Comments on Mooselet's Aussie Life: Banner Headline From Above

Thanks Tors, I do indeed know about your children ...

2012-01-01T08:56:28.417+10:00

Thanks Tors, I do indeed know about your children and I think about yourself and others whom I know with autistic children when I help take on the anti-vaxx movement. I understand that many have a total belief that vaccines caused their child's autism, but that link has been studied over and over - to the detriment of other research which could be helping autistic children - and it just isn't there. We can believe anything with all our hearts but if it isn't so it isn't so. I know I'll never reach a True Believer, but I do hope to reach those who have heard about a "link" and are confused by this manufactured controversy. The AVN should not be allowed to spread their misinformation without it being clear they are anti-vaccine.

Your support and the support of other parents with autistic children is hugely appreciated. And Happy 2012!

Well, as you know I have 2 autistic children (one ...

2011-12-31T17:06:36.900+10:00

Well, as you know I have 2 autistic children (one severely so), so I'm very familiar with the anti-vax movement and its adherents.

Someone above asked why anyone would be against a procedure that would save lives. The answer is that these people truly believe vaccines do more harm than good. Some of these people have children who became violently ill and/or regressed right around the same time they were vaccinated. Some of these people also subscribe to conspiracy theories about Big Pharma and Teh Gubberment forcing them (and their children) to submit to untested vaccines.

This is why arguing with these people or attempting to show them the error in their thinking is akin to bashing your head against the wall. They are angry, they are hurting, they are SO emotionally invested in fighting against what they believe to be the cause of their children's injuries, and believe me they have an answer to every truth you tell them. *sigh*

**To be clear, I don't subscribe to the anti-vax movement *at all*, nor do I believe that vaccines cause autism.**

I'm glad the AVN's false claims are being challenged, and in a big way. Well done to all!

Well written & well said... Those small minded...

2011-12-31T15:39:39.255+10:00

Well written & well said... Those small minded people do not realise that their children put others at risk for one & secondly, they are safe ONLY because our kids are all vaccinated!

Let's think a bit bigger than our four wall world! Go on, send your kids to countries where no one can afford vaccination & then come back & tell us how well they faired!

Good stuff, Moose! -Little Brother.

2011-12-30T23:46:50.993+10:00

Good stuff, Moose!
-Little Brother.

How any parent could be against a procedure that w...

2011-12-30T03:07:33.752+10:00

How any parent could be against a procedure that will save lives is beyond me. I am currently reading a book by Richard Preston called Cobra Event. To me the most frighteneing part of the book is that the perp uses small pox (only alive in numerous laboratories around the world) to commit biological attacks. Very scary. The same thing could be done with measles, or any other agent against which most people no longer vaccinate. Only an idiot would not vaccinate. Keep up the good work, Mooselet.

@Jen - thanks for your words of support. I think ...

2011-12-29T18:41:57.768+10:00

@Jen - thanks for your words of support. I think vaccines have been a victim of their own success in many ways with parents not heeding the advice of their grandparents who saw first hand the tragic outcomes of these diseases.

@Dave - yes, I am also active on the Jenny McCarthy Body Count Facebook page so I do understand the celebrity-led movement in the US. Thanks for your support.

Bravo. We have similar star-studded movements here...

2011-12-29T17:25:53.690+10:00

Bravo. We have similar star-studded movements here in the US, all fueled by misinformation and outright lies. Tragic, really.

My grandmother and I were discussing vaccinations ...

2011-12-29T14:38:58.948+10:00

My grandmother and I were discussing vaccinations once about 10 years ago and she said something I'll never forget, "Anyone who has ever witnessed smallpox firsthand would never, ever not vaccinate their children against it." Vaccinations are there for a reason - to stop disease and save lives.

It drives me absolutely nuts when people don't vaccinate their children, saying that it will be okay because everyone else will get their own children inoculated. No, what happens is that someone who isn't vaccinated visits another country, picks up a disease, and then brings it home and spreads it to other people.

This happened here in my town in Virginia last spring, when there was a MEASLES outbreak at a local school, where there just happen to be a number of children whose parents opted against vaccines. I wonder how they feel about vaccines now?