reported to CPS if they do not vaccinate. 

There are many adults who likewise, are bullied into vaccination under duress in order to keep their jobs. 

Intellectual, emotional, verbal, and physical violence has been the norm since the beginnings of "vaccination" - and we all deserve so much better than this. 

One way to stop the intellectual battery is for vaccine researchers to begin to conduct studies comparing the vaccinated with the unvaccinated - and to do so repeatedly. Since there is clearly a cohort who are willing to be unvaccinated it is hardly "unethical". What is truely unethical is requiring the use of a medication whose risks are poorly understood because it is not subjected to rigorous "gold standard" research - vaccines are not put to any sort of test that would reveal the kind of information needed to make a genuine informed decision. 

The emotional abuse must stop - many issues are polarizing, and vaccines are one of them. We really can agree to disagree. We live with the results of whatever decisions we each make, vaccines are just one of them. We live with the results of people choosing to smoke, or eat too much or exercise too little. Those who advocate for vaccines must recognize that vaccine injury does happen and that the current system of dealing with this is entirely inadequate - that deciding to forgoe vaccination is a rational choice given this reality. I have yet to hear of anyone who has been affected by vaccine injury who would wish that reality on their worst enemy, or who thinks "justice" is served by receiving a wad of cash (after battling a hostile court). 

Apparently there will be a protest at 11:00am Thursday May 18th in Boston - I suggest there be signs or actual nooses with the following hanging from them: 

Mandatory vaccination (it needs to go) 
Informed consent (currently taking its last breaths, at least in regards to vaccination) 
Conflict of Interest 

I hope the protest is peaceful - that concepts are hanged, not people, not even as images. 

Words matter - history has shown that people generally mean what they say, especially when they are speaking in threatening tones or words. It was especially irresponsible for a newspaper to print such words - it only poured fuel on an already flaming fire. I hope they do the right thing and retract what they've published and offer an apology to the public. They owe this to their readership.