2011-02-02, 05:40 AM
This thread makes me rage. So fucking hard. It doesn't help that I'm drunk, but whatever. I'll try and sum up everything I'd try and say in a short post, but lord knows I tend to ramble, so bear with me if I do.
I suppose to sum it all up, I sympathize with Talia's comment in the last post regarding being cautious about vaccines due to horrible personal experiences. I don't doubt that anyone who has experience the statistical minority probability would feel cheated by the system and upset at what occurred, forever vengeful against whatever powers that be that caused their unfortunate outcome.
But the bottom line is that what we're discussing here is BIOLOGY, one of the few (or perhaps its own stand-alone subject in this category) subjects in this world that is FOREVER changing, and FOREVER an individual science. It's why I love it so much, and why I get so frustrated when I see threads like these: because the people that are most vocal against the best policies are those very few who experienced the worst outcomes.
That's all it is. I'm sorry to break your hearts, but not everything works 100% of the time for everyone in the world of biology. There is no, and will ever be, a cure-all drug for a disease or ailment that works for any and all afflicted. It's just not possible, simply because everyone is different, and everyone individual makeup and life experiences and interactions with other people and things that harbor biological pathogens are different.
So what do we do then? I'm not asking for blind faith, like many religious zealots following their ancient texts. But what I am asking is to follow the truth of science, from many different perspectives, and specifically to follow the general consensus. That's the main contention here. To follow the GENERAL. CONSENSUS.
I've seen a ton of articles and crap studies posted in this thread from rando crazed scientists ironically trying to make a buck on crackpot theories that conspiracy theorists like some of you post to make a point. I'm sorry, but they're WRONG, and can be debunked with hundreds of articles, studies, and commentary for each shred of farse you post. Don't believe me? Just look over this thread, where the majority of posts are counterarguments trying to prevent the spread of misinformation. A bunch of you are just a bunch of ignoramists.
I don't sit here and pretend to know everything. I don't know everything. I'm not going to dictate how international economic policy could function because I don't know the first goddamn thing about my own local economic policy. A good lot of you should take the same approach with regards to vaccinations: you're not microbial scientists, you haven't done the research, you haven't done the articles, and are instead listening to the old wives tales and paranoid ramblings of your FOX News-informed neighbors regarding how to best live your lives. Make your OWN decisions by doing your OWN research and reading the FACTS from a NUMBER of RELIABLE sources. That's how this world will truly move forward in the end.
So to get off my drunken soapbox, what does this all have to do with the topic at hand? The majority of reputable, respected scientists have proven that vaccines do in fact NOT cause autism. Don't believe me? Do the research. Also, routine vaccinations, starting at birth, are essential for maximal health. Once again, don't believe me? Do the research. Finally, mandatory vaccinations are truly the way to stave off infection once a useful vaccination has been developed, as proven by the eradication of Smallpox in 1979 and the fact that, as stated earlier, it's with group vaccinations that the population as a whole remains healthy. Those of you who choose to opt out and end up getting sick, as the majority do, are really just lovely holes in the human defense where the microbe can multiply and gain resistance to the vaccine, not only making it worthless and rendering all our defenses useless, but further proving your convoluted point through your inaction. Once again, don't believe me? Do the research.
In the end, the bottom line is that this is biology, not logic, and half the time biology defies logic on an individual and daily basis. It's a disconcerting yet intensely exciting fact to wrap your mind around. Biology does not operate around one person speaking out against something, but a strong movement making waves against a theory. Unless some of the idiots posted earlier in this thread have a substantial following legitimately recognized by any reputable international scientific foundation, I suggest you do not give them much notice.
And all in all, like I said, this is not to discredit or mitigate the intellect of such scientists, who may in the end be preaching the truth against a storm of stubborn falsity. But if our past has proven anything, it's that, especially with the biological sciences, you need case after case of experiments, conducted by hundreds of different scientists, to make a real difference in the community. Without that, a simple blog of rage isn't going to do much good - and, again of course, is usually wrong in the end as well.
