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.

Is this changing, Amy?

Not in the mainstream, as far as I can tell, but there are certainly more forward-thinking women who are getting married their own way, down to the color of the dress.

My experience with it was from working in romance in publishing -- people wanted medieval brides in white gowns. Not right! Queen Victoria shocked the world by wearing white to hers -- she set the trend. In 1840-whatever.

But that's the kind of cultural osmosis I mean, and I think you were talking about, too -- people think pink is a girl's color now. Why? Is it? Maybe not. But most people are willing to accept the shorthand because they're too busy to be bothered. Girls like pink and dolls! Excellent, I'm ready to be a mom. Ugh.

hivemind - is anyone aware of a book that looks at childrens' book characters in terms of their neurosis? I was thinking about this last night as we just finished reading Harriet the Spy. She seems pretty classic Aspergers. Calvin in Calvin and Hobbes, sociopath? Amelia Bedelia, also Aspergers, or maybe ADHD?

Pink-for-girls-blue-for-boys became solidified right around the time ultrasounds became really good at sex detection. Why sell gender neutral clothes to parents who know what they're having months in advance when you can sell them a pink frilly dress NOW and a set of little blue overalls with trucks on them for kid #2?

(In practice, this generally lends itself to younger siblings simply being mistaken for the opposite sex because their parents can't be bothered to buy new clothes that they now know from experience will be outgrown in a matter of weeks. But that doesn't stop Gerber from selling little pink headbands to make sure nobody thinks your bald baby girl is a bald baby boy.)

Stop CBS from airing anti-vaccine ads on its Times Square JumboTron

A 15-second public service message featuring the National Vaccine Information Center is being shown on the CBS JumboTron on Times Square through April 28. Made possible by support from Mercola.com, the message is shown every hour for 18 hours a day on the 20 by 26-foot full color big screen located on 42nd St. between 7th and 8th Avenues near Broadway and the NY Port Authority and directly beneath where the crystal ball drops at midnight on Times Square every NewYear's Eve.

The 15 second spot includes the logos of NVIC and Mercola.com and a photo of a Mom with her baby. It begins with the message Vaccines: Know the Risks and ends with the message Vaccination: Your Health. Your Family. Your Choice with the statue of liberty in the background.

Do other media organizations air ads like this? or refuse to air them?