# My editorial in today's Newark Star Ledger! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 26, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156 "2012-11-26T15:04:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/1 "2012-11-26T15:04:27Z")
> **[Pro-vaccine parents need to speak up, for community's sake: Opinion](https://www.nj.com/njv_guest_blog/2012/11/pro-vaccine_parents_need_to_sp.html)** > > Arguing against vaccination is akin to arguing the Earth is flat or the Holocaust never happened. Without vaccines, thousands of kids in this state alone would die each year. Four drafts later I finally had the nerve to submit it to the editorial board. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/2 "2012-11-26T15:07:25Z")
Excellent letter, and I must get your book. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/3 "2012-11-26T15:07:47Z")
Congratulations. The NSL is the big local paper back where Pepper Mill and I grew up. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/4 "2012-11-26T15:15:01Z")
Excellent article, already being hijacked by some doofus in the comments section. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/5 "2012-11-26T15:26:38Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Excellent letter, and I must get your book. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Congratulations. The NSL is the big local paper back where Pepper Mill and I grew up. > [@Leaffan](#): > > Excellent article, already being hijacked by some doofus in the comments section. Thank you. I’m just waiting for Ann Dashel (aka the Dashelbot) of the Age of Autism and Lowell Hubbs of Vax Facts to show up. I’ve yet to see a pro-vaccine article online unmarked by their idiotic rants. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/6 "2012-11-26T16:41:09Z")
Excellent article, very readable. Please, continue to fight the good fight. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/7 "2012-11-26T16:58:00Z")
Very well written, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/8 "2012-11-26T17:19:50Z")
This is fantastic and I’m sharing it on Facebook. Nothing pisses me off more than getting an e-mail from the sprog’s school that a child has a confirmed case of pertussis. Most of the time, it’s because some noodle-brained parent refuses to get their kids their shots. When I’m Queen of the World, all kids will have to get their shots. There will be no religious or philosophical exemptions, just documented medical ones. Your “philosophy” does not trump public safety. ---
**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:** [November 26, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/9 "2012-11-26T17:27:15Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Excellent article, already being hijacked by some doofus in the comments section. Sorry ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/10 "2012-11-26T18:59:13Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > This is fantastic and I’m sharing it on Facebook. > > Nothing pisses me off more than getting an e-mail from the sprog’s school that a child has a confirmed case of pertussis. Most of the time, it’s because some noodle-brained parent refuses to get their kids their shots. > > When I’m Queen of the World, all kids will have to get their shots. There will be no religious or philosophical exemptions, just documented medical ones. Your “philosophy” does not trump public safety. Thank you. I am inclined to agree with you about exemptions. They should be reserved for those who really need them, not for those who should be vaccinated. As I predicted the Dashel-bot has shown up with her usual parade of inane and inaccurate comments. The Habakas book is nothing but a pack of lies. Andrew Wakefield is quoted lovingly while the dangers of vaccine preventable diseases are utterly downplayed or ignored altogether. NJ does have a high rate of autism but NJ also has vast resources that tend to push kids for help as well as a highly educated population that exerts pressure for such services. When I have time I will get online and go after the comments as much as I can. Feel free to join in if you can! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/11 "2012-11-26T20:39:15Z")
Lot of whackos out there, isn’t there. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/12 "2012-11-26T20:44:14Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Lot of whackos out there, isn’t there. That kind of attitude contributes to the problem. Ignorance and miseducation are not the same thing as mental illness. ---
**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:** [November 26, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/13 "2012-11-26T21:04:06Z")
Very nice op-ed piece. The only part I’d quibble with (slightly) is the comment about how there aren’t really two “sides” to this issue that deserve equal footing in public discussions, which cites the example of presenting a vegetarian perspective that doesn’t require getting someone from the Cattlemen’s Association for rebuttal). A more apt example would be a public forum presentation on countering racism in society - which doesn’t require giving equal time to the Aryan Nation. A bit confrontational, I know, but accurate. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/14 "2012-11-26T21:10:51Z")
Holy Crap. The comments are filled with Whirling Derpishes. ---
