I wanted to blog about Oprah yesterday, but my internet wasn't working.
She had a show on Tuesday where Jenny McCarthy came on and talked about her son, who has autism. Jenny made the claim that she thinks her son developed autism as a result of the MMR vaccines. I seriously wanted to throw something at my tv when she said that. I'm sooo pissed off that there will be parents that see the show and decide not to get their kids vaccinated based on Jenny's statements. The research doesn't support the idea that vaccines contribute to autism. Thimerisol was taken out of the MMR vaccine in the US in 2001 or 2002, and autism rates have still been increasing. Gah...people are morons.
Why do I continue to watch Oprah? First there's all this crap about "The Secret", then she plugs psychics, then she spreads all this misinformation about autism... Oprah, you are quickly falling from grace. I really think you mean well, but sometimes, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." (I suppose that quote would be more powerful if I actually believed in hell...but maybe I just mean hell metaphorically or something...) Really, woman, you need to do better on the fact-checking...
Reaching out from the void
3 years ago
4 comments:
Oooh!!! Don't get on Sarah's bad side!!
What the hell is "The Secret"?
Oprah. Yeah. I still think one of the funniest things I've ever seen is that SNL parody of the Oprah's Favorite Things episode.
Good times.
I know v. little about "the secret," but I'm suprised you've NEVER heard of it, Emily.
I LOVE Oprah, but I've been less than thrilled with her shows as of late.
I watched the show about autism, however, I came oh so close to turning it off once I heard about the subject matter. Autism and I have a rich past. I used to be autistic, until I was "rescued!"
I agree with you about the whole vaccine point (they did mention in the show that there was no research to support the claim, however) and I am personally uninterested in the whole cause of autism thing. I do feel, though, that as a mother who noticed a change right after the shots, Ms. McCarthy has the right to question the connections.
Do you think there is a rise in number of people with autism, or do you think that autism is just more widely known?
By the way, Holly Robinson Peete, I was taught by autistics themselves not to refer to them as "people with autism." What to do??
Ok, so I researched The Secret.
*gag*
*vomit*
God, I hate shit like that.
It reminds me of Oprah's old "Remembering the Spirit" phase (or something). Ugh x 100000.
I think that awareness of the symptoms has increased and that the autism label is being more widely applied. There may be other factors contributing to higher rates, but there isn't support for the link between autism and vaccines. People just want to link the two because kids get the vaccines right around the same age that the symptoms become noticeable. But, correlation doesn't equal causation, right? And these people who believe the vaccine/autism link continually move the goalpost. As more and more evidence comes in that the two aren't linked, they say they still need more evidence yet...
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