Best of Age of Autism: Paul Offit and the Milgram Experiment
Managing Editor's Note: John Stone wrote this post in 2010.
By John Stone
Question: "How many vaccines is it safe for a pediatrician to give a two month old infant?"
Answer: "It depends how much they are getting paid." An old joke
The Milgram experiment has long passed into modern folklore. In 1961 a 28 year-old psychologist at Yale, Stanley Milgram, devised an experiment to test the preparedness of ordinary citizens to co-operate in performing inhuman acts.
In the experiment volunteers were induced (as they believed at the time) into subjecting another party to ever larger doses of electricity:
“The subjects believed they were part of an experiment supposedly dealing with the relationship between punishment and learning. An experimenter—who used no coercive powers beyond a stern aura of mechanical and vacant-eyed efficiency—instructed participants to shock a learner by pressing a lever on a machine each time the learner made a mistake on a word-matching task. Each subsequent error led to an increase in the intensity of the shock in 15-volt increments, from 15 to 450 volts.
“In actuality, the shock box was a well-crafted prop and the learner an actor who did not actually get shocked. The result: A majority of the subjects continued to obey to the end—believing they were delivering 450 volt shocks—simply because the experimenter commanded them to. Although subjects were told about the deception afterward, the experience was a very real and powerful one for them during the laboratory hour itself.” (See Psychology Today HERE)
65% of participants complied with the experiment to the bitter end. Milgram subsequently explained the experiment:
“The legal and philosophic aspects of obedience are of enormous importance, but they say very little about how most people behave in concrete situations. I set up a simple experiment at Yale University to test how much pain an ordinary citizen would inflict on another person simply because he was ordered to by an experimental scientist. Stark authority was pitted against the subjects' [participants'] strongest moral imperatives against hurting others, and, with the subjects' [participants'] ears ringing with the screams of the victims, authority won more often than not. The extreme willingness of adults to go to almost any lengths on the command of an authority constitutes the chief finding of the study and the fact most urgently demanding explanation.
“Ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process. Moreover, even when the destructive effects of their work become patently clear, and they are asked to carry out actions incompatible with fundamental standards of morality, relatively few people have the resources needed to resist authority.” (HERE)
Without commenting directly on vaccine science I believe it is possible to recognize the elements of social control here. The authoritarian construction is far more certain than the safety of the products. Offit gives us to understand that even if our children were to receive 10,000 vaccines in one go it would still be safe: therefore there can be no issue over 5 or 10 in one go, or dozens over the course of a childhood. In fact, in most cases the practitioners will know only slightly more about the products than the assenting parents. Moreover, everyone has to be persuaded that are no real long-term adverse consequences, and even where they are apparent they are coincidental.
But it is interesting to note that Offit provides a theoretical proposition which does not even depend upon the product: never mind how many there are (and how different they are) they are all safe and perfectly manufactured – it is as if they do not even have to be tested. Indeed, however dramatic the adverse effect they know in advance it wasn’t the vaccine.
Arguing with authority in the middle of the past decade in the UK it was alarming how frequently the fall-back position was Offit’s vacuous claim (See BMJ letters HERE). Even the UK’s vaccine supremo Prof David Salisbury could appear on television declaring it was safe to give an infant 1000 vaccines. Meanwhile, he admitted to me:
"Turning to my comments on Newsnight - I suggest you read Paul Offit's paper - as I have done. On page 126, he states: "Current data suggest that the theoretical capacity determined by diversity of antibody variable gene regions would allow for as many as 109 (1,000,000,000) to 1011(100,000,000,000) different antibody specificities". And "... then each infant would have the theoretical capacity to respond to about 10,000 vaccines at any one time" - not antigens. I was speaking very specifically about the infant immune system's ability to respond, in the context of the ridiculous suggestion that the new vaccine combination, containing far fewer antigens than the one it will replace, would overload the immune system. My words were "The immune system of a baby has got huge spare capacity to deal with challenge. If we didn't, the human race wouldn't survive. But let's look specifically at vaccine. This has been studied carefully. A baby's immune system could actually tolerate perfectly well 1,000 vaccines". At no point did I suggest that 1,000 vaccines would not increase the probability of adverse reactions - a quite different matter." (Email August 26, 2004 10.03 am)
We are, of course, not talking about theoretical vaccines or theoretical infants, nor is there any experimental base that he can cite. We, unfortunately, have the experimental base which is our own children and we are not being listened to - like the imaginary victim in Stanley Milgram’s experiment except that we are not imaginary and neither are our children. Nor, as the present Rotateq vaccine scandal demonstrates do we have remotest idea what is really in the vaccines.
