There's a Muppet with Autism and the Sky is Falling!

It's not hard to make an anti-vaccination supporter have a complete mental blowout. Their collective sanity sits on a feather ledge to begin with and they have no qualm with demonstrating it. So, when Autism Daddy and Sesame Street worked together and brought us the first muppet with autism... well...

BOOM.

Louder than the hurricane that recently tore into Mexico is the sound of anti-vaxxer heads exploding. Of course, they believe the only cause for autism has been vaccines (never mind that such has been thoroughly debunked over and over again). They believe if you have autism and you aren't an anti-vaxxer that you're some kind of traitor to their cause. So it's not surprising that they think Sesame Street is in cahoots with "big pharma" to push vaccines.

Of course, that's absolutely untrue. But you'll never get through the concrete fog around an anti-vaxxer's brain to show them that.

Just when I think I've seen all the sickening stunts they can pull, they do this.

I personally love the fact that there is a muppet with autism. No, she doesn't represent every single form of autism in every single person (one of their unrealistic arguments because she can talk) but she does represent autism.

Julia of Sesame Street

One of the most wonderful things about Sesame Street is their belief in INCLUSION. They believe that we are all wonderful people and everyone should be taken for who they are and accepted as such. That is the Sesame Street way. To see it as anything else takes either ignorance or a twisted mentality.

Oh, but they say there's evidence! Apparently Elmo promotes vaccine safety.

Well, that's all it takes to make AVrs hate you. Well, never mind that the two events are not connected in anyway, nor is there any proof that they are; but I just don't care. I promote vaccine safety, I accept actual science, and I know that VACCINES DON'T CAUSE AUTISM. Never have and never will.

Sherri Tenpenny stirs media firestorm in Australia

Sherri Tenpenny is understandably frustrated. She's due to visit Australia in February and March with intentions on doing some public speaking on the evils of vaccines. Unfortunately for her, she's having a hard time finding a venue for her little show. The reason for this is substantial public outcry that's making local businesses think twice before accepting Tenpenny's "Get rid of SIDS" production. But, if she's so renowned, why is she having so much trouble?

The first thing she and her "company" did wrong was to mis-represent themselves. "Get rid of SIDS" is nothing but a platform for "Get rid of vaccines". Her opponents in Australia and more than one of the venues she wanted, thought her attempt seemed hoakie and dishonest in its presentation. In my opinion, Dr. Tenpenny knew exactly what the public response would be if she called it what it really was. So she veiled it and tried to pass it off as something else. No one likes underhandedness. That got the fire started.

Now her followers are hopping mad and making things worse for her. They recently compared the opposition to Tenpenny to the terrorists who killed 12 people in France this week. Does that sound like the rationale of people you'd want to let into your country? There is currently a process of decision regarding revoking Tenpenny's visa. Behavior of this kind will likely become a determining factor. Of course, causing civil unrest is a major factor already.

Before that, her followers started calling out "FREEDOM OF SPEECH!" in their demands to let her into Australia. Uh, Australia has no such amendment in their constitution. Besides that, it's their country and they can decide who gets to come in any way they damn well want. Freedom of speech is not a magic weapon that gives you access to any door you want to crash through. This is especially true when it comes to entering someone else's country. Freedom of speech, does not protect you from public backlash of what you represent. Just another area of distasteful behavior on the anti-vax side that is going to affect the decision making process.

The very fact that Tenpenny wants to go there and charge people 200 bucks a head to listen to her flap her lips about getting rid of vaccines in the guise of preventing SIDS has a moral majority of people really pissed off over there. Yes, she charges 200 dollars per person to attend her "seminar". Interestingly enough, that's the cost of a lifetime of vaccines (not including flu). But, as anti-vaxxers often say, it's all about money.

There is one more bit that's just plain sneaky. Word has it that Tenpenny is applying for a vacationing visa when she needs a business visa. If that's true she could face criminal charges in Australia. But I think getting revoked is the more likely response.

So let's add this up. Unprofessional sneakiness + rabid irrational followers+ causing civil unrest before even getting there= NO you can't come into our country. Pretty simple.

10 Reasons to stop being anti-vaccine.

Recently I was shown this brain denting article from Natural News. It's titled Ten reasons why you shouldn't vaccinate your children. Today I'm going to tear this apart and the page right along with it. I'm going to show you why the major companies backing the anti-vaccine movement are less trustworthy than Jack the Ripper. The logic is undeniable and the proof is right on the page itself. The link I posted will open a new window, so feel free to read back and forth for the comparisons. I will post what they said in their headers to make it a bit easier to follow.

