Who cares about poor people?

Not the GOP. Nope, not at all. Being a poor person, of course I already knew the mouthpieces of the republican party think I’m lazy and uneducated. I know that for various reasons they think I should both stop having babies and stop aborting babies.

And also apparently the stupid Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation doesn't care about low-income women.  The Foundation pulled its funding from Planned Parenthood, which move was announced yesterday. The foundation, which has come under fire for various dealings, did so because Planned Parenthood is under a congressional investigation on account of some superamazing undercover work in which spies found PP employees to be doing their jobs! Advocating for women’s health! Scandalous, indeed. So the new vice pres of the Komen Foundation just happens to be a woman who ran for governor of Georgia partially on a platform of defunding PP. And the guidelines about not being able to fund an organization under congressional investigation? New.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure does not care about poor women’s health. Hundreds of thousands of women will go without breast cancer screens now, because surprisingly, there aren’t a lot, or any in many areas, places that do free or cheap cancer screenings. Despite anti-choicers efforts to the contrary, us poor women haven’t been tossed under the hearse yet.

Planned Parenthood has already launched a Breast Health Emergency Fund to offset the untenable actions of the Komen Foundation. Led with a grant of $250,000 by the Amy and Lee Fikes Foundation, the fund will work immediately to allow PP to keep performing life-saving screening and care. “We are deeply alarmed that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation appears to have succumbed to political pressure from a vocal minority,” Karl Eastlund, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho, said.

Eastlund’s alarmed, but I bet he’s not surprised, and neither am I. More and more it’s obvious that the vocal minority is getting louder, and if you listen, this is what they’re saying to the rank and file: You don’t matter.

Look, I’m not going to ask you to donate to the Emergency Fund, because you’re probably as broke as I am, and I get annoyed with all the “Donate if you can” stuff, because I DO want to, but I can't. But I know that our pro-choice, pro-women pens are mightier than the swords of holier-than-thou-ness wielded by many enemies of folks in poverty. We may be poor, but we deserve, yes, ARE ENTITLED TO, healthcare. I’m grateful for those who remember that, like our Senator Patty Murray, like the Amy and Lee Fikes Foundation,and like Planned Parenthood.

Which Way Will WIC go?

I loved being on WIC from 2000-2005. I loved the cooking classes, free recipe books and never having to worry about food for my son. My ex-husband and I were very poor college students back then so knowing there would be cereal, milk and other food for our son in constant supply was a blessing indeed.

For me, WIC was pretty consistent. You went in about once a month, had your child weighed, measured and sometime a finger prick to check iron levels (a child can be on WIC until the age of 5 or until your income increases over poverty mark for the family size). Then, you got your folder of checks. These checks were good for specific items and varied in selection with the child’s age.

Once in a while they had me sign up for a class. One was on how to make macaroni and cheese from scratch (white base, add cheese, boil macaroni, put in oven) and another on the number of fruits and vegetables your child was to eat per day and how to make eating them fun and interesting (ants on a log!). Most classes came with government-printed recipe books and handouts. I thought it was fun, and honestly, a bit like junior high home-ec class, which I also liked quite a bit.

But I was surprised to hear that many women have had different experiences with WIC than I have. Reports of “pushy staff” and mundane visits have been ringing in my ears. Some even quit. I think it would take a lot for me to quit a free food program but when you hear that a mother “didn’t feel respected as a parent” that is definitely hard to take. I think that would push me over the edge.

WIC tried to pressure me into breastfeeding but in no way with a heavy hand. In the office, I succumbed to pressure to join a class just to learn about it but then cancelled. I was 19 and pregnant. All my brothers and sisters had been bottle-fed and I wanted my husband to be able to help. I worried about breastfeeding not working out. I could go on and on but I don’t want to make this a breastfeeding post. Suffice it to say, I just wasn’t ready to breastfeed. I was young, scared and had no frame of reference. I gave a sigh of relief when I got my first formula checks without hassle.

So, upon reading that WIC is actually trying to recruit low income families to join, I started to wonder why this would be needed. Isn’t the Right always saying we “poor people” want our free cheese? Guess we don’t if they are all up in our parenting business.

I hope WIC is taking surveys to see why people leave or refuse to join. WIC doesn’t seem to be as well-known as it used to be. Has it overstayed its welcome? I don’t think so. Perhaps there is pressure from higher up Government folks for WIC to produce impressive numbers to report back to those who elected to support and fund the program. I’ve learned in my past few months of grant writing that grantors (government or not) REALLY want to see what you do with THEIR money. Perhaps that’s it…WIC is pressuring parents to churn out super babies so they can keep their funding.