**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:** [November 26, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/15 "2012-11-26T21:12:28Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > That kind of attitude contributes to the problem. Ignorance and miseducation are not the same thing as mental illness. Actually, for many hardcore antivaxers there _is_ a marked component of disordered thinking, which embraces conspiratorial paranoia and outlandish beliefs that go well beyond antivaccine ideology. Recently I’ve contributed to forum discussions on vaccines whose participants have included HIV and germ theory denialists, a devotee of New German Medicine\* (which argues that cancer and other diseases are due entirely to emotional/psychic disturbances) and a whacko who believes that government troops have secretly taken over St. Louis. I find it difficult to believe these people are shining examples of mental health. \*the guru of this movement, a nice, sane fellow by the name of Ryke Hamer, thinks that vaccines implant “death chips” in people as part of a depopulation conspiracy by The Jews. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/16 "2012-11-26T21:24:41Z")
Excellent…and very well written… Just shared it with all of my friends… Keep up the good fight!! This is positively scary… ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/17 "2012-11-26T21:29:04Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Very nice op-ed piece. > > The only part I’d quibble with (slightly) is the comment about how there aren’t really two “sides” to this issue that deserve equal footing in public discussions, which cites the example of presenting a vegetarian perspective that doesn’t require getting someone from the Cattlemen’s Association for rebuttal). > > A more apt example would be a public forum presentation on countering racism in society - which doesn’t require giving equal time to the Aryan Nation. > > A bit confrontational, I know, but accurate. 🙂 Thank you. I ran Nazi analogy by my husband. He told me that, while well deserved, it was just a little over the top. He suggested the vegetarian comparison instead so I went with it. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/18 "2012-11-26T21:38:44Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Actually, for many hardcore antivaxers there _is_ a marked component of disordered thinking, which embraces conspiratorial paranoia and outlandish beliefs that go well beyond antivaccine ideology. > > Recently I’ve contributed to forum discussions on vaccines whose participants have included HIV and germ theory denialists, a devotee of New German Medicine\* (which argues that cancer and other diseases are due entirely to emotional/psychic disturbances) and a whacko who believes that government troops have secretly taken over St. Louis. I find it difficult to believe these people are shining examples of mental health. > > \*the guru of this movement, a nice, sane fellow by the name of Ryke Hamer, thinks that vaccines implant “death chips” in people as part of a depopulation conspiracy by The Jews. :smack: Yeah. The following comment (typical of the sort I see all the time) does imply someone who really does believe that government is engaged in a giant conspiracy with pharmaceutical companies and pediatricians to cover up the facts about vaccines. There is quite an element of seriously disordered thinking here that is obvious even if you’ve never had a psychology class. > [@](#): > > Dear Stacy Mintzer, > > You state at the beginning of your article that you think vaccines are terrifying. Then you follow it up with that you hate them and you hate your daughter getting them but you hate the diseases they prevent even more. There has never been a single study EVER in the history of vaccines that shows that they are not only safe but also effective. > As a matter of fact most outbreaks of these preventable diseases have been among entirely vaccinated populations. > I am not understanding why you go against your gut feeling that tells you vaccines are terrifying but because the Pharmaceutical companies not only own your state, your government and your pediatrician then you go along with it at the risk of your own child’s health. > You want to write a book why not start interviewing the millions of parents across the globe with vaccine injured children? Why not start investigating the special court set up for vaccine injured children? Then start investigating every single stupid politician and where they are getting their money from!!! follow the money trail. > > I also would rather move and pick up my entire life then be subjected to being forced into injecting my child with known toxins and carcinogens. By all means brought to you by the same government bodies that say our food and water is safe yet I am going to believe the vaccines are safe. > > Btw if a parent has their child under the care of a pediatrician that also does not believe in vaccines then why is that not good enough? > > I am so sick of this debate. I am so sick of mother’s like you writing BS articles such as this to promote false information in their books. Seriously the proof is there if you wake the hell up and look around at all the children in this country that are on the vaccine schedule. Yup way different then the ones that aren’t being drugged up. > > How does the Pharmaceutical company make money if their vaccines are so effective? > > Keep turning your back on the parents that followed the vaccine schedule only to have a huge mess to live with and a child that will never be the same again. I trust those parents b/c until you have had to live it you have no clue. How about asking them if they would rather take the chances against those so called preventative diseases had they known vaccines could have done the damage it had to their child. > > Keep your ignorant minds out of my child’s health care PERIOD!!! > > Sincerely > > Elizabeth Vernon > > Vernon, NJ ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/19 "2012-11-26T21:41:53Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > As I predicted the Dashel-bot has shown up with her usual parade of inane and inaccurate comments. You know you’ve hit the big time when the major loons flood your comment section with nonsense. I wondered how long it would take for the Dashel-bot to show up. I’m uber-busy today so I don’t know if I’ll be able to jump in there, but the FB groups are on it. > [@Chimera](#): > > Whirling Derpishes. I am SO TOTALLY stealing this for future use. ---
**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:** [November 26, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156/20 "2012-11-26T21:46:31Z")
Good job. No, _great_ job. It blows my mind that modern parents reject one of the most amazing achievements that humans have come up with. I get angry at at the possible loss of herd immunity, where people who haven’t had any say in the bad decisions are affected by it. Not cool, man. Not cool. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-editorial-in-todays-newark-star-ledger/642156.md?page=2)