Their number 1: Vaccines don't work.

Mine: VACCINES DO WORK! And decades of study and history prove it. Note that they only "evidence" they provide to back their claim is a book published by some "doctor". No peer reviewed studies are posted as evidence. Nothing to show or prove that everyone with vaccines and only people with vaccines ever get sick. Try to think about the logic in that for just a second. But then why are vaccinated people getting these diseases? Well, it's basically like this:

-Those immunizations you got as a child are not guaranteed for the rest of your life. Your immunity will wane with age.

-That's why it's important for each generation to continue getting vaccinated to help prevent the spread of these diseases to people who shouldn't have to get multiple "once in a life time shots". It's not just to protect yourself, but the very young and old and those who cannot have the shots for other reasons. I call it the chain of immunity.

-Thanks to the anti-vaccine movement, the chain has been broken. THAT is why where are outbreaks.

Their number 2: Vaccines have never been proven safe or effective.

Mine: Vaccines have been proven safe in 99,9% of persons immunized.  Here's a LINK for you. It's to the CISA ( the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment) Project. Established in 2001 (14 freaking years ago). Their job is to continuously study the safety of all our vaccines along with 7 individual research laboratories (to prevent any bias). As for the word "effective" up there; it's just a regurgitation of their number 1 because they just want you to believe the lie. But what about vaccine injury? First, be careful when it comes to believing the exaggerated numbers given by the AVM. They want you to believe the worlds ditches are just overflowing with bodies. Not true. You can find out which were found to be vaccine injuries and which weren't through VAERS. As it turns out, true vaccine injury happens in that .01% of people missing from the number above. Sadly, that cannot be prevented and I'll tell you why:

It's basic reality. It is impossible to prevent all possibility of injury in anything. I don't care what you name, there's always a possibility of injury at least at the same as vaccines. Always. You actually have far higher possibility of having a car accident or just tripping and cracking your head open. That doesn't mean that the CDC smugly finds injury acceptable; they are constantly testing for ways to improve. In the mean time, the minute possibility of vaccine injury with an even more minute possibility of actually killing you, is still far better than your chances with the diseases they are preventing.

Their number 3: The first vaccine was a complete failure, which the industry tried to cover up.

Mine: They use outdated information or outright lies.  Please name a process or invention that worked perfectly on the very first try. Go ahead, I'll wait. You have a better chance of finding a unicorn making love to a dragon in your backyard than ever finding that. It's not secret that in the 1600's, 1700's and even some of the 1800's quackery was the way to go in major ways and science hadn't developed perfectly. Nothing does. But, what did our government do when they discovered the toxicity of lead? That's right; everything they could to get it out of paint and off kids toys. Sounds like a government that wants us all dead right? How about the discovery of asbestos related cancers? Banned asbestos. Arsenic in wall papers or household items? Banned arsenic. Yep, our government just wants to control us by culling us out (no they don't). But the AVM wants you to believe this is the truth. They want to you look at the past and accept it as the norm of today. Don't you think that's just a little ridiculous? Does anything work the way it worked back then? Anything? No.

Their number 4: Vaccines are highly profitable for drug companies, which aren't held liable for damages.

Mine: The alternative health industry makes more money than vaccines could ever dream of doing. I actually love it when an AVer tells me this one. My response: "Yeah because no company should ever be paid for their products." Think about it. Funny how the AVer in questions usually shuts up after that or totally changes their approach to something else. But it gets even better. Take a look at this.

That's a screen grab from this very article on Natural News. I want you to look at it closely. Care to guess how many adds for "alternative health" I found down the side of this page? I counted 27 ads. Now, let's make a little comparison. How many doctor visits will your child have to get their childhood immunizations? About 5. We'll even add flu shots for fun, those are once a year.  Alternative health wants you to pay for their products by at least the month. How much are you paying for your health supplements every month? But look! You can get a cooker to make your own colloidal silver for about 500 bucks! You can get it by the bottle for 50 bucks each! Cure cancer at home for 5.15 a day (about 152 bucks a month)! And that's just a few examples on this page alone. So, uh, who's making the money again? It's not vaccines at this rate. 

A lifetime worth of general immunizations (not counting flu shots): Est: $200.

A year of colloidal silver from the website found: $600. (It's estimated so don't get your undies in a bunch).

Their number 5: All vaccines contain deadly chemical additives.

