# In which RFK Jr. completely loses it **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 27, 2021, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440 "2021-07-27T18:23:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/21 "2021-07-28T21:32:31Z")
There’s a double tragedy here. RFK Jr is simultaneously both a dangerous anti-vaxer AND the recipient of well-deserved recognition for his environmental advocacy and his work as an environmental lawyer earlier in his career, helping to bring egregious polluters to account and clean up waterways. This dichotomy is very unfortunate because too many people tend to see issues in simplistic black-and-white. There may be those who, recognizing the importance of his environmental work, might feel that his anti-vax claims have merit. There may be others who, recognizing his anti-vax propagandizing as complete bullshit, might conclude that his environmental work was bullshit, too, and by extension, other environmental initiatives, perhaps also including those on climate change. I have no idea what led him to become an anti-vax zealot, but I suppose it’s possible that many years of bringing egregious environmental polluters to justice created some kind of delusional pathology that left him with a complete distrust of all corporations and all governments. ---
**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:** [July 28, 2021, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/22 "2021-07-28T22:31:39Z")
Attacking vaccination because one is convinced that corporations (i.e. Big Pharma) are evil implies a massive brain disconnect/absence of critical thinking capacity. As has been pointed out ad nauseum, the relatively small proportion of pharma income that comes from vaccines would be dwarfed by the huge amounts of money they’d make if we stopped immunizing, and vaccine-preventable diseases ran rampant again. Just one illustrative case showing the enormous medical cost involved: > **[Unvaccinated Oregon boy, 6, nearly dies of tetanus, racks up $1 million in bills](https://www.oregonlive.com/health/2019/03/unvaccinated-oregon-boy-6-nearly-dies-of-tetanus-racks-up-1-million-in-bills.html)** > > He was the first case in Oregon in 30 years. The last time I checked, tetanus vaccination (DTaP) cost around $33. RFK Jr.'s pathology has to run much deeper than a distrust of corporations. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/23 "2021-07-28T22:34:37Z")
Big Pharma _is_ evil but also somewhat regulated and closely watched. Killing people with vaccines isn’t the evil that pays off for them under those circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/24 "2021-07-28T23:03:08Z")
I’ve actually suspected for a while that the whole anti-vax thing is actually being pushed by a conspiracy of pharma companies. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/25 "2021-07-29T16:49:55Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > As has been pointed out ad nauseum, the relatively small proportion of pharma income that comes from vaccines would be dwarfed by the huge amounts of money they’d make if we stopped immunizing, and vaccine-preventable diseases ran rampant again. Just one illustrative case showing the enormous medical cost involved: Sure if you accept a science based reality, but if you buy into the new improved antii-vax reality (now with 95% more woo). Vaccines don’t actually prevent any of these diseases, but instead cause all sorts of other health problems. So pushing the vaccines allows big bad pharma to double dip. Not only do they get paid the big bucks for the vaccines, they also get big bucks for treating the conditions caused by their vaccines. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2021, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/26 "2021-07-29T17:10:26Z")
True - but given the horrifying specter of mass depopulation caused by vaccines (Natural News terms it “vaxtermination”), Pharma is destroying its customer base and dooming future profits. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/27 "2021-07-29T17:13:34Z")
Also, in Anti-Vaxx world, vaccine manufacturers are judgement-proof, because the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program is set up to immunize vaccine manufacturers from civil legal consequences. So vaccine manufacturers have financial incentives to pump out dangerous cocktails of toxins and call them “vaccines.” (In the real world, it’s pretty much the opposite. VICP is funded by special assessments paid by the vaccine manufacturers. If you or your child suffers a “table” injury, that is, a known side effect of a vaccine, you automatically get compensation without needing to show any evidence other than coincident timing that your specific incident is due to a vaccine. If you think you’ve suffered a vaccine-caused injury that’s not on a table, you just need to prove it’s plausible your injury _might_ have been caused by a vaccine. And your attorneys fees are paid by the court, win or lose. And if the vaccine manufacturer has actually been negligent, you can still bring a normal civil suit against them, and bypass VICP altogether.) ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2021, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/28 "2021-08-03T19:05:56Z")
