You both say it better than I could. On Tue, Feb 22, 2022 at 11:58 AM Adam Bowie <[email protected]> wrote:
> This is the line that you quote that annoys me the most: > > “We made an informed decision not to vaccinate our children…but this is a > very personal decision that should be made only after sufficient research, > which today is within reach of every parent who seeks to learn about their > child’s health regardless of their medical knowledge or educational status.” > > That's simply not true. "Every parent" cannot do "sufficient research" on > these kinds of subjects. > > To be clear, there are very few of us that can honestly "research" things > like immunology. Whenever I hear anyone say that they're "doing their own > research" I despair, as this isn't the kind of thing you can casually > Google. > > To be clear, when I buy, say, a new camera, I do some online "research" > but in truth, that probably means visiting websites I trust, and reading > pieces written by people I believe have sufficient knowledge about the > product that I can get a reasonably informed determination on the merits of > said camera. Even then, I can't be a 100%. Maybe the reviewer skews towards > a particular brand that they have an affiliation with. Maybe there's some > kind of unethical deal going on behind the scenes. I'd hope not. But in the > end, the worst that can happen is that I end up with a camera I'm not > entirely satisfied with, and I'll be more careful next time. > > But with drugs, this is completely unknowable. I've not done the trials, > and even with a degree in statistics, I'm not sure that I have the science > to fully understand the nuances of those trials if the data is even fully > available. The average person simply cannot "research" this subject > themselves. Instead, they have to trust others to do it for them. And yes, > those are probably governmental/federal organisations making those > determinations. > > I do understand that there is often an innate distrust in Big Pharma, > because they're constantly selling us things that we probably don't need. > But that doesn't mean that every drug or vaccine is worthless or is only > being made for some nefarious reason. And the reality is that most of us > don't have the toolset to be able to make that determination. > > > Adam > > On Tue, Feb 22, 2022 at 5:56 PM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > >> This is a very long response to one small part of Aaron Barhart’s recent >> piece on Bialik, posted and discussed in its own thread. I have great >> respect and affection for our former Chief, but I believe he is wrong about >> Bialik not being an Anti-Vaxxer. Below I make my case in far too much >> detail (I had the day off today). >> >> >> Here is the link to Aaron’s article: >> >> >> >> https://www.primetimer.com/barnhart/mayim-bialik-is-the-future-of-jeopardy?mc_cid=3f186cba62&mc_eid=2ecf66baff >> >> >> Aaron writes: “Bialik has also been finger-wagged online for not >> vaccinating her children, earning her the label “anti-vax” (she’s not >> <https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/08/jeopardy-host-mayim-bialik-says-shes-not-anti-vaxx>).” >> I’m afraid this is inaccurate. Bialik **is** anti-vax, in the sense >> that this term has been understood for most of the last quarter century. >> This has nothing to do with COVID, and everything to do with Autism (and >> other childhood disorders). >> >> >> Bialik chose to reveal on her own, in her own book, that she did not >> vaccinate her children, and acknowledged less than two years ago that her >> children did not receive all of the vaccines recommended by pediatricians. >> While not as crazy and dangerous as the anti-COVID vaccine conspiracy >> theories, the anti-Childhood Vaccine and Autism conspiracy theories are >> still plenty crazy and dangerous. >> >> >> >> In the context of the last two years (and really, just the last 13 >> months) the term “anti-vax” has become synonymous with being against the >> COVID vaccine. In that limited sense, Bialik is not, and never has been, >> anti-vax. This is a good reminder that, prior to the COVID Pandemic, many >> of us used the “Anti-Vax” position as an example of how anti-intellectual, >> anti-science conspiracy theories were prevalent on the Left as well as the >> Right, since many (though by no means all) of the anti-Vaxers prior to last >> year would locate themselves on the political and social Left. >> >> >> >> However, the term “anti-vax” has a long and juicy history that predates >> COVID. Since the late 1990s several developments (including a fraudulent >> article published in 1998 in the British Science journal Lancet by >> discredited former physician Andrew Wakefield) led to anxious conspiracy >> theories that childhood vaccinations, particularly the measles, mumps, and >> rubella (MMR) vaccine, caused Autism (or were in some way related to the >> perceived rise in the diagnosis of what is now called Autism Spectrum >> Disorder). >> >> >> >> I cannot emphasize strongly enough that the connection between >> vaccinations in general (and MMR in particular) and Autism is false. This >> has been shown repeatedly in a number of scientific articles – see for >> example: “Vaccines and Autism: A Tale of Shifting Hypotheses” by J. Gerber >> and P Offit, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2009, Feb 15, >> available at this link: >> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2908388/ >> >> >> >> Prior to 2020, the term “anti-vax” would have been applied (and in many >> cases proudly claimed) by anyone who believed that any or all of the >> childhood vaccines routinely recommended to be administered to children in >> the first 6 years of life were potentially dangerous, implicated