Mine: They want you to believe everyone is dead or dying and only from vaccines. I've said it before and I'll say it again; if vaccines were as deadly as the AVM would like us to believe, there would be no way to hide all the bodies. By their bizarre mathematics (demonstrated in number 4) at least one third of our population should be flat dead right now. But they aren't. And it gets better. They want you to think there are things in vaccines that are either a lie or already to minuscule to do anything to you. And they want to think those things are going to kill you dead. But they won't. Anything that actually is in our vaccines is already in the world around you by leaps and bounds more than a vaccine could ever hit you with. And then there's their argument to this that states:

When injected, items will bypass natural immunity filters and damage the body. This is mostly versus the flu vaccine but it's against all of them. Never mind that there is an inhaled flu vaccine now; but whoever is spouting this at you has no idea how the immune system actually works. It's all quackery to get you to buy your next month of supplements. This idea completely ignores the fact of how many diseases can go through bodily fluid contact, say via an open sore on your arm. And then there's all the diseases people could get from dirty water (but ingesting has natural filters!) like diptheria. Start looking up these diseases and how they actually get into your body and you'll see this is one of the stupidest arguments in the universe.

Their number 6: Unvaccinated children are generally healthier.

Mine: Unvaccinate children who get preventable diseases can be crippled for life or killed. The AVM wants you to believe that chicken pox, diptheria, measles, and other diseases are either nothing to worry about or don't exist. They want you to think the history of children in iron lungs is a fairy tale. Or that kids were never crippled by polio. They want you to think that you can't be choked to death by diptheria or given open bleeding lesions. They spout "go do your research on vaccines" but they don't tell you to go do your research on the diseases they prevent. Could that be because the diseases are actually 10x scarier than they pretend vaccines are? I wonder.

Their number 7: Vaccines cause lifelong incurable diseases in some children.

Mine: Refer to number 6 and 2. See how they repeat themselves in a supposed 10 list when they have nothing else to add? See how they just reword the same thing over and over again? Don't you find that questionable? We've already established the significance of vaccine injury, but they go even further to put autism back on the table. Currently there are 107 studies that have found no link between autism and vaccines. Vaccines do not cause autism. You can find a comprehensive list of all theses studies HERE. As for Guillian Barre, educate yourself on it HERE. 

Their number 8: Vaccines kill children and adults.

Mine: Refer to 6, 5 and 2: I'm still going just to show you that I only needed to give you 6 reasons not to be anti-vaccine. But they have to scare you and scare you good. The more times they say die in their list, the more they drive that word into your brain. That way you'll buy their supplements to protect you. Have people ever died? Yes, but seriously, that's a .01% of the .01%. You have better chances of winning the lottery and being struck by lightning in the same week. Yes, that's an exaggeration, just like what the AVM uses to make you think you're going to die and that everyone else is already dead. One day, as a fact o life, you will die. You may choke on your ice cream cone for all anyone knows. Yet, the idea is that there are some things you don't have to die from. They're preventable. Think about it.

Their number 9: Vaccine companies can't be sued if your child is harmed by vaccines.

Mine: There is a compensation fund for a reason, refer to 4 and 2.  Thanks to the insane mania that the AVM has become, if the companies didn't have some extra legal protection, the frivolous lawsuits would be at the highest rates in world history. They would cost both family and company billions in legal fees. The compensation fund is there to make sure that families with actual vaccine injury get something without having to go to court for it. Court cases are also known for taking months to years and the time would cost families and company even more. The compensation fund bypasses that too. It's an insurance policy and not a reason to believe that vaccines are wrong. Remember, I showed you above who is really making money off of this.

Their number 10: Natural exposure to the disease is the best vaccine. 

Mine: They want you to play Russian Roulette with diseases. Diseases that can mean time off work for days to weeks. Diseases that can cripple your child, blind them, or even kill them. Yep, I used the "die" method too. The difference is that documented deaths from these diseases outnumber vaccine deaths in the hundreds to one. LINK: There were 32 deaths related to the HPV vaccine from 2006 to 2008. The deaths were reviewed and none of them could be linked to the vaccine. But just to play with that number for a second and consider that millions of people every year contract some form of HPV. HPV can cause cancer of the genitals, anus and throat. Sound fun? Here's a LINK about HPV.

So. I hope you think about it. I hope you learn about the diseases and see just what nasty demons they are. We don't need them roaming free. I know what some of the excuses will be:

"I don't trust the CDC or FDA."

But you trust people that aren't being watched by anyone? Note on your health supplements where it says, "not evaluated by the FDA". You think that vaccine makers are protected from scrutiny? You don't know the half of it. Try to sue if one of their supplements hurts you. Just try. You'll discover that you took them at your own risk and it says so right on the bottle. That means there's NO law to protect you; NO compensation fund, and NO ONE looking over their shoulder. But you'll trust them over your peer reviewed doctors? People who were turned blue by colloidal silver had no legal recourse to sue. So good luck with that.