I suppose to sum it all up, I sympathize with Talia's comment in the last post regarding being cautious about vaccines due to horrible personal experiences. I don't doubt that anyone who has experience the statistical minority probability would feel cheated by the system and upset at what occurred, forever vengeful against whatever powers that be that caused their unfortunate outcome.
But the bottom line is that what we're discussing here is BIOLOGY, one of the few (or perhaps its own stand-alone subject in this category) subjects in this world that is FOREVER changing, and FOREVER an individual science. It's why I love it so much, and why I get so frustrated when I see threads like these: because the people that are most vocal against the best policies are those very few who experienced the worst outcomes.
That's all it is. I'm sorry to break your hearts, but not everything works 100% of the time for everyone in the world of biology. There is no, and will ever be, a cure-all drug for a disease or ailment that works for any and all afflicted. It's just not possible, simply because everyone is different, and everyone individual makeup and life experiences and interactions with other people and things that harbor biological pathogens are different.
So what do we do then? I'm not asking for blind faith, like many religious zealots following their ancient texts. But what I am asking is to follow the truth of science, from many different perspectives, and specifically to follow the general consensus. That's the main contention here. To follow the GENERAL. CONSENSUS.
I've seen a ton of articles and crap studies posted in this thread from rando crazed scientists ironically trying to make a buck on crackpot theories that conspiracy theorists like some of you post to make a point. I'm sorry, but they're WRONG, and can be debunked with hundreds of articles, studies, and commentary for each shred of farse you post. Don't believe me? Just look over this thread, where the majority of posts are counterarguments trying to prevent the spread of misinformation. A bunch of you are just a bunch of ignoramists.
I don't sit here and pretend to know everything. I don't know everything. I'm not going to dictate how international economic policy could function because I don't know the first goddamn thing about my own local economic policy. A good lot of you should take the same approach with regards to vaccinations: you're not microbial scientists, you haven't done the research, you haven't done the articles, and are instead listening to the old wives tales and paranoid ramblings of your FOX News-informed neighbors regarding how to best live your lives. Make your OWN decisions by doing your OWN research and reading the FACTS from a NUMBER of RELIABLE sources. That's how this world will truly move forward in the end.
So to get off my drunken soapbox, what does this all have to do with the topic at hand? The majority of reputable, respected scientists have proven that vaccines do in fact NOT cause autism. Don't believe me? Do the research. Also, routine vaccinations, starting at birth, are essential for maximal health. Once again, don't believe me? Do the research. Finally, mandatory vaccinations are truly the way to stave off infection once a useful vaccination has been developed, as proven by the eradication of Smallpox in 1979 and the fact that, as stated earlier, it's with group vaccinations that the population as a whole remains healthy. Those of you who choose to opt out and end up getting sick, as the majority do, are really just lovely holes in the human defense where the microbe can multiply and gain resistance to the vaccine, not only making it worthless and rendering all our defenses useless, but further proving your convoluted point through your inaction. Once again, don't believe me? Do the research.
In the end, the bottom line is that this is biology, not logic, and half the time biology defies logic on an individual and daily basis. It's a disconcerting yet intensely exciting fact to wrap your mind around. Biology does not operate around one person speaking out against something, but a strong movement making waves against a theory. Unless some of the idiots posted earlier in this thread have a substantial following legitimately recognized by any reputable international scientific foundation, I suggest you do not give them much notice.
And all in all, like I said, this is not to discredit or mitigate the intellect of such scientists, who may in the end be preaching the truth against a storm of stubborn falsity. But if our past has proven anything, it's that, especially with the biological sciences, you need case after case of experiments, conducted by hundreds of different scientists, to make a real difference in the community. Without that, a simple blog of rage isn't going to do much good - and, again of course, is usually wrong in the end as well.