Vaccine Debate

Was reading Mojoey's Deep Thoughts blog and he introduced a new blog on the Atheist Blogroll (which I am meaning to join...any day now) called Ziztur.

Started by reading an entry about the vaccine debate and I really enjoyed it, so I will be following this blog in the future.

I liked a few points that were made about the silliness of the argument that pharamaceutical companies are profiting off of poisonous vaccines or by suppressing homeopathic remedies that work.

It was suggested that treating the illnesses would probably be more profitable for the pharamaceutical companies than selling vaccines for them. And that pharmaceutical companies could easily enter the homeopathy market and drive out the smaller companies, who, by the way, aren't necessarily struggling in their industry and are also making huge profits. Just as they claim that pharmaceutical companies have something to gain from driving them out, they also stand to profit from giving pharmaceutical companies a bad reputation.

An Exercise in Futility

So I spent a good deal of my life keeping my mouth shut because I was not very sure in my convictions and was also (and still am) very shy.

But lately I have felt the urge to tell people what I think more often, and perhaps this will get me into trouble soon.

I am no longer able to just let someone get away with some stupid passing remark or the spreading of ignorant nonsense. I find myself compelled to respond.

Now recently my friend made a remark on her Facebook status, which may have been more of a statement than a question, but I chose to answer her to the best of my knowledge.

However, soon, her mother-in-law decided to get involved by making what was, in my opinion, a stupid and vague comment. I was not in the mood to let this one alone, and apparently not any of her further stupid comments, either.

Ok, so I get really angry when I hear people talking about how "dangerous" vaccines are. This nonsense is not only stupid, but really harmful.When I discover that I am debating with people who do not seem to have much value for rationality or honest arguments, I tend to become a little more loose in my discussion techniques. So please, let me know where I slipped up. If I ever have a discussion with an intellectual I would be sure to be a lot more cautious.
At this point, I decided to back down and respect my friend's wishes to end the discussion. It's not like I was getting through to this woman anyways.

But wait....there's more.

Now Friend's Husband wants in on the action. Apparently coming in to rescue his poor mother's cause, he sends me this private message:

And here is my reply:



I am still waiting on a response.

I wont be holding my breath.

And also...what is up with this belief that both sides of an argument are valid? I support a person's right to believe whatever they like, but that does not mean that their opinion is necessarily valid or worth considering. This is a faulty assumption that I've seen a lot of people making (i.e. Teaching the Controversy).

"A lie is a lie even if everyone believes it. The truth is the truth even if nobody believes it". - David Stevens