Houston Chronicle Reports Vaccine Exemptions on Rise
"The number of Texans who exempt their children from vaccination for non-medical reasons rose nearly 9 percent last school year, continuing a now 12-year-long trend that public health officials worry could eventually leave communities vulnerable to outbreaks of preventable diseases." Houston Chronicle
The obvious question is why? Have we suddenly become reckless caretakers? No. American consumers are savvy. Parents' radar is picking up signals of chronic illness in their friends' kids, their own kids. Doubt has wiggled its way from the back of the mind to the forefront. "Is this a safe choice for my child?" they ask. "I'm not sure," they answer. More parents are saying, "I do not know," despite the crushing media and government push to pretend there are no safety concerns with vaccination.
Does the article ask "Why" or just shame parents. Well the Houston Chronicle has an immediate paywall. And I ain't paying. Let's just take a wild guess.....
Each time you read the words, "vaccine preventable disease," you're being sold a bill of goods to instill fear. Fear triggers guilt and guilt takes over decision making.
These lyrics are from the musical South Pacific, which opened in 1949. The theme is racism - but the premise carries over into the current demonization of families who support vaccine choice.
You can't hate someone until you make them an enemy. You can't make them an enemy until you fear them. Americans are being taught to fear CHILDREN. Your children. My children. Healthy, disease free CHILDREN. By the United States government. By Presidential candidates. By Senators. Congressmen. CDC leadership. And the pharma-directed US mainstream media. It's FRIGHTENING.
You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.
Kim
Fantabulous!
It looks like the Texans are catching on! Perhaps by the next census, they will join the %5+ Exemption Club with Vermont, Idaho, Michigan and Oregon!
Posted by: Narad | August 24, 2016 at 06:47 PM
Should have said :
"that public health officials (criminals) worry could eventually leave communities vulnerable to outbreaks of populations entirely free and absent of autism" Houston Chronicle
Posted by: Hans Litten | August 21, 2016 at 06:38 PM
Does anyone feel like the underlying hatred driving these messages is really towards anyone contemplating, or at least not ruling out, becoming a parent (if not simply towards anyone breathing air without permission upon the planet)?
Why the continual either/or of risking vaccine injury (which will be authoritatively denied leaving you on your own...take note, subconsciously if you like, but don't let on that you notice) versus risking infectious disease (which you're supposed to equate with death or paralysis, and expect full responsibility for all fears of, etc. if you've skipped a vaccine for something in the vicinity of an outbreak of something)?
Posted by: Jeannette Bishop | August 18, 2016 at 11:01 PM
Dear Mr. Stone- thank you for your usual high standard of relevant and objective reportage. I look forward to your articles with great interest.
When the media/pharma liars attempt to smear Dr. Wakefield as "the father of the anti vaccine movement"- which is a common and tired trope- the following data is useful and impossible to overcome in the world where the Earth is an oblate spheroid and concerned parents ignore celebrity advice on medical procedures. Anyone should feel free to cut and paste, and post as often as possible:
"Dr. Wakefield is described by your obviously uniformed journalist/medical professional/paid bloviator as the "father of the anti-vaccine movement. This is nonsense. Wakefield's retracted article in an obscure, low circulation medical journal was published more than 15 years ago. It was the 2008 and 2009 public comments by the late, former NIH director Dr. Bernadine Healy that engaged the public in the vaccine/autism issue.
Dr. Healy's CBS Evening News interview aired a full ten years after Wakefield's article. Reporter Sharyl Attkisson earned not only several Emmys, but the most prestigious award in investigative journalism- the Edward R. Murrow Award. Dr. Healy clearly stated, to 42.5 million views in the United States alone: "the Institute of Medicine is scared to study large groups of children with autism" because of where the science may lead; and: "a one size fits all vaccine schedule is medically indefensible."
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-open-question-on-vaccines-and-autism/
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/heart-to-heart/2009/04/14/the-vaccines-autism-war-dtente-needed
That your editors and reporters continue to ignore Dr. Healy and deflect to Dr. Wakefield is causing grave harm to children all over the world. The conduct of the fourth estate with regards to this issue amounts to complicity in a deliberate cover up."
Posted by: Ottoschnaut | August 17, 2016 at 10:05 AM
Good point, Rachel. (I had to read it more than once.) Del Bigtree, #VAXXED Q&A in Provo, performs on this theme.
Posted by: Dan Burns | August 17, 2016 at 05:51 AM
You need to ba careful with Nazi memes...
That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the vaxxers for compliance and exposing the children to danger. It works the same way in any country.
Posted by: Rachel | August 17, 2016 at 04:18 AM
Forgive me for the Nazi meme, but this is relevent. Here is what the Göring said at the Nuremberg trials: Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.
And by substituting anti-vaxxers for pacifists, and compliance for patriotism, we get this!:
That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the anti-vaxxers for lack of compliance and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.
This is exactly what they are doing! How many times have you been accused of manslaughter for not vaccinating your childen? This is doublespeak!
Posted by: Narad | August 16, 2016 at 05:00 PM
Kim writes:
"You can't hate someone until you make them an enemy. You can't make them an enemy until you fear them. Americans are being taught to fear CHILDREN. Your children. My children. Healthy, disease free CHILDREN. By the United States government. By Presidential candidates. By Senators. Congressmen. CDC leadership. And the pharma-directed US mainstream media. It's FRIGHTENING.
Saul Alinsky's well-studied book on instigating revolutions .. "Rules for Radicals" ... lists as the 12th rule:
RULE 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions. (This is cruel, but very effective. Direct, personalized criticism and ridicule works.)
Which explains why PARENTS .. being just PEOPLE .. are selected as TARGETS .. by main-steam media and public health officials .. determined to .. "freeze them, personalize them, polarize them, isolate them" ... who cares if it's "cruel" as long as it is "very effective".
Posted by: Bob Moffit | August 16, 2016 at 02:14 PM
The Google cache is another option.
Posted by: Reading Is Fundamental | August 16, 2016 at 02:03 PM
Brilliant, Anne.
Posted by: Taximom5 | August 16, 2016 at 09:00 AM
Excellent writing!
Posted by: Brett Wilcox | August 16, 2016 at 08:11 AM
I believe the song 'Carefully Taught', won a Pulitzer Prize in the 1950's (from South Pacific -Rodgers and Hammerstein). What does it take to win a P P now? ( Brian Deer claimed his UK Sunday Times anti Wakefield pro MMR vaccine articles won a UK Pulitzer Prize. Dream on Brian -there's no such thing! His poxy press award, involved two Murdoch employed judges.)
Posted by: Jenny Allan | August 16, 2016 at 07:08 AM
Bravo.
Posted by: Dan Burns | August 16, 2016 at 06:23 AM