Courage is the precursor to vulnerability and vulnerability is the precursor to connection. And we ALL need human connection.
Courage and vulnerability. These attributes resonate with me greatly and contrary to what many believe social media platforms are for (baby pics, animal videos, restaurant suggestions, etc.) I also choose to use mine to do hard things.
Lately the hardest thing that has been requiring bravery and vulnerability for me to do, is to share some unpopular information about vaccination. In doing so, it’s been insinuated that I:
1) Am endangering the life of my son
2) Am cold and uncaring towards the immunocompromised
3) Am selfishly going against the greater good of herd immunity
4) Am anti-science
5) Am cherry picking my stats and am falling victim to anti-vax propaganda
6) Am spreading dangerous falsehoods
My old self, the me of five or six years ago, the people pleaser would have shied away from discussing this any further. In fact, I’ve been warned by some about the ugliness of this topic and that it’s best to keep your choices private. However a bill has been introduced at the federal level which essentially forces mandatory vaccines on all vaccine-capable children (if you want access to, you know, a driver’s license or a passport, or for your child to receive a free and appropriate education that your tax dollars are already paying for) and it’s about to get uglier before it gets better. **Those of you who are for all vaccines except the flu shot (which still harbors the mercury-containing Thimerasol) and the extremely controversial HPV shot, please know that the CDC schedule that you are supporting we mandate INCLUDES those and you will not be able to pick and choose which vaccines to opt out of.** Presidential race 2020 is coming up and almost all democratic candidates are FOR this, which scares the sh*t out of me. The time for keeping my mouth shut has expired; I refuse to quietly slink into a hole and take this lying down.
Cue courage. It takes courage to speak out against this when the majority think I should be a good girl and “vaccinate my crotch goblin” (a phrase that comes across my FB newsfeed more times than I would like to admit), lest he become a plague-carrying menace to society, eventually leading to the obliteration of the entire population. Never mind that 0.00001% of adults I know are 100% up to date on today’s robust childhood vaccination schedule, and that the large majority of vaccines are only designed to protect the injected individual as opposed to the masses, and that a side effect of many vaccines IS the illness itself (anyone ever get the flu right after getting a flu shot?). Side note: ever wonder why we don't fear the other thousands of diseases for which there are no vaccine for?
I hear so many well intentioned people parroting phrases that they have heard over and over again and believe to be true. Phrases such as “measles is deadly and was eradicated”, “vaccines are proven to be safe and effective”, “vaccinate for the greater good of herd immunity”, “we have to protect our most vulnerable”, and “the science is settled.” But have you ever stopped to look into the truthfulness of these popular statements? Have you?? If you’re still with me, let’s dig in.
“Measles is deadly and was eradicated.” No. It’s. No. Longer. Deadly. And. It. Has. Never. Been. Eradicated. Measles used to be a common childhood illness like the chickenpox. It has not killed someone in the US since 2003, and even then that was one individual, likely with some other health issues going on. In third world countries where there are significant nutritional and vitamin deficiencies, as well as limited access to clean water and sanitary living conditions, yes. The media advertises the stats from third world countries to us in the US. Measles was “declared” eradicated in 2000 but it never was. It’s a cyclical disease with cases every year; some years have more cases, some have less. This is a year with many more cases which has led to a mass paranoia fueled by the media. They are quick to blame the unvaccinated when the vaccinated are also spreading it as well. You know why you never hear about the updates on all of these cases? Because it doesn’t sell. NOTHING HAPPENS. They get well again and don’t die and get a bonus of lifetime immunity. That doesn’t engage viewers.
