Thursday, April 03, 2008

Awareness Fallout

Yesterday's post generated more traffic on this site in two days than I typically get in three weeks. That's pretty remarkable. Y'know, I'm never going to tell anyone not to read my blog, but as regular minions know, I'm not in this for exposure.

That said, welcome to those who haven't been here before. This isn't an autism blog, but it does play one on the Internet from time to time. I use language mostly unguardedly. I call a thing the thing that it is. If any of these things bother you, this is not a blog you should be reading. Seriously.

My survey of the post-4/2 universe revealed a couple of things I want to share. One of them is that Kathleen Seidel, proprietor of Neurodiversity (linked to the right), has been subpoenaed in Sykes v. Bayer, a personal injury lawsuit relating to vaccines in the Eastern District of Virginia. This is total SLAPP stuff; Seidel is not a party to the case. She just blogged some true things about the plaintiff's attorney, and he decided to try to drag her into the morass that is his conviction that the Earth is flat and the Holocaust didn't happen.

Seidel is an interesting blogger who shares (obviously) the point of view that autism is manifestly not a disease, but a reflection of (duh) neurodiversity. She's worth a read in general, and this post, in particular, is a brilliant study in the depths of the antivaxers' animosity toward science and its proponents.

There's also been a lot of buzz about (sorry, anonymouse) Jenny McCarthy's stellar batshit performance on the Larry King Show last night. Try this one, wherein S.L. of Stop. Think. Autism. makes an attempt to educate the spectacularly stupid McCarthy about the actual effects of measles (which the clueless spokesperson for quackery has repeatedly said she'd be happy to trade for autism). Left Brain/Right Brain pans the performance itself; from her proclamation of an epidemic (wrong) to her deluded claim that her son is "cured" (in a few public appearances--and for that alone you have to feel some sorrow for this kid--her son has continued to manifest autism-spectrum symptoms, though it appears that he's improving--which is certainly odd, since he's getting older and receiving standard behaviorial interventions, and therefore he must have been "cured" by a dietary intervention), to her assertion that parental anecdotes are science, to her flatly lunatic rant about "crystals" and "indigos", McCarthy's appearance is an indictment of CNN's entire Wednesday. This single appearance completely undid any good that CNN's focus on autism yesterday may have produced.

Let me repeat that, more emphatically: CNN fucked up, hugely, by allowing this vapid moron to mouth her antivaccination propaganda in a national forum in the name of "balance." By this token, let's be sure to present a host of Klansmen in any upcoming focus on the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's death. Asshats. I'm not even going to touch their presentation with McCarthy of profit-motivated fuckwit David Kirby, author of noninflammatory screeds like I Don't Believe In Science and Neither Should You, Scientists Are Whores, and The Government Wants To Poison Your Babies.

Yeah. I was too nice. I really hate it when Sasha's right.

More later. She Who Wants Your Children To Die of Preventable Diseases is hosting a Kill Your Children Well rally in my very own city in June. I'm researching the counterdemonstrations.

10 comments:

Sasha said...

I love you too.

And, although I know you aren't in the mood for context, I feel sorry for a lot of kids. Phyllis Schaffly's gay son for example. Until we institute parental licensing, there will continue to be a lot of children who deserve way better than the parents they happened upon.

Kimmah said...

I couldn't watch it because I knew that I would go into spasms of fury.

Indigo chilren and crystals....jeebus.

Anonymous said...

Philip Larkin - This Be The Verse

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.

----

And I was lucky w/L and R.

And, so far, Planet. What she thinks, and will think ten years from now, who knows?

Anonymous said...

Excellent post on McJenny. Personally, I'm glad CNN is giving her a platform. The more exposure media give Flat Earthers like McCarthy and Kirby, the more their idiocy is exposed. They've been flying under the media radar too long. Wantwits like Larry King don't understand what's happening, but real science writers do, and they'll be the ones who will ultimately set the agenda for media's final verdict on the anti-vaccine movement.

To quote the Mickster, time is on our side.

Liz Ditz said...

Thanks for commenting on the Seidel /Neurodiversity subpoena.

I am one of the 100+ bloggers mentioned in item 5 of the subpoena.

I am keeping a running list of responses to the Seidel subpoena at I Speak of Dreams. I've added your blog.

Anonymous said...

I? Have nothing to say but what I have said before.

You KNOW what I mean, Landru. Don't let me down.

Landru said...

I'm not off base, Anonymouse. I had to explain to my fucking mother today that what she saw on Larry King was damaging untruths about her grandson. I'm sorry that you are somehow personally invested in CNN's coverage on Wednesday, because they massively fucked up, and they did serious damage. It's unfortunate, but it's true.

Purplestate said...

Ahem.

I meant about the Ecuadoran Felines. Sorry to get in the line of ire . . .

Landru said...

*Snort*. Oh. You were the anonymouse on this thread?

Uhm, in that case, I'm sorry, CNN Fan Anonymouse from the other thread. For the part where I assumed that Christopher was you.

And thank you, Christopher, for the opportunity to correct the record on the whole CNN/Larry King thing.

Anonymous said...

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JR aka ODB