# Another Worthless Celebrity Anti-Vaxer **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 14, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734 "2014-03-14T23:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/81 "2014-03-17T22:08:13Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > There have been instances where children did not get immunizations and developed autism, and the parent(s) blamed their own shots. You can’t be serious. How would that even work? Are they claiming that there is a hereditary component to autism? (Is there?) I can’t think of any other way to explain that because vaccination status is not passed down to children. Does the eeevil vaccination goo get in through the umbilical cord or something? > [@Loach](#): > > The only thing I’ve taken away from this thread is that I should now call the president Barry. in fact I’m going to start calling all of the presidents Barry. What about the presidents that use 3 names? Like would it be Barry Howard Taft, or just Barry Taft? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/82 "2014-03-17T22:56:13Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > You can’t be serious. How would that even work? You’re mistaken if you think WONJCT operate on a rational plane of existence. I’ve heard nutjobs assert that Mitt Romney is not a US citizen although born in the US because Mitt Romney’s grandfather wasn’t born in the US. Mind you, the folks I heard saying this–and you’ll might want to grab a hold of something to steady yourself because it’s so ridiculous–well, their own grandfather wasn’t born in the US. Yep. You read that right. > [@](#): > > What about the presidents that use 3 names? Like would it be Barry Howard Taft, or just Barry Taft? Ah, don’t you love the WONJCT crowd? I’m still curious how the man’s name is his fault. I can’t remember the last time a newborn baby named himself. But, hey, that can’t be nay more ridiculous than anything else those jackasses (the CTs, not the newborns) spout. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/83 "2014-03-17T23:04:14Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > You can’t be serious. How would that even work? > > Are they claiming that there is a hereditary component to autism? (Is there?) I can’t think of any other way to explain that because vaccination status is not passed down to children. Does the eeevil vaccination goo get in through the umbilical cord or something? At the risk of sounding like I’m defending anti-vax nonsense…there actually is some logic here via the phenomenon of [epigenetics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics). Say that when you got the MMR vaccine, you experienced an allergic response to it. A low-grade reaction that neither of your parents noticed. But for whatever reason, the stress triggered a biochemical cascade within your body that resulted in methylation of certain genes in your germ line–effectively making them inaccessible. Those methyl groups are then replicated in your eggs and sperm, on the same genes, so that your children will then inherit the effects of that subtle allergic response. If those turned-off genes are needed for healthy development of the brain, for instance, then you might end up with a kid with autism. A lot of people believe themselves to be a “little” autistic. Just enough autistic to be eccentric and/or quirky, but not autistic enough to be disabled. I could see someone thinking that if only they hadn’t had a shot when they were a kid, _their_ kid would also be a “little” autistic rather than a “lot” autistic. The anti-vax position makes this all eye-rolly. But the thinking behind it isn’t _that_ crazy now that science is unfolding how powerful epigenetics might actually be. When we eventually do pinpoint the causes of autism, it may be something that cacades epigenetically. Perhaps we are seeing an explosion of diagnoses now because of something seemingly harmless that our parents or grandparents experienced back when they were kids. I really hope science finds the smoking gun. I am REALLY tired of my field (environmental science) getting lumped in with the anti-vax crazies. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/84 "2014-03-18T00:49:10Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The only thing I’ve taken away from this thread is that I should now call the president Barry. in fact I’m going to start calling all of the presidents Barry. I’m going to start calling all world leaders Barry. Barry Putin, Barry Harper, Barry Merkel… ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/85 "2014-03-18T01:08:55Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’m going to start calling all world leaders Barry. Barry Putin, Barry Harper, Barry Merkel… Kim Bar-Rhee? ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/86 "2014-03-18T03:23:28Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > Aw what the hell. > > [https://www.facebook.com/KristinCavallari/posts/475541239212681?comment\_id=2286650&offset=0&total\_comments=89¬if\_t=feed\_comment](https://www.facebook.com/KristinCavallari/posts/475541239212681?comment_id=2286650&offset=0&total_comments=89¬if_t=feed_comment) > > Screw those morons. Five cents of brains between them. Paranoid, backwards, deeply stupid fuckheads every last one. If you can’t figure out that it’s better to avoid measles then get it, you need to find another planet. None of 'em wanted to play for very long, did they? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/87 "2014-03-18T04:38:57Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’m going to start calling all world leaders Barry. Barry Putin, Barry Harper, Barry Merkel… Wasn’t there a SciFi story with a similar idea? Everyone on one planet was surnamed _Johnson_ and, for no particular reason I can recall from my scant recollection of the story, everyone on the planet was also a redhead. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/88 "2014-03-18T04:43:11Z")
Sounds like _The Planet Of Rock Ridge._ ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/89 "2014-03-18T08:13:31Z")
OP back again. I’d really hate to have any of these —ker’s children seriously affected by the diseases the parents could have avoided. But, may the misguided adults skip their shingles booster shots and be justly rewarded. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/90 "2014-03-18T13:02:32Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > At the risk of sounding like I’m defending anti-vax nonsense…there actually is some logic here via the phenomenon of [epigenetics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics). [Epigenetics](http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2012/04/13/epigenetics-does-not-mean/) is a topic abused not only by antivaxers, but by woo promoters with other agendas. See, if you eat all of the right foods and follow the perfect lifestyle while avoiding vaccines and every other imaginable Toxin, you’ll achieve optimal gene expression and perfect health. And if you get sick, that means it’s your own damn fault. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/91 "2014-03-18T14:27:22Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > None of 'em wanted to play for very long, did they? ☹ Stupid burns bright but it burns fast. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/92 "2014-03-18T14:47:08Z")
**Acsenray** , **Inner Stickler** , **CrazyCatLady** , thank you. I appreciate your perspective, and it’s given me food for thought. I’m still not convinced that “Barry” automatically associates me with racist anti-Obama birther assholes, but obviously y’all make that connection, and you’re most definitely not the only ones. I’ll be making an effort to keep it inside my head where it remains a term of endearment, and not in public. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/93 "2014-03-18T14:49:50Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Sounds like _The Planet Of Rock Ridge._ And I’m still grumpy with you. _My_ running coach taught me not to jump the gun. But that was a really great one-liner, dammit. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/94 "2014-03-18T17:14:35Z")
> [@andros](#): > > **Acsenray** , **Inner Stickler** , **CrazyCatLady** , thank you. He jumps to conclusions about you being a racist and acts like a dickhead to you, then you thank him. Interesting. > [@Maeglin](#): > > It’s really stupid of you, you miserable fucking subhuman. Cool your jets. She said she doesn’t \*really \*wish that on the kid. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/95 "2014-03-18T17:41:56Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > He jumps to conclusions about you being a racist and acts like a dickhead to you, then you thank him. Interesting. Which “he?” And why interesting? ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/96 "2014-03-18T17:52:28Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > None of 'em wanted to play for very long, did they? ☹ She’ll be back. They always are. The way they appropriate the language of civil liberties annoys the fuck out of me. You right to refuse vaccination for non-medical reasons ends where my right to protect little kids and cancer patients from measles begins. Seriously. Measles is one of the most fucking contagious diseases on the planet. It’s a dangerous, nasty disease with a huge risk of complications even for healthy people. As I pointed out in another thread, little kids who get measles have a risk of a miserable disease called SSPE. That complication has no cure or treatment and carries a death sentence. It typically shows up about six years after measles infection. It is not a risk with the vaccine. Measles is also one of the diseases, along with polio, that we’re on the verge of literally eradicating from the earth. So unless your ped tells you not to, get the fucking shot and be grateful. Refusing it is akin to pooping in the water supply and about as justifiable. It does not fall under the umbrella of civil liberties. