Anti-Vaccine Movement as Class Conflict

A small measles outbreak at Disneyland (for more information, turn to this reporting) could reinject (or provide the first injection of) real talk into the anti-vaccine movement currently sweeping the nation. Maybe. Maybe it changes nothing. What's true is that the movement is racist and classist. Truth.

Two groups of people fail to fully vaccinate their children. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the first type have kids that are more likely "to be white, to belong to households with higher income, to have a married mother with a college education, and to live with four or more other children." Suburban housewives? A nice portion of the equation. They also cluster, and probably hate science ($5 says if you know an anti-vaccer, they either don't believe in evolution, or know GMO corn causes cancer. Or both). Why should we care? Aside from the child endangerment they're wantonly engaging in, there's a second group of people who don't vaccinate: poor, predominantly minority families.

Aside from Michelle Bachmanns' crazy ramblings (does she have any other kind?), I was largely unaware that there was actually an anti-vaccination movement. Then this winter I started following IMGUR, and noticed a lot of posts seeking to disprove fallacies pushed by this anti-vaccination agenda. So I started looking into it, discovered these enclaves of anti-vaccer mothers in hippie dippie enclaves like Boulder, Portland, and Seattle, and became frightened. And frustrated. Low-income families have traditionally had issues with proper vaccination. There are a list of problems: low information, cost, transportation access, and a lower likelihood to follow up for a missed appointment due to additional life burdens not found in the cul-de-sacs of Boulder.

When someone brings measles onto a playground, two kids are going to get sick. One has anti-vaccer parents screaming, "bring it on!" Then they take their kid to a well-financed hospital and receive appropriate medical care in a sterile environment. The other kid has access to shit medical care, lives in an unhygienic and overcrowded community, and suffers greater harm. Generally speaking, rich people not vaccinating their kids doesn't put other rich kids at risk. Just the poor ones. Class conflict.

(How To) Teach the Controversy

If I were a biology teacher in Louisiana, Texas, Kansas, et cetera and asked to teach creationism, I would reply that I am a science teacher. Given my loathe for science, I don’t see how this would ever be a scenario, but that would still be my reply. If the response was that I was expected to ‘teach the controversy,’ I would accept the demand without any argument.

At some point in the year we would have a class based on psychology and people’s mental needs. We would cover the urge to explain things regardless of tangible evidence supporting the explanations, with supernatural beings traditionally held responsible for most events that societies had no control over. Next we’d hit the fact that likelihood of survival is increased if one is more willing to follow the group, giving rise to the fallacy of the appeal to popularity and resistance to questioning one’s institutions. The final 60 seconds would go: people traditionally turned to religion to explain things, and the Judeo-Christian background of your ancestors used the Adam and Eve story to explain how people came to be. People were afraid to challenge this because society has never treated questioning scientists very well – particularly when the questions challenge the authority of the church. As such, the controversy prevents more serious scientific discussion. Later on, some people figured this’d be a great thing to politicize and develop into a wedge issue. In short, people are closed minded and opposed to whatever the church campaigns against. Republican strategists manipulate this in an effective manner, well aware that in the midst of adversity voters really do cling to their guns and religion. You have now been taught the controversy. Enjoy your weekend kids!

Let's Kill the Term "Gay Priest"

Maureen Dowd is obviously agitated over the pushback against gay marriage in New York. The New York Times editorialist eviscerated Archbishop Timothy Dolan on Sunday over his opposition to the legislation. While full disclosure requires me to say I’m not the biggest fan of Dowd, this one rubbed me wrong.

Dowd has a lot of issues with Catholicism, and shotguns about 5 different attacks on the church (not all are even germane). My biggest problem with Dowd’s ranting, though, is that she bashes Dolan for opposing gay marriage while harboring gay priests:The church refuses to acknowledge the hypocrisy at its heart: that it became a haven for gay priests even though it declares homosexual sex a sin, and even though it lobbies to stop gays from marrying.

