An unfortunate encounter with a new-faculty-spouse-in-town reminded me that I have a reflexive revulsion for persons too stupid or irresponsible to vaccinate their damn children, and years of listening to idiots have pushed me towards the belief that there is only one right choice! Delayed is better than not at all but the reasoning is idiotic. Not only do I not want my children - particularly the baby - around unvaccinated children, but I see the issue as a litmus test for social responsibility, passing acquaintance with the scientific method, and general intelligence.
This person failed.
I keep imagining the beggar woman from The Princess Bride, shouting down the anti-vaxxers, "Boo. Boo. Rubbish. Filth. Slime. Muck. Boo. Boo. Boo!"
ReplyDeleteThe acquaintance with the quince tree is such a person. I just can't be friends with her, even though quince are very hard to find.
Not even for quince.
DeleteI think it's a very reasonable criterion to expect a person to meet. I have SOME sympathy for the folks who lack the "passing acquaintance with the scientific method" part, because god knows there's so much scaremongering out there and it's possible to be educated without being educated in science and hell, whole disciplines privilege the notion of relativism, leading people to believe that all attitudes are equally valid...but being able to think "okay, I see how a person is the product of experiences that have led to this view" does not obligate me to interact with her.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately this person and this person's spouse both have PhDs. In a social-ish science, but one that uses NUMBERS and does actual research. In humans, even. So basically, no excuse!
Delete*Sigh*
ReplyDeleteI knew a biology phd who had her kids on a delayed vaccination schedule. Of course, five+ years ago that might have made more sense, but today given all the outbreaks (especially in the places that people don't vaccinate for stupid reasons) it seems incredibly foolish.
It gets better! They came here from CA! You know, the land of My Baby Might Actually Catch That.
ReplyDeleteAlso if I didn't have a wee baby about the revulsion might go down a few notches, but... NO. Sweetpea is only 7 months old.
ReplyDeleteI literally have friends I am not seeing right now since my kid hasn't been fully vaccinated. She's 13 months, but there's still vaxes to go.
ReplyDeleteAnd they don't get all the chickenpox ones until they're five or six! I kind of think in my life those people just can't be my friends.
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