What’s your WIC story? I’d love to hear it.

Every Child a Wanted Child

Today is the 39^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and it’s Blog for Choice day.  I thought this was the appropriate time to share my second abortion story, because my second abortion didn’t involve complications or drawn-out denial or an abusive partner—it was a more typical experience, I think, and I think it’s just as important to share this story.   

After my first abortion, I didn’t go on birth control because I wasn’t seeing anyone and I didn’t see the point.  A couple of years later I started seeing someone, and became pregnant again (no condom.  Yes, stupid.)  I told the father and he told me he was supportive of whatever decision I made.  I didn’t hesitate.  It is still amazing to me that through the years, though I’ve been willing to sacrifice a lot of things for a man, and though I’ve avoided confrontation with others by being passive-aggressive, I’ve always, always been able to stand firm when it came to my reproductive choices.  It’s not even difficult for me. 

The father accompanied me and I went and got my abortion, by the same wonderful woman, Dr. Susan Wicklund.  And this time when the nurse asked me at my follow-up visit if I was interested in a birth control pill, I said yes. 

I don’t regret either of my abortions.  I couldn’t imagine being tied to either of those men in any way.  I grew up positive I didn’t want to have kids, which probably fueled my pro-choice slant from early on, and I only changed my mind when I met someone who somehow made me believe I could be a mother, who just took it for granted I could be a good mother, when I’d always seen myself as someone who’d be terrible at and who would also hate it.   

A Sex Note: Would You Want One?

The other night, on my pillow, I found a short tender letter written by my 17 year old daughter. In the letter, she got straight to the point and told me her and her boyfriend of nearly a year had had sex for the first time. She assured me they were responsible and safe. She said they hadn’t really planned for it to happen, but it just kinda’ happened. She said they were being responsible, and she just wanted me to know. I think they were both virgins (but it’s hard to be certain). I cried after I read the letter – first, because of her loss of innocence (She’s grown up too fast!), second, because she was choosing to keep me informed of her most intimate secrets (Holy smokes! I thought she semi-hated me most days!), and, third, because I worried I might be responsible for nudging along the process (!). Just the week before, I told her she needed to get out more and have some fun while she was young. She doesn’t go out much. She’s never in trouble. She plays the flute. Her grades are incredible. And I have been getting her birth control for the last three years – not because she’s been sexually active but because she has awful heavy periods (a curse that runs in the family).  I suggested them to make her less miserable. Did I give her a green light? Should I throw up a stop sign now?

During a phone call, I told my older sister about this endearing letter. Maybe I was bragging a little, fluffing up the idea that my daughter and I have a relationship which consists of some near-to freaky trust and honesty. Of course, for all I know I suppose my daughter could’ve had sex with her boyfriend months ago. When I was a horny teenybopper, either I told my mother absolutely nothing or I lied impulsively, sometimes even when I didn't need to. Given the note, however, I think it's safe to call the bottom line more important (i.e., The wonder of the fact that she told me anything at all.).

Maybe I wanted some big sisterly advice on what to do now. My sister is five years older than me, and seeing as we grew up with a working single mother, my sister did a lot to mother me herself. She’s survived one hardass life; she’s in a better place now than she’s ever been – finally divorced from an dumbass and affording her rent. But she still works 40+ hours a week as a temp when she deserves the rank of an admin. She’s a good mother of four, including two exhaustively moody teenage daughters, and has recently become a grandmother.

I told my sister, “My daughter told me her and her boyfriend had sex.”

My sister responded, “And she felt compelled to dump that information on you?”

I laughed off her response. She wasn’t meaning to be funny, in fact, she was feeling kinda' end-of-the-day sleepy/grouchy. Still, her response made me think. We parents of teenagers are ever-haunted by these concupiscent heebie jeebies. It's hard to watch our big-eyed babies become creatures of curves and angles driven by lust. I was a teenage mother, so I fear I may have overcorrected. I bring up the myths and truths of sex, the responsibilities of birthing people, maintaining self-confidence and control amidst gender stereotypes, etc., at least once a week or more, and I've been doing this since my daughter first budded boobies (age 9?). I've always believed the sex talk sure as hell doesn’t end with the Birds and Bees speech or with the official display of whatever illustrated version of the “Tell Me About My Body” book otherwise hiding on the shelf.

