October 18th, 2008
July 22nd, 2008
In light of this asshole’s comments, I thought I’d give my 2 cents. Up front - before the hate comments start rolling in - I’d like to state some facts about me and my family: 1) I have 2 kids (ages 2.5 and 7 months) who have been and currently are vaccinated 2) I live in NJ where the rate of autism is significantly higher than anywhere else in the country (can anyone say pharmaceutical and chemical company capital of the world??? - you know this shit is in the water, soil, air (oh and did I mention I live 2 blocks from Schering Plough - great!). I’m not a big book reader due to lack of time and therefore, I read a lot of magazines (mostly the parenting type and any science type magazines my husband has laying around the house). I’ve seen articles ranging from “My Kid has Autism because they were vaccinated” to “Vaccinations don’t cause autism”. I have interacted with kids with autism. I will say this - I think given the wide spectrum of autism - it is going to be a VERY long time before scientists figure out what “causes” autism. Firstly, another fact about me - I am not a scientist. I don’t have a science degree (if you care, I have a BS in International Business, Finance and German). In fact, I wasn’t really ever very good at science. But, life has taught me a few lessons: 1) We are destroying our environment (no, I’m not a hippie, tree-hugger - though I try to do my part) and that has got to have some effect on human (and other forms of) life and 2) I, myself, have health problems that really have yet to be diagnosed/explained (that is another post all in itself!). That being said, you have just read my point to this whole bit - I, personally, think that many things figure into autism - the environment, the things we stick in and on our bodies, vaccines (in conjunction with the aforementioned), genes - the list goes on. Why is autism higher in NJ? Why does the rate of autism not decrease despite measures such as removing thimerasol from vaccines? Why is there so much more autism today than when I was a kid? As a mother, I of course worry about lots of things and this definitely is one of them. However, I also had an uncle who died of polio (when the vaccine was just coming about and incidently 6 boys in his neighborhood got the disease and died or were subject to an iron lung). And frankly, I would rather spend a lifetime with a child with autism thanhave my child die from a previously eradicated disease that could have been prevented. Therefore, I have chose to vaccinate my kids. I get very angry when I see/hear/read parents who get up and say “Vaccines Did This to My Child”. Clearly, science has proven that autism in not solely caused by vaccines (doctors with kids with autism have stated this). Common sense would indicate that every child who is vaccinated would then have autism. You don’t need a science degree to figure that one out. Jenny McCarthy fully states that by putting her autistic child (who she claims was “killed” by his vaccinations) on a special diet, he has improved greatly. This also proves to me that there is more to it than just the vaccines and most likely an environmental and/or genetic component. The comments made my Michael Savage were clearly out of line, but honestly, if you have ever listened to this guy, you would know what an ass he really is. Whether or not you have a child with autism or kids at all, please take in all of the information that is out there before making choices. Love your kids no matter what their problems. If you are going to make assinine comments, keep them to yourself (especially if you work in the field of media). Let’s try and make this world a better place - if only one step at a time. God bless, people - GOD BLESS!