The Blind Leading The Blinded

There aren’t many people in today’s world who remember what life was like in the days of mass epidemics like influenza, whooping cough, or the scourge of polio. Yes, many of us survived childhood diseases like chicken pox and measles, but many were scarred for life.

And yet, there are those who persist in the belief that vaccinations are more of a problem than a cure. In the culture of conspiracy, the anti-vaxxers can usually be associated with those who believe the government is poisoning us with chem trails and microwaves, that Sandy Hook was a hoax, or that Hillary Clinton runs a child sex slave ring from the basement of a pizza parlor.

It’s even more disturbing when someone who buys into the anti-vax drivel is an elected official right here in our backyard. In an era when politicians are dropping like clay pigeons over some heresy they committed decades ago, how can it be that Nevada City Vice Mayor Reinette Senum gets a pass when she publicly encourages such beliefs?

Maybe that’s a question Nevada City should be asking.

 

 

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10 Responses to The Blind Leading The Blinded

  1. Steven Frisch says:

    Precisely. I read the editorial in The Union this morning and wondered the same thing.

    Several schools in Nevada County, including 3 in Nevada City, have amongst the lowest vaccination rates in the state. They are Twin Ridges Home Study Charter at 18%; Forest Charter at 31%; Yuba River Charter at 42%; and Nevada City School of the Arts at 48%.

    https://edsource.org/2017/vaccination-rates-by-school-in-california/580981

  2. rl crabb says:

    Perhaps the parents of unvaccinated children should start their own schools, where contagious diseases could be isolated from the general population. Not great for the kids though… https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/washington-lawmakers-weigh-vaccine-bill-amid-outbreak-n969666

    • Chris Peterson says:

      It appears that they have already started their own schools since all of those that Steven mentions are charter schools.

      What is interesting to note, across the river from me in Vancouver, WA, is that, since the outbreak of measles, vaccinations are up over 600%, which means some folks don’t recognize a threat until it’s at their door. (I guess, to them, history is just someone else’s story.)

      I’ve thought for some time now that it’s time to thin the herd. It’s nice to be able to identify those folks, in advance, who will be making room for the rest of us. Unfortunately, the disease that will decimate us has no known cure, as of yet, so I guess Thanos will have his way.

  3. One of the main arguments you hear from the anti-vaxxers is that–rarely–somebody gets sick from a vaccination or even dies. I wonder if those same people would pass on life-saving heart surgery because, you know, somebody occasionally dies on the operating table?

  4. Judith Lowry says:

    One word, Quarantine.

  5. Mark Joyner says:

    Vote. Senum. Out. It is down right criminal that a woman with no children of her own is convincing others to put their children in needless and reckless danger. And when they do get ill, she doesn’t want them to have access to modern communications to call for help.

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