So I ask fellow parents, would you want a little informative letter on your pillow? Would you pry for it? Would you hide from it? How much could you bare to know and what would you do with that information if you got it dumped on you?

My welfare is different

 The other day I was working at my medical transcription, typing typing typing away, when I got distracted by the Facebook.  Specifically, by a conversation started by a family member—a cousin by marriage.  In my tiny hometown in Montana, I’m related either directly or by marriage to juuuust about everyone.  But anyway, that’s neither here nor there.  The conversation, or what can be better described as a confusing and frightening narrative, started off thusly:

No food for you!

 "I was n store other day an a ma n pa n kid in buyn carton of cigs 2gal coke n rentn movies! Odd thng is they wur talkn 2 man bout needn food frm food bank an cuz they had already ben there ths mnth. The man askd if they had any cash? Nope pay day is nx week was there anser! Now they had money 4 pop movies n cigs tho! Heres the kicker... Payday as they cald it is actualy wen they get their welfare an disablity n food stamps.  Now it was all i cud do 2 get out the door wthout getn throd in jail!!"

Wow.  He was so upset, he almost got throd in jail, y’all.  Let’s ignore the terrible spelling, if we can, because I really don’t want to say that my cousin is stupid. Because I have no idea if he is.  But smart people are bad spellers too, so I’m not gonna jump on his ass too much about that.  Plus, he was probably updating from his phone, right there at the store.  Or perhaps he was so upset that he had to wait until he got to his pickup truck to clumsily and angrily tap his message. I mean, how upset do you have to be to almost get throd in jail?  I’d bet pretty upset. 

From there, my own brother decided to jump in.  My brother is super smart and quick-witted.  He’s also kind of a dick.  Here’s the rest of the conversation, salted heavily with my own pissed off outbursts.  Oh, and I’m giving them all fun pseudonyms.  So the starting comment was Cousin Elmer. 

Brother Buck:  Good thing YOU were going to work.  Somebody has to pay for these losers’ cigs and movies and food stamps.  By the way, I think jail time would’ve been totally worth it.

For the past seven years my family and I have utilized WIC, food stamps, and Medicaid. Now, I’m no Geometry genius, but I think that his equation is insulting to me.  Wait....yep, yep it is. 

People who use food stamps = losers. 

I have used food stamps. 

I = loser. 

Got it.  My brother thinks I’m a loser.  I’m feeling like ranting, but first, let’s keep listening as this unfolds:

Cousin Bocephus:  I’m with (brother Buck).  Should have asked him if he’d ever tryed suckin on a cig with a split lip.

Cousin Marcia May:  and they VOTE, too.  (angry face)

Brother Buck:  of COURSE they vote.  Can you say Obama?

Cousin Elmer:  u wnd bleve these peopl.  Peopl took food an clothes 4 kids 4 chrsmas...The man tels people he needs shoes n pants also. Wthout so much as a thnkyou!  Oh an house smokd up with leftys an one of kids has asthma! Berta may jus have a runaway! Wups

Hey, he knows what a lefty is?!   Huh.  Other than that, I'm confused.  Who is Berta?  Is she a ewe?  a cow?  A person? Where was Elmer that he heard this awful man expressing his need for shoes and pants, without properly prostrating himself before Elmer?  How does Elmer know the kid has asthma?  But let’s move on, because it gets sooooo much better.  And by better, I mean worse.  Way worse. 

Elmer:  Harry Schmerg postd 2day that iges 4 states drug tst b4 welfare! Shud b all 50 butgood that 4 do now

Buck:  I’ve heard the argument that drug testing welfare recipients is unconstitutional (mostly from people on welfare) If that is the case, then drug testing people who actually want to work for a living is obviously unconstitutional as well.

Elmer:  I thnk that habitual welfare tards shud hav to wear similar outfits like convicts and actualy go bak 2 real foodstamps nstead of debit cards and gther n the mornin so real wrkn folk cn come pk em up and make them wrk 4 their wlfare!  Does that make me an ass?

See, he’s not stupid, he can spell and use “habitual” correctly!  Um, but yeah, Elmer, it certainly DOES make you an ass.  Well, I was thinking assHOLE, but yeah.  Pretty much.   I’m feeling super ranty...must hold off...a bit longer...

