Also, why did I assume that everyone knows what a fleshlight is? WTF is wrong with me?

A 100 years ago, pink was for boys and blue was for girls.

Also, now I'm picturing Genera Hole in uniform....

This is why (I think) it took a decade and the deaths of hundreds of children to stop vax = autism correlation/causation issue.

Unfortunately, the antivax movement brushed this off and moved straight from autism to "toxins" without missing a beat. That fight isn't over by a long shot.

(And honestly, the autism/vaccine link in people's minds is going to take generations to eradicate. All most people know is that there's some kind of vague connection that they remember hearing about somewhere - the majority of parents don't spit when they hear the name Andrew Wakefield.)

So what is going to have to happen is a huge influx of classic childhood diseases to kill off the children of the anti-vacs and leave a population of pro-vafc people to continue the human population?

All most people know is that there's some kind of vague connection that they remember hearing about somewhere - the majority of parents don't spit when they hear the name Andrew Wakefield.

This is where cultural osmosis kills me. Take a minute and actually read something, people.

It actually works with Allyson's story about the color pink, too. The example I'm giving isn't really an important societal phenomenon, but it's assumed white was always the color for wedding dresses, for instance. Not really, folks. Just because as far back as you can remember they have been doesn't mean much.

Hopefully it won't come to that.

Timelies all!

It is rainy and windy, we have gotten our errands done, and my mom is making chicken soup with matzo balls. Such is the state of things here.

I usually think of this in terms of immunodeficient people who depend on herd immunity to survive. Infants are particularly susceptible, and whooping cough can kill them.

I'm hopeful, Jessica. I've been collecting articles in odd places like yahoo news where the first sentence out of the gate is something about Wakefield being proven a fraud who took 800,000 to produce phony results for a lawsuit and how many deaths/outbreaks it has caused.

Fucker should be in jail. But the reporting is getting much better, not just about there being no link, but about the outbreaks/deaths/fraud. It's getting better. Slowly.

I've been collecting articles in odd places like yahoo news where the first sentence out of the gate is something about Wakefield being proven a fraud who took 800,000 to produce phony results for a lawsuit and how many deaths/outbreaks it has caused.

That is hopeful. In my community, I see a lot of "soft" antivaxism - people who have just the wrong combination of privilege and ignorance so that "too many too soon" seems like common sense. Those people are the ones who are vulnerable to the "know the risks" ads being played in Times Square right now (with helpful links to Mercola and the NVIC, grrr) and it makes me very thankful that neither of my children are immunocompromised.

Take a minute and actually read something, people

Is this changing, Amy? A friend of mine got married in a gorgeous red evening gown a couple of years ago. Another wore gold. Culturally, the last few weddings I've attended were traditional vietnamese (she wore green) and non-denominational/hodegpodge of culture (red, again).

I can't imagine wearing white. I'd look terrible. I wonder how many brides look at their wedding pictures and think, "Gosh, I wish I could have been in navy. I look great in navy."

I saw photos of a wedding in which the bride wore white with black polka dots. It was a swing dress sort of thing. It just seemed perfect and happy-making. Even if you go with white, why not add a pattern? Polka dots are awesome.