Dowd’s not the first to take this approach, but I think we should try to make her the last. Calling the sick assholes that took advantage of children for decades "gay priests" implies the problem is that they’re gay – and that replacing them with straight priests would solve the problem. It wouldn't, because it doesn't address the problem, but she seems to have no problem conflating homosexuality with pedophilia. Here's the difference: a gay priest gets a rent boy for consensual male companionship (see Ted Haggard, George Rekers, etc.). A pedophilic priest is a criminal who deserves criminal sentencing. And while the media doesn’t seem to recognize it, there’s a pretty big fucking difference. Shame on Dowd for refusing to acknowledge this difference because she'd rather further her personal agenda by throwing bombs at the Catholic Church.

Double Standards Guide Our Lives

They make me comfortable. I don't know what I would do if society started approaching its issues in a cerebral and fair manner. An interesting example is found in how we approach religious texts. In discussing whether or not Islam is a 'violent religion,' talking heads often take the word of the Quran literally. Indeed, Fox News's legion of media whores demand it. Which is why we follow the King James Bible literally as well, and never leave any of its words open to interpretation. I have personally felled many a man with a large stone for mowing his lawn on Sunday. I'm also of the school that Satan planted dinosaur bones in the ground to trick us.

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Yesterday's gchat activity:
Marya's new status message - But District officials are livid about some policy provisions attached to the bill, particularly one that would ban federal and local funding for abortion. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) and several members of the City Council led a protest rally Monday on Capitol Hill and were arrested. 9:36 PM
me: Rare are the times in history when men are arrested for protesting the repeal of assistance in terminating human life. Sent at 11:35 AM on Tuesday

If there are any kids reading this, let me learn you some crucial life advice: never, ever, ever get sucked into a discussion about abortion. Zero productive things will come from it. You'd be better off debating religion.

Let's Talk About...

I caught a glimpse of this once, but thought it was a joke. Unfortunately, it's not. After you watch it, make sure to take some time out from shoveling your sidewalk this week. During that timeout, smack yourself in the face with said shovel:



People often express fears re: the downfall of America. When 'The Situation' is winning policy debates, I'd argue we're already scraping the bottom of the barrel. Additionally, Bristol is now in an idiotic feud with Keith Olbermann. Best case scenario? Two people I contravene engage in the lamest gang war ever. Of course, we can all predict the final outcome: Sarah Palin earns a kill shot against Olbermann from a helicopter.

Sexy Time

If I'm a sex ed teacher and a rational actor, I press strongly for my school to adopt an abstinence-only program. This was particularly true during the Bush years, when millions of tax dollars where given to schools willing to adopt such a curriculum. Either way, rational actors do what is most likely to keep them in a job. This means maximizing the number of children entering the school system, so that demand for your job is high. And this means abstinence-only education programs. Boom!

To Protect Freedom, We Must Destroy It

Opposition to the Islamic community center (minaret-less mosque?) within walking distance of Ground Zero is one of the most important stances that we as Americans can take to ensure our safety. Understanding that in 2001 we were attacked because 'they hate our freedoms' ('they' being Muslims, who are inherently terroristic in nature), the best way to dissuade future attacks is to limit freedom of religion, affiliation, and organization. And nothing can better prove our country's commitment to limiting the freedoms of its citizenry than a systematic dismemberment of the 1st amendment. Please stop this construction, for the sake of our safety and the safety of our troops overseas. Pray that the lawsuit to block its development is successful.

In September I'm moving to New York, while Marya is headed to DC. Tuesday night's news covered a story on a koran-burning to protest the new mosque development. News stories like this are fun - they allow for unique debates such as 'who's newly adopted residence faces the greater terrorist threat increase due to such acts of jingoism and bigotry?'

What is it with Christians buying books to burn anyway? It's like a vegetarian buying meat to burn - you got your market signals totally bass ackwards. Similar to book burnings, my veggie scenario also has a name. It's called BBQ, and is best accompanied by football and Keystone Light. Yes folks, it's August, and football season is upon us. Praise be to Bill Snyder.