Bocephus:  here’s an idea, you always hear of people saying “I’m on welfare ‘cause there ain’t no jobs,” but there seems to be a never ending supply of community service projects.  If you sign up for welfare, welcome to the wonderful world of community service.  Since community is taking care of you, why not pitch in and take care of community.  Mow a lawn, trim a tree, serve lunch at senior center, at least then I won’t feel like my money is being wasted. 

Bocephus, again:  My JOB is right across the street from the food bank.  Once a month I witness droves of brand new vehicles with $5000 wheel and tire packages and $3000 stereos picking up boxes of donated food.  When I go to the grocery store, I end up in line behind the same people and witness them buying five carts full and paying with there foodstamps. 

Hmmm. Cousin Bocephus certainly spends a lot of time watching the people across the street—I mean, he knows them so well he recognizes them in the grocery store.  Does his boss know about this? 

Marcia May:  don’t know if I’d go so far as a “welfare uniform” Grud LOL but I DO think the baloney move to “save the self esteem” of those using food stamps is totally counter-productive.  You shouldn’t be usin’ em unless you NEED em and if you NEED em then there’s no shame in using em.  I would be ALL for the expectation of completing community service appropriate to the needs/abilities of the individual (wait...that sounds kind of like a JOB, right)...think that would thin the herd QUITE a bit...if people are going to be compelled work, they might just get the hang of it and figure it adventageous to pursue a job where they get paid in more than government cheese...also not opposed to the idea of compelling birth control...if you’re having trouble feeding the ones you got, you probably shouldn’t have any MORE right now



from ejmassa.com



Wait.  Wait.  My partner had some input here.  “What?!  She’s dissin on my government cheese?!  What the fuck’s she know about government cheese?”  My partner spent a lot of years on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations, and he knows from government cheese.  I’m pretty sure my cousin does not know from government cheese.  When my partner (I’m gonna call him High Hawk since we’re all about pseudonyms here—but that’s actually his Native name) and I moved in together, his parents gave us some food, and among that was a box of government mac and cheese.  I cooked it up while High Hawk was at work.  I couldn’t eat it.  The cheese’s texture was something between milk and snot, it stuck to your mouth and filmed up your teeth.  High Hawk came home and ate a huge bowl of it.  Marcia May is, of course, using the term’s derogatory sense, an idea more than an actual block of hard cheese. A metaphor, even.  Marcia goes on to declare that if she was in a desperate situation, she’d be happy to comply with all of this.  Not only would she comply, she’d be “dadgum grateful to do it.”  Ooooookaay. Not buyin that shit for a second.  Walk a mile, lady, you know the saying.

Finally, Elmer declares that he has never gone more than six days without a job, ever.  So:

Elmer has never had trouble finding a job =

You and Elmer are both humans =

You have never had trouble finding a job

I’m getting super good at this math thing, I think. 

Now, I get to rant.  

Oops!  Wrong finger.



It is NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS what I buy with my food stamps.  Fuck you for thinking you get to dictate what someone buys with their food stamps.  THEIR food stamps.  Not yours.  I don’t give a shit if you pay taxes for my food stamps.  I pay taxes for your firefighters and your police officers.  I pay for your kids’ schooling.  I pay for your farm subsidies, you know, welfare for farmers.  Yep, looked it up, and Elmer is on the welfare too.  In fact, a lot of my relatives are farmers who received subsidies, and a lot of them rail against welfare and the lazy bums who accept it. 

My brother, Buck?  Declared bankruptcy a few years back.  I’ve been there too, after I got divorced about a decade ago.  But isn’t bankruptcy a bailout by the government?  Isn’t bankruptcy another form of welfare? 

So my family’s probably not really against welfare.  They’re just against my welfare and your welfare.  Theirs is different.  They are different. 

Not long ago I had a pretty decent Facebook convo with Bocephus about guns.  I asked him what he thought about being able to carry a concealed weapon into a bar.  Bocephus has a concealed carry permit or whatever, and he’s taken training, and he’s a responsible gun owner.  I’m not against guns.  If I thought I could have one in the house without it being a danger to my kids and also being able to get to it in time, I would.  My cousin Bocephus said he personally would never consider bringing his concealed weapon anywhere if he even thought he was going to drink, and he thought most gun owners were the same way.  I had to admit to myself that I’d never really thought that most gun owners might be responsible like he is.  Instead I thought of the worst case scenario.  So I told my cousin that maybe I was wrong about that, and that if most gun owners thought and acted like he did, we were in good shape.

