Vaccines

[skull_bearer]

So, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I am going to be a sister again (my current brother having sort-of disowned me), as my father's wife (my stepmother) is pregnant, due in Feb.  I'm delighted for them, and glad they've decided to stay here for the birth. It will be rather strange, my father being in his 60s and my stepmother in her 40s, late doesn't begin to cover it. However they're both in good health and everything looks as if its going to go fine.

And then my father opened his usually very articulate and sensible mouth and told me they weren't going to get the baby vaccinated.

Now I was rather gratified to see my stepmother giving him an oh-no-you-don't look, she's wanted this child for ages and unlike my dad she doesn't have any of her own, but seriously, my family seems to be going out of its way to show me that everything I thougth about my family was total bull. The brother I thought I had a polite-but-indifferent relationship with flipped out completely over paramour, the nice grandmother turned out to be the collaborator, and the father I though had his head screwed on right turns out to be a tinhat wearing conspiracy theorist.

Okay, I might have guessed the last one considering he is building an insane complex thing with a crystal dome in the middle of Peruvian nowhere, but I didn't think he's stretch as far as to refuse to have his own child innoculated. I mean, bad enough in this country where the MMR diseases are rare (but slowly returning, thanks to idiots like the above), but Peru???

I knew I hadn't been innoculated either (the moment I found out, I booked an appointment with my GP stat, the diseases are bad enough as a kid, as an adult they can be lethal) but I thought that was due to my mother's lovey-dovey hippy I-don't-trust-drugs.

So when I finally got my jaw shut and told my dad what a phenomenally bad idea that was, he then came out with the following: "Well, you don't know the other side of the story."

At which point I said "Dad, if you're going to come out with that retarded Autism myth I am going to lose all respect for you."

He didn't say anything else, which leads me to believe that it was the retarded Autism myth, which was questionable when it came out and proved to be complete garbage a week later.

*facepalm x 1,000*

Comments

[kathie-d.livejournal.com]

Yup, I know I don't know you very well, but I happened to write an essay on the MMR and some of the myths surrounding it, which gives 'the other side' a rational look. If I gave it to you would he be willing to read it?

[skull-bearer.livejournal.com]

Ok sure.

[kathie-d.livejournal.com]

At my journal. :-)

[stella-polaris.livejournal.com]

Augh wth. And I assume he hasn't actually done any research himself that has lead him to come to this conclusion, simply that he's read/heard some crackpot theories and gone ZOMG VACCINES ARE BAD!

[edsigma.livejournal.com]

I'd recommend giving him a copy of "Bad Science" for Christmas, that might help him see this particular "other side" for what it is.

[skull-bearer.livejournal.com]

I'm not too worried about the kid, as I said his wife looks like she's not standing for this shit. I am rather worried about me, because it does look like I might turn into overprotective older sister :)

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

Nothing wrong with overprotective older sisters and I should know- I AM one! :o)

[ardeth30.livejournal.com]

Argh the vaccines=autism thing again; I do hope your stepmom gets her baby vaccinated. I have autism myself (Asperger's, actually) and I believe I would have it anyway, vaccine or not. Anyway, didn't the paper that linked autism to vaccines get discredited/shown to be a hoax/something along those lines?

[skull-bearer.livejournal.com]

In that it was done by someone who had no credentials to do it and the group he used was highly biased, yes.