“Vaccines are proven to be safe and effective.” Where? Which studies? Are the studies bought and paid for by the very organizations that stand to benefit from the results of these studies (big pHARMa)? *Hint: the CDC owns dozens of vaccine patents. Conflict of interest, much??* You think just because vaccines have passed inspection by the FDA that they are safe? What about all of the drugs that have been recalled? Look into Vioxx (which incidentally looks a lot like vaxxed). It killed a lot of people. Merck knew about it. They covered up what they knew. Eventually they were found out and sued. Oh yeah, and Merck makes the very vaccines that we shoot into our children. What about the fact that Monsanto knew that Round Up causes cancer and tried to cover it up for decades and was finally successfully sued for 2 Billion dollars? The same FDA that approved that? The same FDA the continues to allow it to be sold on grocery store shelves today?
“Vaccinate for the greater good of herd immunity.” Oh for the love of Pete. This is the fattest lie propagated by the media and politicians to ensure compliance. Four reasons why we can never achieve herd immunity: (1) Vaccines can and do fail (2) Vaccines made with live viruses can shed and infect others while the host remains an asymptomatic carrier (3) Vaccine immunity wanes over time, often sooner than you would think and (4) The percentage of adults who are up to date is estimated to be under 20%. Herd immunity is a fallacy. How else do you explain the USS Fort McHenry—a naval warship with over 700 military members, with a 100% vaccination rate? And yet, despite a rigorous quarantine protocol, they had a mumps outbreak. How does that happen if everyone has been vaccinated and herd immunity works?
“We have to protect our most vulnerable.” Let’s talk about pregnant women, who are now being strongly coerced into getting the flu shot and the tDap. It’s all over the walls of OB practices and on the CDC website that it’s safe and effective for pregnant women to receive these shots and yet it says right on the inserts of the vaccines themselves “Safety and effectiveness of X vaccine has not been established in pregnant women.” We (the US) have the #1 infant mortality rate on first day of life and first year of life of any developed country BY FAR. The infant mortality rate is 5.82 per 1000 births in the US and only 1.9 per 1000 for Japan. Guess which country does not vaccinate under two years of age, recommends less vaccines overall, and has the lowest SIDS rate? Guess which country vaccinates their children more than any other country in the world? Something is not adding up.
And finally, “the science is settled.” Nothing is ever settled with science, which is constantly evolving. The more you know, the better you do. Smoking while pregnant used to be a common practice and even prescribed by doctors to help with constipation. DDT used to be sprayed directly onto kids. Cocaine used to be an allowable ingredient. Allowable levels of mercury and lead used to be through the roof. I guarantee you, in a few years (and sooner than you think because the pro-informed-consent movement is strongly growing and demanding reform), things will come to light that will change the current narrative that our current solution is safe and effective for ALL.
So before you tell me, “Michelle, why don’t you just be a good girl and do what you’re told?” hear this: I spent three decades of my life doing that. I spent thousands of dollars for most of my adult life just to continue to feel sick, tired, and to remain infertile for seven years before I began making significant changes to my healthcare choices. You know what? No thanks. I think I’ll question everything I’ve been told, and the more deeply ingrained and pervasive the message, the more I’ll question it.
California has passed Orwellian bills, all voted for my Democrats. Why is it “my body my choice” but not for vaccines? Why is it “believe her” but not when she’s saying she took a healthy kid in for a well visit and everything changed after those shots? You think it’s going to stop at children and public schools? Next it’s going to be grocery stores, parks, and churches. Then it’s going to be adult schedules too. There are hundreds of additional proposed vaccines in the pipeline. If we give away this power to government mandates, we all lose. My dear democrat friends, please pay attention. Republicans too. We need to unite on this. Come to think of it, we need to put aside our differences and attempt to unite on everything.
Look. I didn’t want to believe this either. I went into this thinking that I would find out that vaccines weren't perfect but that their benefits would outweigh rare costs. Tears were shed over what I found out. I’ve lost “friends” over this. I have recieved heaps of judgment over this. It’s okay. Now is the time for bravery and speaking out, no matter how unpopular the message may be. If even one person begins thinking about mandatory vaccination in a different light due to this post, it’s worth it.
 |
| Me and my son posing with Robert F Kennedy Jr, champion for children's health and vaccine choice |