And yet my cousins and my brother all fail to recognize that a LOT of people on welfare DO have jobs.  I actually am not on the welfare right now.  I graduated!  But like I said, for almost seven years I’ve needed help.  For all of those seven years, I worked full-time.  High Hawk worked, too.  I still needed help.  That’s what they don’t get—a lot of us are working as hard as we can, as much as we can, when we can.  And “there ain’t no jobs” is the fucking truth—more for some populations than others, obviously.  There are always some who will abuse the system, like the farmers who got paid to grow things they actually didn’t grow, and so the government had to start flying over to make sure welfare fraud was not being committed.  Like those who knowingly and foolishly take on too much debt and have to declare bankruptcy. 

And finally.  Even if you weren’t getting handouts too, pals, and even if I wasn’t working, you still don’t get to be supreme commander of purchases.  If I want to buy a bag of chips and ice cream for dinner, FUCK YOU.  I’m having Doritos and mint chocolate chip.  The reality is, you aren’t paying for welfare anymore than anyone’s paying for your handouts and everything else that taxes go to.

So fuck your segregation and forced birth control (I’m pretty sure sterilization of the poor would have made its way into the conversation if it would have gone on).  I hope someone follows you around and catalogues your purchases and activities and looks down their nose at you and judges you and then rants about subsidies and bankruptcy…and hypocrisy. 

Four out five parents agree: questions are a good thing!

The mommy wars are still raging.  Parents judge each other so harshly that it seems no one wins when it comes to a variety of topics like giving birth the “right” way, breastfeeding, free-range parenting, television watching habits, proper age for things like earrings, cell phones, walking home alone, issues of discipline, etc., etc., etc., and, of course, vaccination.  A couple of months ago I wrote a guest post  for The Feminist Breeder  in which I expressed my surprise that many of my cohorts in the pro-choice movement, who vehemently defend any woman’s right to choose, seem very much anti-choice when it comes to vaccinations, both for children and adults.  I am all for choice when it comes to vaccines.  I’m not anti-vaccine, but I’m definitely a skeptic, and have decided from now on to research vaccines and do what I think is best on a case-by-case basis. 

            When it comes to the HPV vaccine case, I have made my decision.  My daughters and my son and any future children I may have will not receive the HPV vaccine while it is my decision to make.  When they are old enough they may choose for themselves.  I have a real problem with the vaccine, and it’s not because of the way the virus is spread.  I have two  main problems with Gardasil in particular (not having read too much about Cervarix, a less popular HPV vaccine by a different company). 

EFFICACY.  According to WebMD, the vaccine is proven to be effective for at least four years, and maybe longer.  Long-term effects are not known.  (How could they be?  The vaccine only came out six years ago!)  So, it might last for five years?  Six?  Gardasil is now recommended for females and males from about age 9 to 26.  So if a person received the series at 9 years of age, they’re going to be protected until they’re 14 or so.  Then what, a booster?  A series of boosters?  According to the American Cancer Society, cervical cancer occurs mostly in mid-life, usually under 50 years of age but rarely in those under 20 years of age.  Multiple booster shots would likely be necessary to keep immunity up.  The vaccine works to protect against those strains that are most likely to cause cancer ONLY if sexual activity hasn’t begun yet. 

So if my nine year-old hasn’t had sex (cripes, did I just have to type that?  Ack!), they’re protected against four strains for at least four years.  If my child has begun sexual activity by the time they receive the injections, and they have been exposed to one of the four strains, “catch-up” vaccines may be useful in protecting against the other three strains.  But then again, they may not.  The American Cancer Society says “the independent panel making the Society recommendations found that there was not enough proof that catch-up vaccination for all women age 19 to 26 would be beneficial.” 

While writing this I attempted to find an article or piece of information discussing this discrepancy.  Why vaccinate our children for something they are not likely to contract until middle age?  Wouldn’t it make more sense to wait if the protection lasts for only four years?  I found nothing in my search for discussion about Gardasil’s length of efficacy.  I’m not satisfied with the gap here.  If I were to seriously consider this vaccination, I would want to know how long my kids would be protected, and they would also deserve to know if they would need to continue to receive boosters throughout their lives. 

It’s generally agreed, at least, that Pap smears remain a necessity even if a woman has had the vaccination.  Pap screening can catch atypical cells and precancerous cells, and the rise in the percentage of women getting regular Paps has led to better detection of atypical and/or cancerous cells, which has led to fewer deaths from cervical cancer. 

