LOL, I’m sending this to my sister, who is a beleagued pediatrician. Some years ago she threw up her hands and announced that children who did not keep to the vaccine schedule were not allowed in her practice. That helped, but she still has to listen to anti-vaxxers whine and explain to her at length at length why they are justified and she is wrong.
She does tell them that she herself, before she instituted this policy, cared for and tried to save infants who had pertussis, but that many of the infants died. And, that she really prefers not to have to watch over the completely preventable deaths of more children. They don’t believe her.
Holmssays
Penn and Teller also made a good segment addressing this. It was aimed more at the supposed autism link, but the video holds up well.
lanirsays
That clip is almost exactly 4 years old. Not sure when the episode it’s from aired but at least that long ago.
It’s still disturbingly relevant, if course. But if it were done now and the studio was as willing to be honest as the doctor’s character is, he’d have also mentioned how much money there was for politicians in telling people what they want to hear, especially when they’re wrong. It’s only going to kill off a handful out of a hundred, right? Where’s the drawback for them?
John Moralessays
lanir, you’re on the internet. Season 1, episode 2, aired November 23, 2004.
(BTW: it’s an actor, not a doctor. And it’s not a doctor’s message, it’s the scriptwriters’)
mnb0says
JohnM: “And it’s not a doctor’s message, it’s the scriptwriters’)”
Aha! That makes it totally irrelevant. Anti-vaxers are right.
That or your sidenote is irrelevant -- you are what’s called in Dutch an antf*ck*r.
lornsays
I see the anti-vax movement, is it a movement or a brain defect, as symptomatic of the combination of radical individualism and a misapprehension of the democratization of knowledge. Both largely a result of computers and information technology. Fact is most people like to thing of themselves as special. Consider the percentage of people claiming native American ancestry. As around and after two or three descriptors a whole lot of people feel compelled to add a few percentage of some tribe.
Tell everyone that Thanksgiving will feature Turkey and all the fixings and someone has to claim veganism, gluten sensitivity, or complain about preservatives. If you dig down a bit you will likely find that they are vegan, except for the occasional burger, gluten sensitive except for their Sunday morning bagel, and concerned with preservatives but not so much when they are eating their favorite mostly -sugar breakfast cereal.
Back in the 70s people would claim to be ‘expressing the individuality’ by wearing jeans and a tee shirt. Just like 99% of their peers. I get it. Jeans and tees are comfortable and both cheap and easy. But they want a tiny parade celebrating their”individuality”. So it goes.
Now everything electronic is “customizable”. Electronics and computers make bells and whistles easy and dirt cheap. We can enjoy levels of customization that was only available to kings a few hundred years ago. Kings and queens have nothing on us. We can all be special, just like everyone else.
The trappings of wealth are there for all, more less. But what you wear doesn’t complete the picture. We still have to look up to those who know more. here again anyone can play the part of an expert. Read a couple articles on whale.to and a couple of Wikipedia entries and you too can hold your own against people who have studied the field for decades. At least you can if those judging are as ignorant as you are.
None of this specialness or expertise is real. It reminds me of the time the Iranians claimed to have a new advanced jet fighter. The unveiling caused quite a stir. Until careful analysis pointed out it was a cardboard and plywood mock-up with a few odd aircraft parts bolted on. I get the feeling that had they been just a little less obvious, and their propaganda a little louder and smoother all the aircraft companies would be citing this sham as proof of a fighter gap and demanding the US throw a few hundred billion into a n+1 generation fighter.
We are deep in the unreality. Advertisers define previously unheard of diseases. Politicians ride to office on fears that the others are coming to get you. The call of the halcyon past, that never really existed beyond a Hollywood sound stage, beckons us to go back to familiar places we have never been.
A place where we are all very special and there are no experts to contradict anyone. Where life’s biggest trouble is Timmy falling down a well and the Hula-hoop is always the newest innovation.
LOL, I’m sending this to my sister, who is a beleagued pediatrician. Some years ago she threw up her hands and announced that children who did not keep to the vaccine schedule were not allowed in her practice. That helped, but she still has to listen to anti-vaxxers whine and explain to her at length at length why they are justified and she is wrong.
She does tell them that she herself, before she instituted this policy, cared for and tried to save infants who had pertussis, but that many of the infants died. And, that she really prefers not to have to watch over the completely preventable deaths of more children. They don’t believe her.
Penn and Teller also made a good segment addressing this. It was aimed more at the supposed autism link, but the video holds up well.
That clip is almost exactly 4 years old. Not sure when the episode it’s from aired but at least that long ago.
It’s still disturbingly relevant, if course. But if it were done now and the studio was as willing to be honest as the doctor’s character is, he’d have also mentioned how much money there was for politicians in telling people what they want to hear, especially when they’re wrong. It’s only going to kill off a handful out of a hundred, right? Where’s the drawback for them?
lanir, you’re on the internet. Season 1, episode 2, aired November 23, 2004.
(BTW: it’s an actor, not a doctor. And it’s not a doctor’s message, it’s the scriptwriters’)
JohnM: “And it’s not a doctor’s message, it’s the scriptwriters’)”
Aha! That makes it totally irrelevant. Anti-vaxers are right.
That or your sidenote is irrelevant -- you are what’s called in Dutch an antf*ck*r.
I see the anti-vax movement, is it a movement or a brain defect, as symptomatic of the combination of radical individualism and a misapprehension of the democratization of knowledge. Both largely a result of computers and information technology. Fact is most people like to thing of themselves as special. Consider the percentage of people claiming native American ancestry. As around and after two or three descriptors a whole lot of people feel compelled to add a few percentage of some tribe.
Tell everyone that Thanksgiving will feature Turkey and all the fixings and someone has to claim veganism, gluten sensitivity, or complain about preservatives. If you dig down a bit you will likely find that they are vegan, except for the occasional burger, gluten sensitive except for their Sunday morning bagel, and concerned with preservatives but not so much when they are eating their favorite mostly -sugar breakfast cereal.
Back in the 70s people would claim to be ‘expressing the individuality’ by wearing jeans and a tee shirt. Just like 99% of their peers. I get it. Jeans and tees are comfortable and both cheap and easy. But they want a tiny parade celebrating their”individuality”. So it goes.
Now everything electronic is “customizable”. Electronics and computers make bells and whistles easy and dirt cheap. We can enjoy levels of customization that was only available to kings a few hundred years ago. Kings and queens have nothing on us. We can all be special, just like everyone else.
The trappings of wealth are there for all, more less. But what you wear doesn’t complete the picture. We still have to look up to those who know more. here again anyone can play the part of an expert. Read a couple articles on whale.to and a couple of Wikipedia entries and you too can hold your own against people who have studied the field for decades. At least you can if those judging are as ignorant as you are.
None of this specialness or expertise is real. It reminds me of the time the Iranians claimed to have a new advanced jet fighter. The unveiling caused quite a stir. Until careful analysis pointed out it was a cardboard and plywood mock-up with a few odd aircraft parts bolted on. I get the feeling that had they been just a little less obvious, and their propaganda a little louder and smoother all the aircraft companies would be citing this sham as proof of a fighter gap and demanding the US throw a few hundred billion into a n+1 generation fighter.
We are deep in the unreality. Advertisers define previously unheard of diseases. Politicians ride to office on fears that the others are coming to get you. The call of the halcyon past, that never really existed beyond a Hollywood sound stage, beckons us to go back to familiar places we have never been.
A place where we are all very special and there are no experts to contradict anyone. Where life’s biggest trouble is Timmy falling down a well and the Hula-hoop is always the newest innovation.