CraigM
4082
This makes me burn with rage. I normally try to keep my cool about things, but the anti vax stupidity is so personal to me on so many levels. It basically hits a trifecta on some of the most important things to me. My kids, scientific literacy, and education.
If I were in the same room as RFK Jr. I would be spending that night in jail. And I don’t mean jokingly, the pure rage over his spreading of ignorance would lead to a bad outcome. I almost am tempted to sign in to my abandoned Facebook for the express purpose of seeking out those conservatives in my social circles, to see if they are celebrating this choice. Then picking fights with them. Or, if they aren’t, push them on why they support Trump when he does things like this. Basically logging in solely to verbally beat them for being stupid. And, if doing so made them never want to speak to me again? We have reached a mutual understanding.
Hence one of many reasons I stopped using FB years ago. But the temptation is real…
I had to double check, he’s Bobby Kennedy son and a lifelong Democrat. Seriously, Donald there aren’t enough fucking wack job in the Republican party, that you have to go and recruit Democrat nutcases, ugh.
I think the only think worse for the Republican party than electing Hillary Clinton President, was electing Donald Trump.
Jesus save us. The Trump administration is truly going to be a confederacy of dunces.
Fortunately, the science is pretty clear, so even his vaccine commission will have a tough time getting anything actually done. But they’ll try, I’m sure.
Quaro
4085
The first and likely only example of Trump reaching across the aisle and cooperating political opponents… and it’s for vaccine conspiracy crap. Of COURSE it is.
Clay
4086
Repealing vaccine laws could lead to a massive public health crisis that could be directly tied back to the administration. It’s sort of like declaring war on your own constituents. Anybody with a thread of common sense would avoid being involved with that, so let’s hope that Trump isn’t able to change any policy or law that would lead to widespread changes in the way they currently are used. It’s really scary to have young children in a daycare or school with kids that aren’t vaccinated. It could be as damaging as detonating a nuclear bomb, only in a dispersed way across the country. At least rich privileged idiots are as susceptible to measles as underprivileged people. Or, as my friend puts it, “Trump perpetuates every moronic conspiracy theory rich ignorant people have.”
Timex
4087
Yep, someone described it as a legion of doom, with the worst of the worst from both sides of the aisle.
They voted for Donald Trump. Common sense doesn’t enter into it.
That’s not the actual aim. The actual point is to get or allow people to act in fear, because fear gives him control. As a parent of a toddler, who knew all the science, even I was afraid of the first time my son got his vaccinations. I read up on Thimerosal and we discussed the best ways to space out the vaccines. But even knowing the facts I was still afraid and watched my boy like a hawk after those shots. Science calms those fears when adults are in charge, and schools you to act appropriately. The problem here is that we don’t have an adult going into the White House, and so people with that tinge of fear will feel allowed to react to fear, instead of to facts. The government is giving them permission to act in fear.
It’s like that old asshole who sucker punched the protester at a Trump rally. Trump didn’t say, “Punch that black man.” He just said, “In the good old days this wouldn’t happen, because they used to treat them very very rough.” So, it was a directive disguised as a permission slip. He can always deny it, because he can pretend he never signed it.
Yes. But regular people will bear the brunt of this. And crushing the poor under the heel of his boot has never been bad for Donald Trump. Or for the Republican Party.
-xtien
magnet
4089
Unlikely, since vaccination is legislated at the state level. There are no federal vaccination laws.
ShivaX
4090
They could easily pass a federal law that just overrides all the state laws in one fell swoop.
magnet
4091
No, it’s not that easy. First, it would be argued that the feds have no jurisdiction over vaccination requirements. Second, when both federal regulations and local regulations apply, the more stringent regulations are used (e.g. minimum wage). Third, Trump can’t pass laws and Republicans in Congress have no interest in this issue.
No. Making legislation is not the point. The point is creating a groundswell.
-xtien
magnet
4093
Sure, that’s a risk. But that’s a risk whenever a popular person endorses anti-vax positions. And despite winning the presidency, Trump is not particularly popular.
CraigM
4094
Which is why I reserve special hate for persons with a platform who do it. Jenny McCarthy, Donald Trump, RFK Jr. I don’t care who it is. If you are a person who, when they speak, will have an audience that is across the nation? Fuck you, basically. I will refuse to grant such a person civility or respect.
I have cut people out of my life for deciding not to get their kids vaccinated. Using a national platform to encourage that rank stupidity? I would put you in jail, were it up to me.
You don’t have to be particulary popular to spread disease.
He has a small group of people who worship him. A larger group of people who are all like, “Okay, we’ll go along.”
So a small group of people start ignorantly making a fuss about this at the local level. Which further gums up the system. Which messes with schools and fucks with the health care system in little, niggling ways. Which he will then blame on Obama.
It’s a distraction. Almost everything he does is a distraction. Only it might be personal in his case, for whatever weird reason. And it certainly is personal in the case of parents, like @CraigM, whose rage I totally understand.
Again, it’s about control. Or watching the world burn. We’ll see which is which.
I have folks I love in my life who campaigned for this douchebag. When pressed they say, “I voted for Pence.”
It’s really hard not to tell them to fuck off when they say this.
-xtien
Seems to me like the anti-vaxxers will find out first hand next generation that they were wrong.
I would be happy about this, but for all the children that would have to pay for their parents’ groundless fear and ignorance.
Clay
4097
Daagar
4098
This is what burns me the most. There is no way to make people pay for their idiocy without hurting innocents. But I almost think it needs to happen to get the message across.
CraigM
4099
If it was only the idiots paying, I could almost be persuaded. But what of the kids who can’t get vaccines due to immune system reasons? What of those who the vaccine didn’t take or wore off? What of those who get vaccines, but got the disease anyhow?
WHAT OF THE FACT THAT ALLOWING A RESURGENCE COULD LEAD TO UNTREATABLE FORMS OF THESE DISEASES? OR MUTATE TO MAKE THE VACCINE INEFFECTIVE?
No, no, 1000X no. Do you want to see outbreaks of violence? Start telling people their kids died because a preventable disease due to some charlatan asshat lying about vaccines. And I will be standing right beside them as they call for blood.
Daagar
4100
No no… be calm. I was responding to Destarius’ portion about being ‘happy’ that the next generation is going to pay. I’m a billion percent in agreement with you, and as mentioned in one of these threads, anti-vaxxers can go DIAF just like GOP supporters.
If we have to relearn hard-won lessons at the cost of untold thousands of lives, then our brains are broken and our species has dim prospects.
