Bree Walker has hands like lobster claws, essentially. She has two children, one of whom she passed the syndrome to...the shit hit the fan, like "How DARE you..." and etc. but she said she knew that that was a possibility, unlike her parents and she was in a unique position to help them through it.

In a sidebar at sumi's link (not commenting on the main attraction, my irony is sprained), "Kenya toddler is first polio infection in 20 years."

Damn.

My link?

(And that's terrible about the toddler with polio.)

Oops. Suzi's. Natural mistake, since sumi's always quick on the linkage. And one letter off. C'mon.

Apologies to both of you.

"Kenya toddler is first polio infection in 20 years."

To which I say, Anti-vaccination people: SUCK A BIG HAIRY ONE.

Oh dog. I went to suzi's link. Ewwwww.

To which I say, Anti-vaccination people: SUCK A BIG HAIRY ONE.

You beat me.

To which I say, Anti-vaccination people: SUCK A BIG HAIRY ONE.

You beat me.

I think I'm more incoherent with rage about anti-vaccination whackjobs than I am about people who refuse to believe in evolution or people who refuse to believe in global warming. Because, on evolution, well, I have empirical evidence on my side, and I'll just avoid talking to them. On global warming, well, SIT BACK AND WATCH, BITCHES. I got nothing but time on my side for that one.

But anti-vaccination whackjobs are hurting children that they're supposed to protect, as well as FUCKING OVER the population in general, since they're contributing to the decline in herd immunity.

t edit There's a fantastic thread over at Making Light about the anti-vaccination whackjobs, and how, thanks to massive immunization (embrace the irony), nobody fucking remembers just how bad rubella, mumps, measles, polio, etc. really are. Like, wipe-out-all-the-children-under-10-in-one-village bad.

I'm angry at the falsified evidence, certainly, and angry at the situation, but I'm less angry at parents who are nervous about our current vaccination schedule (which is kind of insane compared to when I was a kidlet), because it's hard to remember the needs of the many when you're freaking out about the (now-discredited) risk to your one.

I guess I think of it this way (we vacc, to be clear): I do not trust the medical establishment's claims of safety for treatments they promote blindly, because we've seen too many cases over the last 50 years when they've been wrong. That I think vaccination is the safer, saner choice doesn't mean I don't have reservations about the current blanket approach.

American Experience had a really good and informative hour on the polio epidemic, and the search for the vaccine, a few weeks back--it might still be available on the PBS website for viewing.

Before seeing it, I didn't know that the suspected cause of the huge increase in cases in the 20th century was the vast improvement in hygiene. Kids weren't exposed to as much viruses/bacteria/etc. in their infancy, and so didn't develop antibodies to such things as polio.