in Autism, >> and should be either completely avoided or at least significantly delayed. >> It is in this routine and consensus pre-2020 sense of the term that Bialik >> clearly is “anti-vax.” >> >> >> >> In his article, Aaron cites and links a Vanity Fair article from last >> August, which contains the following quote from Bialik’s spokesperson: “She >> has been fully vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus and is not at all an >> anti-vaxxer.” As noted above, in the limited, COVID sense of that term, >> this is undoubtedly true, and has never been in question (except perhaps by >> causal readers of the controversy who misunderstood what was meant by >> calling her an anti-vaxxer in the first place). >> >> >> >> The VF article also cites a tweet from Bialik in 2015 which read: >> “dispelling rumors abt my stance on vaccines. i’m not anti. my kids are >> vaccinated. so much anger and hysteria. i hope this clears things up.” >> >> >> >> Unfortunately, no, it does not clear things up. She is being disingenuous >> here. The sentence “my kids are vaccinated” is only true if it is >> interpreted as meaning “my kids have had some vaccines.” But that is not >> what we mean when we say “kids are vaccinated.” What we mean is that they >> have had all medically recommended (in some cases legally required) >> vaccines on schedule. By Bialik’s own report, this was not true of her >> kids. In 2012 Bialik wrote that she had decided not to vaccinate her kids. >> In 2020 she said that her kids had not had all of the recommended >> vaccinations, and that she still believed that children were being over >> vaccinated in part so Big Pharma and doctors could make money. >> >> >> >> As noted in the VF article linked to by Aaron, Bialik wrote about her >> vaccine practice in her 2012 parenting book “Beyond the Sling” (which is >> about her approach to what is called “Attachment Parenting” – which is I >> find as increasingly popular approach to raising children among millennial >> parents which sets fewer limits with children, emphasizes natural >> childbirth and prolonged breast feeding when possible, and other facets >> which may seem a little over indulgent to many Boomer and even Gen-X >> parents, but which for the most part fall in the range of parental >> discretion). >> >> >> >> In the book, Bialik wrote: “We made an informed decision not to vaccinate >> our children…but this is a very personal decision that should be made only >> after sufficient research, which today is within reach of every parent who >> seeks to learn about their child’s health regardless of their medical >> knowledge or educational status.” >> >> >> >> In a Youtube video she put out in October 2020 (this is also in the VF >> article) Bialik said: >> >> >> >> “I wrote a book about 10 years ago about my experience parenting, and at >> the time my children had not received the typical schedule of vaccines. But >> I have never, not once, said that vaccines are not valuable, not useful, or >> not necessary, because they are…The truth is, I delayed vaccinations for >> reasons that you don’t necessarily get to know about simply because you >> follow me on social media…. As of today, my children may not have had every >> one of the vaccinations that your children have, but my children are >> vaccinated.” In the rest of the video Bialik explains her beliefs that >> children receive “way too many vaccines in this country” and that “the >> medical community often operate[s] from a place of fear in order to make >> money.” >> >> >> >> I have not been able to find specifically which vaccines Bialik most >> objects to and did not give her children. If she is smart (and she is) she >> would not say, because that would take her closer to giving medical advice, >> which she is not qualified to do (and neither am I). But in the context of >> the anti-vaccine debates of the last 25 years, the most natural >> understanding of what she has written and said is that she believes it >> reasonable to avoid or delay the MMR vaccine because it might contribute to >> Autism. At the very least, if she does not believe this, in a book about >> parenting in which she talks about not vaccinating her children, the burden >> was on her to make it clear that she rejected the conspiracy theory that >> the MMR vaccine caused Autism, because it was very predictable that without >> that qualification her statements would be understood by millions of >> parents as an endorsement of that conspiracy theory. The fact that she has >> been so quick to emphasize that her negative statements about vaccines >> should not be understood as an endorsement of the conspiracy theories about >> COVID vaccines suggests that she would have made a similar disclaimer if >> she was not a proponent of conspiracy theories about Autism and vaccines. >> >> >> None of this is directly relevant to Bialik hosting Jeopardy! I am not in >> favor of banning her or “deplatforming” her. It does make me not trust her. >> And this is on top of her record of using her real and perceived scientific >> credentials to endorse unsupported memory supplements, which I have >> discussed elsewhere on the list. >> -- >> Sent from Gmail Mobile >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkY%2B%3DxdFEN8Z1uMXOzFS%2BjS-yv35fJrc8YtcEet7u%2BXY91Q%40mail.gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkY%2B%3DxdFEN8Z1uMXOzFS%2BjS-yv35fJrc8YtcEet7u%2BXY91Q%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAD_sJGBcWtYCGoF4sjGLU3OggUVWBXY_Q9HjQirbvZAwV4kqWg%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAD_sJGBcWtYCGoF4sjGLU3OggUVWBXY_Q9HjQirbvZAwV4kqWg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4DOfxfENq%2BbGPA8iQX-BBm3AR0nheVoQqrgiS5TFpPjDw%40mail.gmail.com.