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/97 "2014-03-18T18:22:01Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Which “he?” And why interesting? Ascenray. I don’t see where the other two were rude to you. I don’t know if “interesting” is the right word, but it’s not how I’d have responded. If I were feeling generous, I may have explained myself once, but I certainly wouldn’t thank anyone for being a dick to me. I’ll admit, I raised an eyebrow at your use of the moniker Barry, but I didn’t assume you were racist; I just assumed you were a conservative using Barry as a pejorative. After your explanation, I thought, “Oh, well that’s fine” and moved along. I do understand the argument that perhaps you should call him something else calling the president Barry is associated with racist clownery, but I don’t understand immediately launching into “RACIST!” after reading the one word and not apologizing after learning the assumption was incorrect. But enough about what I think. Back to whatever it is we’re supposed to be talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/98 "2014-03-18T18:39:41Z")
> [@andros](#): > > **Acsenray** , **Inner Stickler** , **CrazyCatLady** , thank you. I appreciate your perspective, and it’s given me food for thought. I’m still not convinced that “Barry” automatically associates me with racist anti-Obama birther assholes, but obviously y’all make that connection, and you’re most definitely not the only ones. I’ll be making an effort to keep it inside my head where it remains a term of endearment, and not in public. FWIW, I’m a ‘righty’, and I understood your ‘Barry’ post _exactly_ as you meant it. I didn’t need your explanations in your later posts to get it. Apparently, the vocal lefties here _do_, but still refuse to accept them at face value when given. I was actually _surprised_ that anyone took issue with it. I guess this displays that (some) ‘lefties’ are not _nearly_ as smart nor tolerant nor free from prejudice as they claim. They see what they want to see, and most of the time what they are seeing is in their own damn minds; their own damn prejudices projected on their opponents (or anyone they _see_ as an opponent) regardless of reality. SDMB Lefties: We can’t _possibly_ be wrong about _anything_. We’re judgemental as hell, and we’re ‘Projecting our own prejudices on others since Reagan got elected.[sup]TM[/sup]’ We’re right, you’re wrong. Bow down and worship our mighty intellects! :rolleyes: Putzes. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/99 "2014-03-18T19:43:29Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > She’ll be back. They always are. You’ll enjoy knowing that the proprietor of the “Anti-Vaccine Liberals” Facebook page has announced that she’d stopped posting on the Cavallari page because she’d repeatedly gotten a “pounding headache” going up against “pharma trolls” like you and Dorit Reiss. 😃 > [@](#): > > The way they appropriate the language of civil liberties annoys the fuck out of me. That’s a bit rich, seeing as the AVL “mission” statement discusses how it had planned to allow pro-vaccine and non-liberal posts, but decided against it because Those People can post elsewhere. The antivax crowd is very fearful of allowing dissent in their approved sanctuaries. I had never heard of the “Anti-Vaccine Liberals” page, but I suppose it was inevitable there’d be some left-wing dingbats to balance out people like Michele Bachmann and her “HPV vaccine causes mental retardation”. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734/100 "2014-03-18T20:01:47Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > You’ll enjoy knowing that the proprietor of the “Anti-Vaccine Liberals” Facebook page has announced that she’d stopped posting on the Cavallari page because she’d repeatedly gotten a “pounding headache” going up against “pharma trolls” like you and Dorit Reiss. :DThat’s a bit rich, seeing as the AVL “mission” statement discusses how it had planned to allow pro-vaccine and non-liberal posts, but decided against it because Those People can post elsewhere. The Anti-Vaccine Liberals thingy gave me the best laugh I’ve had in a few days. She would put up an anti-vax page on Cavallari’s Facebook page, have her errors pointed out by Dorit and a few others and then take it down. Then she would put up another post screeching about “pharmawhores,” have Dorit and friends show up again and then take down the page again. I think she did that four times. We were taking screenshots in a private pro-vax forum and laughing ourselves silly at her. > [@](#): > > The antivax crowd is very fearful of allowing dissent in their approved sanctuaries. > > I had never heard of the “Anti-Vaccine Liberals” page, but I suppose it was inevitable there’d be some left-wing dingbats to balance out people like Michele Bachmann and her “HPV vaccine causes mental retardation”. I’ve been banned from quite a few such places including the Mothering forums. I think Cavallari is an attention monger and probably plans to secretly vaccinate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-worthless-celebrity-anti-vaxer/683734.md?page=6)