I just got back and I have to tie up some loose ends and make dinner and stuff.
Some quick thoughts:
- The rally was very poorly attended. There was some news media there, and there appeared to be a documentary film crew. I’d say the attendance was below 200.
- I get their cause. I really do. But when you act stupid, you need to be treated as such. When a guy on stage says, “They can’t even make just ONE flu vaccine. They have to keep updating it every year. Can’t THEY make ONE flu vaccine? Seems kinda dumb right?” When you don’t get the basic science of evolution, you should probably go ahead and hang up your cause. There were Ls painted on everyone’s foreheads in attendance, because they were all charismatically screaming out, “Yeah, brother! Say it loud! That’s right!”
Part of me wanted to be empathetic to their cause, especially when mothers cry for their babies, but nonsense is nonsense.
I’ll post more later with photos and video.
Man…it sounds like the rally was sad and pathetic, and not even any fun to mock.
You are taking his flu comments out of context! I was there!Trust the government with your health, they do such a good job at things, they can’t possibly be wrong about vaccines. Only about the economy, wars, Katrina,etc.
I don’t trust vaccines because the government tells me to do so, but rather because doctors and scientists have the data to support vaccines as preventative measures against known *deadly* diseases. I have no reason to fear vaccines because doctors and scientists have done the research, and they have been unable to find a positive correlation between vaccines and most of the sicknesses anti-vaxers claim as being caused by vaccines. When a positive correlation was found (Read: Guillain-Barre Syndrome or GBS), the medical community readily embraced the data and went on to evaluate risk versus benefit. BTW – Those risk benefit analyses conclude essentially this: NOT vaccinating because you or your children might be harmed by a vaccine is like not wearing your seat belt because it might strangle/crush you in a crash.
I didn’t take the flu vaccination comment out of context.
Michael Belkin clearly said that there should be ONE flu vaccine and they should be done with it.
You clearly don’t know what you’re talking about.
EDIT: I’m uploading the clip again. It’s not in the below video.
If my time indicator doesn’t work, you can find it at 7 minutes and 24 seconds.I’m reuploading the video now. The statement in question is glitched out.
[...] I said in a previous post, I wanted to like these people. They all seemed kind and decent. They seemed to truly want justice [...]
Here’s the ignorant statement from Michael Belkin here:
He isn’t ignoring evolution, he is referring to the fact that flu vaccine is very profitable because you have to keep getting one year after year. He doesn’t deny evolution, he is making a point that it’s a favorite among the pharmaceutical companies because they profit from it again and again. Clearly, this went over your head. What did you think about the mom telling the story about her daughters seizures and loss of speech after the HPV vaccine?? Was that fake? Bad science? When will the countless testimonies from parents be considered evidence? Do you think they are delusional? You don’t believe them when they tell you they lost their child shortly after being vaccinated?
My children will never and have never received a vaccine. They are healthier than all their peers because I didn’t inject them with a bunch of poison. They have never had anything but a mild cold that disappeared after a few days. They haven’t had rashes, ear infections, allergies, etc. Could it be because I haven’t weakened their immunity with these “lifesaving” injections? We will never know, because none of you great scientist want to study my children and compare them to the ones injected! There is no money in that!
The vaccine must be updated every year to keep up with the evolution of influenza.
Congratulations on your own ignorance.
Did I deny that? Once again, you are missing the point.
[...] Almost didn’t include my posts: Here. Here. Here. [...]
“…he is making a point that it’s a favorite among the pharmaceutical companies because they profit from it again and again.”
Making vaccines yearly is a pain in the pocketbook for pharm companies. Developing new vaccines, submitting them for FDA approval…this takes time and money from companies that could otherwise be invested in other, more profitable R&D. A vaccine that doesn’t change year-to-year would be cheaper for pharm companies – they would make new profits annually from previously un-vaccinated people AND they wouldn’t have to pay for new R&D, new animal studies, new quality reviews, new manufacturing procedures, new supply chain demands, and annual regulatory agency submissions. Flu vaccines are not Big Pharma’s ace in the hole.
“When will the countless testimonies from parents be considered evidence?”
That would be…never. Anecdotal evidence of a phenomenon that cannot be reproduced in a controlled study is worth bunk, and absolutely cannot be used to set general medical policy and procedure.