Oh, I think all of them are doing orbits in the family mausoleum. It must look like the kids’ bedroom in _Poltergeist._ ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/29 "2021-09-17T15:13:19Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > THANOS 2024!!! I want this bumper sticker. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/30 "2021-09-17T16:45:45Z")
He’ll get 50% of the vote. The other 50% will blink out of existence. So really it will be 100% of the vote. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/31 "2021-09-17T18:50:06Z")
Honestly, there are days when it doesn’t feel like the worst option. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/32 "2021-09-17T19:26:31Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Bobby Senior must be spinning in his grave. On a similar note, Jeremy Corbyn’s brother is also a prominent anti-vaxxer. You might remember him from leading a protest where they did their own research and [protested the BBC outside a building they no longer used](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/09/confused-anti-vaccine-protesters-storm-bbc-hq-years-after-moved-out) or when he was caught on camera being [bribed with monopoly money by a pair of YouTube pranksters pretending to be AZinvestors to go after Pfizer instead](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u34rnwBnll4). I don’t think Jeremy Corbyn has made many public statements about his brother but I can’t imagine how he feels privately. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/33 "2021-09-17T19:33:24Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > they did their own research and [protested the BBC outside a building they no longer used](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/09/confused-anti-vaccine-protesters-storm-bbc-hq-years-after-moved-out) I had not seen that previously - that’s too funny. Incidentally, the phrase ‘doing their own research’ is starting to get the skepticism it’s long deserved, but naturally, it’s The Onion that just completely nailed it: > **[Vaccine Skeptic Does Own Research By Enrolling 45,000 Friends In Double-Blind...](https://www.theonion.com/vaccine-skeptic-does-own-research-by-enrolling-45-000-f-1847556258)** > > SUMMIT, NJ—Determined to gather all the facts before drawing any conclusions, local vaccine skeptic Joel Edwards was reportedly doing his own research Wednesday by enrolling 45,000 friends in a double-blind clinical trial. “It’s important to always... ---
**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:** [October 16, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/34 "2021-10-16T15:01:48Z")
New from RFK Jr. (via Twitter): “Is the sabotage of air travel, high-quality healthcare, first-responder capability and other core services, by vaccine mandates, an intentional step designed to further weaken Americans’ resilience and expand authoritarian controls?” The only difference between this blather (from someone with marginal credibility on the Left) and similar spewings from right-wingers is that RFK Jr. phrases it in terms of JAQing off. We’re seeing a Harmonic Convergence of lunacy. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/35 "2021-10-18T10:18:26Z")
We had “high-quality health care” available in this country? When? Where? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/36 "2021-10-18T13:30:19Z")
High-quality healthcare has always been available in America…for those who can afford it. What’s sabotaging it at the moment is the vast number of COVID cases overwhelming hospitals, particularly in areas where the anti-vaccine movement is strong. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2021, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/37 "2021-10-18T13:42:38Z")
By “high-quality health care”, RFK Jr. means giving ivermectin and other unproven and quack treatments for Covid-19. Hard-core antivaxers foment the belief that cheap, wildly successful Covid-19 cures are being suppressed, in order to push lucrative killer vaccines. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/38 "2021-10-18T16:56:50Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > The only difference between this blather (from someone with marginal credibility on the Left) and similar spewings from right-wingers is that RFK Jr. phrases it in terms of JAQing off. > > We’re seeing a Harmonic Convergence of lunacy. Sure but RFK Jr has bragging rights. He was spewing about vaccines long before the right even thought about it. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/39 "2021-10-19T04:21:42Z")
Not Thanos and the 2024 stuff isn’t available yet but you might be interested in some things at > **[Vote for the Greatest Evil | Cthulhu for President 2020](https://www.cthulhuforamerica.com/)** > > Official campaign site of Cthulhu for President 2024. Why vote for lesser evils — Wreck. World. Worse. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440/40 "2021-10-19T15:32:37Z")
These look very promising. 😈 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rfk-jr-completely-loses-it/947440.md?page=1)