The Church of Anti-Vaccine

Thanks to the pure abuse of scripture, thousands of idiots are exempting their children from vaccines. I wondered just how there could be anything in the bible that applies to vaccines, but then I underestimated the sheer power of crazy. Here they are:

I Corithians 6: 19-20, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? …Therefore honor God with your body.”

II Corinthians 7:1, “…let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 

So, essentially, they take their unproven ideas that vaccines are somehow malevolent poisons and apply them to these scriptures. Then they put it all into a tidy little letter to the schools or whoever and get themselves exempted. This is just one reason that 45% of Michigan residents are living in areas of high risk for outbreaks. Just check out THIS article on the matter. OH, and they're actually HAVING outbreaks and NO the sick people aren't vaccinated.

This got me thinking. Just how do you make anti-vaccine belief into a religion? What would the requirements be? Well, wonder no more. If you want to be part of the Church of Andrew Wakefield, here's all you have to do!

1: As the name suggests, you must worship Andrew Wakefield. Tell everyone else it's about God, but you really pray to Andrew because he's the guy!

2: Dismiss science as fakery unless it comes from Andrew Wakefield. Because only those who follow Andrew know real science. 

3: The official prayer is not putting your hands together; rather it's putting your fingers in your ears and shouting "LALALALALALALALA".

4: Believe that shaken baby syndrome is really because of vaccines. The broken bones occur because vaccines let the demons in and they fly the baby around the room.

5: If injured you must bathe in colloidal silver. Never go to the doctor unless they are vetted and accepted by Andrew Wakefield. So just stuff your guts back in your stomach. Natural healing is always better.

6: You must have two shrines to Andrew Wakefield in your home. One must be in the living room and one in the bedroom (wink wink).

7: Thou shalt embellish and exaggerate everything in support of condemning vaccines. If it sounds like facts it's good enough.

8: If someone comes close to proving you wrong you must go into a rage and accuse them of being government shills. They probably are anyway.

9: You must know the 28 studies that support Andrew Wakefield. You must frame them, put them on your wall, and recite them every day.

10: You must learn cherry picking. It's okay to accept information that seems like it supports your beliefs, even if that information comes from someone you condemn on all else. By the way, the annual cherry picking contest is every spring.

11: Forget the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, we like Andrew, Mother Nature, and the CDC Whistleblower.

12: No matter what, the possibilities of death and blindness are way better than ever having autism. Same goes for becoming a vegetable.

I think that's a pretty good start for the church and hey, freedom of religion right?

Anti-Vaxxers may be hypocrites if...

LANGUAGE WARNING

My bent sense of humor can’t help itself. This nice big jab at the anti-vaccine movement has been on my mind and it needs to meet paper and pen. Well, internet publishing anyway. But, like any form of zealotry, hard core anti-vaxxers who say “never inject” are a bunch of hypocrites. They say not to give your child “poisons” like they have the slightest clue. Here’s my list on the subject, because IF you are one of those anti-vaxxers who wants all vaccines to disappear (because measles is more fun) and you do any of the following, you’re a damned hypocrite.

Dine at any restaurant: I don’t care if it’s fast food or high class. If you’re so worried about poisons getting into your system and you eat food from animals who have had vaccines (and you have no idea so don’t even try) then you are a hypocrite. Yet, we’ve been eating this crap for generations and we are still here. Funny how that works out. Speaking of eating, the next one ties nicely into this one!

Consume ANY form of packaged food: From your sugars and spices clear down to a fucking candy bar. Mmmm, what a yummy Snickers you’re enjoying there….. guess who made the preservatives in it. Go on, guess. There are preservatives in every bottled or packaged form of food on your grocery store shelves.. ALL OF THEM and unless you pay out the nose for super short lived organics that may be lying to you for a dollar, the preservatives were all made by our government with the help of what you call BIG PHARMA. Eat, drink, and enjoy because you’re a hypocrite. And yes, this includes the foods at your favorite restaurant.

If you go to the dentist: Oh noes, it’s BIG PHARMA again. But you don’t need Novocain or laughing gas do you? Nah, you’re rough and tough. Have fun with that root canal.

If you brush your teeth with anything but water: Go ahead, tell me you use baking soda. Baking soda is packaged in a damn factory the same as every fucking thing else. Be sure to look up what factory it’s packaged in so you can see what other products are packaged in the same place. Enjoy your new nightmares of BIG PHARMA. Toothpaste and mouthwash contain fluoride and that’s in so many places you’ll just shit yourself to know.