But wait.  So women should get Paps regularly.  Obviously.  Now, here’s an argument I have come across a few times, or something along these lines:  “Pap smears are great, but lots of women don’t get regular Paps!  This vaccine is here to protect them.”  Still, no one’s denying that Paps are still necessary, even with the vaccine.  My question is this:  If these people see women as neglecting their health screening, or being too busy to get in to see their doctor, why do they think these same women could make it into the office three times in less than a year?  I mean, getting to the doctor is getting to the doctor is getting to the doctor.  This reasoning is faulty. 

And so was Governor Rick Perry’s when he attempted to mandate the HPV vaccine back in 2007.  Perry mentioned that he could overlook the government encroachment on parents’ rights because he erred “firmly on the side of protecting life.”  Does Perry…wait.  Does anyone think that the majority of parents out there aren’t doing their damndest to protect their child’s life?  I mean, sure, there are crappy parents out there, crappy guardians, crappy grandparents, who don’t care much what happens to their wards.  But I stand by this.  Most parents are doing what they think is best for their child.  And when we’re informed, we can do that.  Lots of parents conclude that Gardasil or Cervarix is right for their child—but not all parents, and that’s their right. If we all know all the information, we should be free to take our own paths, right?  Right?  And even when folks don’t know all the information (I didn’t research anything my doctor told me to do before a couple of years ago), they still want what’s best and safest for their kids.  I did then, when I followed the recommended vaccination schedule, and I do now, when I will not be fully vaccinating my youngest.

SIDE EFFECTS.  Look, there’s a lot of stuff out there about how many people have been injured by or had reactions to Gardasil, according to the VAERS reports.  I’m aware that there’s no way to verify that the reactions were definitively caused by the vaccine.  Correlation does not equal causation and all that.  However.  For me and my kids, any risk of serious reactions is too high, especially when the vaccine has higher reaction/injury reports than other vaccines. 

Currently in California, the HPV vaccine is being offered to 12 year-olds without their parents’ knowledge or consent.  Now, if a person has talked to their child about the vaccine and decided it’s the right choice for them or the wrong choice for them, it’s probably no big deal.  The kid can say yes or no according to what they and their guardian have decided (unless, of course, there are attempts at coercion, which is not unheard of).  But lots of folks don’t have all the information and they’re trusting that the school administration would not do something to harm their children.  And I can pretty much guarantee that the school nurse is not giving the tweens information on the VAERS or length of efficacy. 

Another thing that surprises me about the pro-choice, environmentalist, eco-feminist crowd I mingle with online is that they don’t question the vaccine, and all vaccines.  We are people who question every single thing that goes into our kids’ bodies.  Some people don’t allow their kids to have sugar—others forbid sugar substitutes.  A lot of us try not to use unnatural food dyes.  We check to see if there’s BPA in our plastic.  So it makes perfect sense to me that this crowd in particular would wonder about each and every thing that is ingested by or injected into our children, especially vaccines. But again and again I’ve found that those who advocate for informed consent in almost every other issue, are not OK with me deciding not to vaccinate. 

Since when did doctors become so elevated?  Lots of comments on articles against the HPV vaccine mention that doctors surely have more knowledge than us moms, so we should trust them.    

Let me get this straight.  We often get second opinions when we’re not sure a doctor is right or when we feel more eyes are needed on the situation. We remain wary of C-section-happy doctors.  Why, then, should our trust be blind when it comes to vaccines?  As in all occupations, even those which require much schooling, there are bad doctors.  Ill-informed doctors.  Stubborn doctors.  Asshole doctors. 

I really love it when I find an article on vaccination that is reasonable and rational.  Sharon Begley wrote a great one at The Daily Beast, which actually argues for the HPV vaccine, but acknowledges the opposition’s concerns instead of writing skeptics or anti-vaxxers off as ignorant or selfish.  Over at Evil Slut Clique, you can find two separate blog posts with information about Gardasil.  Check those out, because that’s what a real conversation about the HPV vaccine looks like.  I just don’t have any use for articles that slam doors and hurl insults.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking questions about Gardasil and every vaccine and medication—actually, it seems just the opposite to me.  I find Gardasil’s statement on the website telling:  “Only a doctor or health care professional can decide if GARDASIL is right for you or your child.”


This article is cross-posted at The Vaccine Machine.