John Stone is UK Editor for Age of Autism
Offit has been rewarded handsomely for his servitude to his Big Pharma overlords, so has Julie Gerberding.. people who obey will be rewarded. Those who disobey (Jenny McCarthy, Andrew Wakefield) will be punished, smeared, attacked and their careers destroyed. The message is clear: obey or else.
Posted by: SarahW | February 14, 2014 at 01:55 PM
"Dr." prOffit did not mention one very important detail that
antigens (germs,bacteria,viruses)naturally enter the body through the lungs (inhalation),absorption (touching contaminated hospital bed),digestion (eating an under-cooked burger)but in these situations no adjuvants,heavy metals, aluminum ingredients,other vaccine ingredients etc. enter into the body.The lungs,stomach,kidneys,liver and the immune system have a much higher ability to deal with the infections without adverse reactions. The injections on the other hand DIRECTLY enter the blood stream (after absorption) and bypassing the body's defense system.
The aggressive vaccination schedule and the multiple vaccinations are responsible for this Autism Epidemic. Anybody who makes millions from vaccines should not be in charge of the vaccine schedule.Yes,dr.prOffit,it is you who deserve those 10,000 vaccines.Please roll up your sleeves.
Posted by: oneVoice | April 19, 2013 at 01:55 AM
It's interesting to read that Prof. David Salisbury wrote: "At no point did I suggest that 1,000 vaccines would not increase the probability of adverse reactions - a quite different matter." (Email August 26, 2004 10.03 am)
When I tried to take the matter of toxicity up with the Dep.of Health, Prof. Salisbury did not answer but advised that I contact Dr Offit!
http://vactruth.com/2012/04/16/10000-crazy-vaccines/
Posted by: Sandy | May 19, 2012 at 08:37 AM
Just change the word of electricity to
larger and LARGER doses of vaccines and toxic ingredients
and think about compulsory vaccination- as a profitable,
wide scale experimentation with public health,also undermining parental rights to take control of our children's vaccinations.A major interference by corrupted
politicians and profit hungry pharma.We are going downhill
from here.
Posted by: oneVoice | October 29, 2011 at 10:08 AM
I loved this article when it first came out and I still love it. For so many of us who are searching for an explanation as to how widespread vaccine injury (and death) can continue in a civilized society, the Milgram experiment provides some understanding.
There must be an evolutionary reason for humans' unquestioning trust in and obedience toward people in positions of authority. Unfortunately, technology magnifies human error a millionfold, so the mistakes made by today's leaders are far more devastating than those of past civilizations.
Posted by: pass the popcorn | October 28, 2011 at 03:27 PM
Friends, please review this pesticide factsheet "Boric acid
and Borates from Caroline Cox, she is a NCAP's staff scientist. Please print out the copies and share with family and friends,post this every-whwere.This info needs
FLY out to everybody - animal studies and human exposure studies indicate that exposure to boric acid(contained in
Gardasil)can reduce ability to successful reproduction.
DANGER,GARDASIL MAY IMPAIR FERTILITY.One of the "inert"
ingredients in boric acid is arsenic;boric acid can disrupt sperm production,reduces motility(unable to move or slower)
testicle atrophy and inhibition of the formation of DNA
(genetic material)in sperm cells.In animal studies boric acid reduced pregnancy success,had effects on birth weight,
caused variety of birth defects and malformations.How it
can disrupt normal development,effect genes,brain malformations,etc.This study also identifies boric acid as
a hormone system disrupter.In animal studies reduction of testosterone(reproductive) and thyroid (metabolic)hormones
were noted.Boric acid is combined with polysorbates (reproductive toxin)and aluminum adjuvants (mito-toxin)in
the Gardasil garbage vaccine.
Conclusion of the study:Boric acid has the ability to disrupt reproduction and development.((Journal of Pesticide Reform / Summer 2004,Vol.24,No.2)
Posted by: oneVoice | October 26, 2011 at 10:27 AM
Let's not forget that Dr Paul Offit's initial vaccine number was 100,000 then he quickly corrected himself to 10,000!
http://www.whale.to/vaccines/offit23.html
@ j-insanity
You often wonder why Dr Poul Thorsen is not receiving the same treatment as Dr Andrew Wakefield!? Or is he, and it is being kept out of the media!
Elizabeth
Posted by: AussieMum | October 25, 2011 at 08:16 PM
I'm sure AoA is already on top of this, but in case they aren't, there has been an interesting development from the Danish Autism study. Not that any of us will be surprised, but it is nice to see the lies by the CDC come out.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/scandal-exposed-in-major-study-of-autism-and-mercury-132519518.html
Posted by: j-insanity | October 25, 2011 at 10:24 AM