Is there nothing that the power of internet rumbling cannot now achieve? First a handful of sadmads toppled the CEO of Mozilla because he didn't like the gays enough, and now the online hooligans have managed to stop Chili's Restaurants -- that shining paragon of weirdly glazed baby back rib-fueled casual dining -- from giving money to anti-vaxxers. Will these thugs stop at nothing??
On the one hand, the intractable part of dealing with autism is that we simply do not have an explanation. Your suggestions are no worse than those of the anti-vaxxers, but there is also no more support for your ideas than for theirs. It's a bitch.
On the other hand, you have illuminated what I believe is the motivating factor behind the vaxxers blind insistence that vaccines are the cause -- they are trying to avoid feeling guilt. They are terrified at the possibility that their children's autism may be the parents' fault -- either because of genetic predisposition, late-life childbirth, or avoidable exposure to pathogens. It doesn't matter to some of them that there should not be any guilt over something they didn't know about (and that we STILL don't know about).
It's the "my child is an extension of me" thing. If my child isn't perfect, and there isn't an identifiable reason, it must be because it's my fault. Therefore, I will grasp at any possible reason. Gummint vaccinations -- that'll do.
Glad they responded fast, and responsibly. I will allow corporate drones to make mistakes, if they fix them.
Wait, oh god, does this mean I have to eat at Chili's now? I'm already gagging down graham crackers, and feeding cheerios to the local pigeon population.
*googlegoogle* ... whew, looks like there aren't any in NYC. Thanks, Chili's!!
There is a term in psychology for people who cling to a belief despite being given ample credible evidence to the contrary: delusional. I'm starting to think that anti-vaxers are just a variant of the nice ordinary people who think they are having an affair with the news anchor.
I almost forgot about Cheerios. Remember when that guy tried to burn a box of Cheerios in a desolate area in a strong wind?
And continue on with arroz con polio.
Lets just call 100,000+ a "conservative" estimate.
Mexican food in NYC is mostly just sad. Nearest decent Mex is Chicago.
And the slogan was done up in such lovely french letters...
On the one hand, the intractable part of dealing with autism is that we simply do not have an explanation. Your suggestions are no worse than those of the anti-vaxxers, but there is also no more support for your ideas than for theirs. It's a bitch.
On the other hand, you have illuminated what I believe is the motivating factor behind the vaxxers blind insistence that vaccines are the cause -- they are trying to avoid feeling guilt. They are terrified at the possibility that their children's autism may be the parents' fault -- either because of genetic predisposition, late-life childbirth, or avoidable exposure to pathogens. It doesn't matter to some of them that there should not be any guilt over something they didn't know about (and that we STILL don't know about).
It's the "my child is an extension of me" thing. If my child isn't perfect, and there isn't an identifiable reason, it must be because it's my fault. Therefore, I will grasp at any possible reason. Gummint vaccinations -- that'll do.
This made me think of Terry Pratchett's weasles.
Hey, what's an order of magnitude among friends?
Let's not forget who the birthers voted for in 2000 and 2004.
As ridiculous as the anti-vax brigade is, I don't think they have 100,000+ deaths and an officially sanctioned torture program to their name.
Yet.
Probably an equally strong correlation with the consumption of McDonald's fries. Maybe they should look into that...
Glad they responded fast, and responsibly. I will allow corporate drones to make mistakes, if they fix them.
Wait, oh god, does this mean I have to eat at Chili's now? I'm already gagging down graham crackers, and feeding cheerios to the local pigeon population.
*googlegoogle* ... whew, looks like there aren't any in NYC. Thanks, Chili's!!
There is a term in psychology for people who cling to a belief despite being given ample credible evidence to the contrary: delusional. I'm starting to think that anti-vaxers are just a variant of the nice ordinary people who think they are having an affair with the news anchor.
It's part of the Bring Back Polio campaign.
"Think"?
That lady with the dingo.
Elvis?