If you use deodorant: Go grab your speedstick or whatever the hell you use and look at the back of it. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Now READ IT. See where it says DRUG FACTS right at the top of the label. Huh. Why would it say that? BECAUSE IT’S A DAMN PHARMACUETICAL, DUMBASS. And every portion of what you are shoving into the pores of your skin is poisonous. Go ahead, look up the ingredients yourself. The same goes for things like soap and shampoo. And you’re worried about the peon money they don’t make on vaccines.

If you smoke or drink: You’re worried about chemical injections for your kids, but second hand smoke is A-okay? Drinking your liver into oblivion around your kids is alright? Wow, you are stand up parent, aren’t you? Nope, just a hypocrite.

Unless you live in a hole in the ground, home school your child (school lunches and preservatives you know), bathe in creek water with rocks, never brush your teeth or use hygiene and live off of tree bark and squirrels….you’re a hypocrite. It just goes to show that you really have no clue just how much of these things are all around us.

Autism and fractured communities

On every autism group website I have visited I see a claim of community. We claim to be a community coming together or already there. The truth is, autism is the one medical condition that has more dissension and diversity amongst the members of it's community above any other. Allow me to explain that.

Anti-vaxxers, curebies, ND's(Neurodiversity), SA's (Self Advocacy), and even "Autism traitors" are labels we pass out indiscriminately amongst ourselves. At the same time, we adamantly shout not to label us. Along with those labels are heaping helpings of hatred and insults. One side or group is constantly bashing away at another for some perceived insult to their very existence. For one "group" that I haven't seen a label for, may as well give them one and call them "Parent Haters" or PH's. This group is more adversarial towards parents of autistic children with accusations that they are only trying to "cure" their children for their own selfish needs (and destroy who those children really are in the process). Then there's hatred to NT's (neuro-typical people) that is just as bad. With all this internal segregation, let me ask you something;

How can we expect to ever be taken seriously? I have searched other medical conditions for this phenomenon. I searched bipolar disorder and multiple sclerosis, for example. I searched cancer and physical disabilities too. Autism is the only medical condition that acts more like some kind of deranged politics mixed with religious standings. It's putting people at each others throats. Believe it or not, I actually have a theory or two as to why this is happening.

It really comes down to two things:

1) The fact that autism affects each person and family differently.

combined with

2) The inherent social blindness of autistic conditions.

For example, here is a quote from a PH: "I don't need a cure or treatment, so why should anyone else?"

It's well documented that people with these disorders (and this is why it's seen as a disorder) miss how other people are affected by various issues (including autism). There is a natural tendency to expect sameness in a personal view within everyone else. It's like we forget that, just because we see the world in a certain way, we aren't like everyone else. We forget that everyone sees things in their own way. This is especially destructive in autism as I listed above.

Autistics who don't believe they need treatment or cure, automatically assume that no autistic needs treatment or "cure". And I say "cure" very loosely because there isn't one. The same can be said for those who dislike diversity or advocacy. They lose sight of the fact that everyone is different and has different needs. Not everyone has the same intensity of those needs either.

Another example is the eruption of internet flame wars where the slightest difference in base opinion becomes an accusation of being the Anti-Christ and gets accused of criminal bullying on all sides. This erupts in waves of inappropriate behavior to include creating "blacklists", negative blogs, and even direct angry emails. And while all sides shout "bullying", none of them stop. Yes, I realize flame wars are part of any internet meme and I've seen them. I just hadn't ever seen them at this degree before. It's about as volatile as high scale nitro glycerin, and most of the opinions aren't even meant to be insulting, or could just be ignored.

A lot of the internet wars happen because of high sensitivities in all parties. Those same sensitivities are very common in autism.

We need to stop and remember that there is more than one way to be affected by autism. The more we persecute parents over their children (none of anyone's business by the way), people over advocacy, diversity, or wanting disability rights, the worse we all look as a result. None of these beliefs are facist, racist, traitorous, or out to destroy us all. None of them are criminal or wrong.

Someone wants a cure? Let them. No one can force it on you. No one can make you get an abortion either.

Someone wants help for their child? Let them, it's none of your business. And if you are a parent, try worrying about your own kids.

Someone says "neuro-diversity"? Let them. It actually has helped some people and that's a good thing. You don't want it, you don't have to have it or subscribe to it.

We need to stop assuming we know what everyone else should have or do. You know how we hate words like "retarded"? How about "crazy"? Well, I have talked to people who have seen all the behaviors above and they can't see is as anything but "immature" and "crazy" too.

If you want to represent something, make it something helpful, not hateful.