Re: Guest Blog - ‘Anti Vaxxer’ the new dirty word?

[Guest guest]

Anyone read the Geekdad piece? Since when did someone organize a Bill Gates protest and it wasn't posted here? How did we all find out about the Green The Vaccine rally back in 2008? omg - I so would have attended that. To: Sent: Monday, July 30, 2012 1:50 PM Subject: Guest Blog - ‘Anti Vaxxer’ the new dirty word?

‘Anti Vaxxer’ the new dirty word?This entry was posted on

July 31, 2012, in

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The author of this guest-blog has asked to remain anonymous due to her

fear of being targeted by the Australian Skeptics and Stop the AVN. She

is the parent of vaccine-damaged children – some of whom are on the

autistic spectrum. She found Bowditch’s assaults against families

of vaccine-injured children to be incredibly disturbing. As a result, she

chose to write about her fears regarding where society is headed when

parents who love and cherish their children can be abused because of

their health choices. If you agree that nobody has the right to treat

another individual in this way, please make a supportive comment on this

blog page. It doesn’t matter whether you are pro-vaccine, anti-vaccine or

somewhere in the middle – any decent human being would have to accept

that harassment, abuse and discrimination are never justified. Oppose

Bowditch and the incredibly vile comments of those who support him

by speaking up for the right to make our own choices on this and all

health issues. If you are on Twitter, please use the hashtag

#DumpBowditch on your tweets to encourage Mia Freedman of

Mamamia and other venues where

this man publishes his hate-speech to no longer allow him an opportunity

for abuse. Feel free to drop them a line as well, telling them how you

feel about this issue.

Our history is full of people using terms to incite hostility, fear

and resentment against other groups, and now is the age of the ‘Anti

Vaxxer’ – the title given to people who question the safety and in some

cases the necessity of vaccinations.

If you look in the newspapers or on the internet, you will see that

people who question vaccine safety are ridiculed, condemned and

discriminated against on quite a regular basis. You might think,

“Surely this behaviour is not promoted by supposedly intelligent,

rational beings in this day and age?â€, but unfortunately you would be

wrong.

Just look at this list of recent quotes from newspapers such as the Daily

Telegraph and blogs and articles from around the world…

“Parents who dodge vaccinating their kids are pocketing

thousands of

dollarsâ€

[1]

“…babies die because of the antivaccination

movement.â€

[2]

“Bill Gates Says Anti-Vaccine Autism Groups “Kill Children†— And

He’s

Rightâ€

[3]

“NSW paediatrician Dr Ingall added this: “We’re appalled at how

many kids are getting whooping cough because the chardonnay set and the

alternatives don’t vaccinate their

children.â€

[4]

When did raising your child with love, respect, a healthy diet,

plenty of fresh air, sunshine and exercise, while limiting their exposure

to toxins become a crime?

If you listen to what these people are saying, anyone who does not

vaccinate their child is a money grabbing, disease causing, child

killer.

So who are these supposed child killers’?

Many are parents who have vaccine injured/killed children; some are

educated and health-conscious individuals who want a more natural

approach to good health; and some are alternative practitioners, doctors

or scientists. Do any of these groups sound like child killers to you?

What they all have in common is something that most of us take for

granted: the belief that everyone deserves the right to decide what the

best health choices are for themselves and their families

I find the hostile attitude towards parents of vaccine injured children

particularly astounding, as parents of children that have been killed or

disabled have always been treated with an outpouring of compassion,

understanding and empathy. If the death or injury have been caused by a

vaccine however, they are somehow no longer worthy of these basic human

emotions.

Instead, we get open hostility and contempt as seen in the case of

Bowditch who asks vaccine-injured parents if they get sexual

pleasure from seeing dead babies!

And how does our society respond to a man who can say such vile

things? Well, apparently it is no big deal, as he still continues

to write articles for the popular women’s and children’s website

Mamamia! Is this the kind of individual who should be writing about

women and children’s health?

Another very disturbing aspect to come out of this portrayal of ‘anti

vaxxers’ is that the media, government and medical vaccine advocates are

working together in promoting an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality. These

groups are actively condoning discrimination and in turn, persecution of

the Australian Vaccination Network, it’s founder Meryl Dorey and

anyone associated with them. Is this what our true Aussie spirit is

about now? Be there for your mate but only if he

vaccinates.

Persecute

1. To oppress or harass with ill-treatment, especially because of

race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or beliefs.

2. To annoy persistently; bother.

Discrimination

1. (Sociology) unfair treatment of a person, racial group,

minority, etc.; action based on prejudice

Minority

a. A racial, religious, political, national, or other group

thought to be different from the larger group of which it is

part.

b. A group having little power or representation relative to

other groups within a society.

We as a society believe that discrimination, harassment and

persecution against minorities or any law-abiding citizen is

unconscionable. Now however, it seems that it is acceptable if the

minority or individual in question does not vaccinate to a government

approved schedule.

What these harassers of ‘anti-vaxxers’ do not realise (or maybe they do)

is that they are laying the foundation for persecution and repression of

people that are just trying to raise their families in the healthiest way

possible.

The path to repression begins with many small steps. It starts with the

gradual wearing away of someone else’s rights through restriction of

employment, public education, and government entitlements. Then comes

ostracism whilst creating fear, hostility and resentment towards the

group in question from the rest of society. Not too soon after

that, segregation comes in to the mix.

You may think that this is an unlikely scenario, but I cannot tell you

how many times everyday mums and dads have told me to keep my children

out of schools with vaccinated children; to stay out of public places

where vaccinated people may be exposed to our disease-causing germs; some

have even wished that all people who don’t vaccinate could be murdered or

expressed a wish for their children to die from disease!

Countless times in history we have seen that ugliness in human nature

breeds more ugliness. Intolerance, discrimination, persecution,

repression are all formed through fear and hatred. Have we learned

nothing from the past, or are we just so insecure that we always have to

look for someone to oppress in order to make ourselves feel powerful and

dominant?

If this type of hostility continues towards people who just want the

right to make choices for their own families, what do we have to look

forward to in the future?

[1]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-news/vaccine-dodgers-win-big/story-e6freuzi-1226426099974

[2]

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/category/antiscience/page/78/

[3]

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/02/bill-gates-says-anti-vaccine-autism-groups-kill-children-hes-right/

[4]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/doctors-warn-parents-to-keep-newborns-at-home-as-whooping-cough-epidemic-escalates/story-e6freuy9-1226055946293

Meryl Dorey,

Spokesperson

The Australian Vaccination Network, Inc.

Investigate before you vaccinate

Editor,

Living Wisdom Magazine

Family, Health, Environment

PO Box 177

BANGALOW NSW 2479

AUSTRALIA

http://www.avn.org.au/

http://www.living-wisdom.com

Phone: 02 6687 1699

FAX 02 6687 2032

skype: ivmmag

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merely the opportunity to choose between set alternatives. Freedom is,

first of all, the chance to formulate the available choices, to argue

over them -- and then, the opportunity to choose. - C.

Mills

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skin. - Gloria Steinem

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Sheri Nakken, former R.N., MA, Hahnemannian

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Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Washington State, USA

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