{"id":283295,"date":"2018-09-22T21:52:16","date_gmt":"2018-09-22T21:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2018\/09\/22\/thebibliosphere-thebibliosphere-i-just-saw\/"},"modified":"2018-09-22T21:52:16","modified_gmt":"2018-09-22T21:52:16","slug":"thebibliosphere-thebibliosphere-i-just-saw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2018\/09\/22\/thebibliosphere-thebibliosphere-i-just-saw\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

thebibliosphere<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

thebibliosphere<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

I just saw the phrase \u201cwhooping cough party\u201d and I can\u2019t\u2026 I can\u2019t.<\/i><\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Okay, so here\u2019s the thing. Whenever someone asks me \u201chow are you still alive\u201d my favorite
\nflippancy is usually \u201cspite\u201d, but in all honesty it\u2019s vaccines. Spite
\nand vaccines.<\/p>\n

And not just me being vaccinated, but everyone
\naround me too, because there are some vaccines I cannot safely have and I
\n rely on everyone else around me being vaccinated to avoid it. <\/p>\n

Things
\n like, oh, say, whooping cough, which I actually had as a child because I
\n went to school with the victims of antivaxxers, and we all got super
\nsick and coughed so hard the blood vessels in our eyes ruptured and
\nevery fit felt like you were going to die choking for breath.<\/p>\n

And
\ntonight, a friend of mine who happens to be a mother, hauled me into an
\nargument on Facebook where people in her neighborhood group were hosting
\n a \u201cwhooping cough party\u201d cause one of their kids got sick, and the tag
\nline was \u201ccome on over and get it over with lol\u201d, and words cannot
\nconvey how much visceral hatred I had for this person in that moment. If I could have set them on fire with my brain, I probably would.<\/p>\n

Because I
\n can wholly remember sitting in bed clutching my little
\nchest, desperate for the pain to stop, making that horrible wheezing
\nsound, with tears streaming down my face, utterly convinced<\/i> I was going to die if I couldn\u2019t draw breath. And that went on for months<\/i>
\n because even with treatment, the cough can take up to three months to
\nsubside. And that is a horrible thing for a child to go through. I
\ncannot stress enough how painful and terrifying it was and my parents
\nfor all their faults could do nothing. They\u2019d done everything they could
\n to keep me safe from other illnesses. I had all my other vaccines, I
\njust couldn\u2019t have that one.<\/p>\n

And the thing is, you can get it
\nagain, it\u2019s not a one time deal. You can get it more than once, and
\ndoctors actually recommend you get a booster shot for it every ten
\nyears, and I can\u2019t do that. I cannot protect myself from it. I rely on
\nother people being responsible, and taking the necessary steps to keep
\nwhooping cough outbreaks low, and the only way to do that is through
\nregular routine inoculation. <\/p>\n

And these fuckers are throwing a party??? What???<\/b>
<\/i><\/p>\n

Let me be clear, it is through profound measures of willful ignorance, hubris, and yes privilege<\/i>,
\n that people have allowed for things like measles and whooping cough to
\nmake a come back. It is a privilege to live in a healthy society where
\nyou can expect all your children to make it out of infancy. It is a
\nprivilege to not die young from TB, it is a privilege that many people
\nbefore you had to suffer for and work hard to bring about, all in the
\nhopes that another child wouldn\u2019t have to go into the iron lung from
\npolio. And through the privilege of never having had to suffer, you have
\n elected to do harm. You have elected to allow for the resurgence of
\nmumps, and measles and coughs that sound like a death rattle in the
\nlungs of infant children, and then you have the absolute audacity and
\nmalice in your souls to celebrate and throw \u201csickness parties\u201d because
\nyou\u2019d rather let your child suffer through unnecessary illness than be
\nvaccinated?<\/p>\n

How dare you.<\/i> You have a moral and social
\nobligation to protect your children and the people around you, and not
\nonly have you chosen to wave this responsibility, but you are actively endangering others?
<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

How dare you.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

And
\n the thing is I know, I know in your own misguided way you think you are
\n doing what is best for you child. But if the road to hell truly is
\npaved with good intentions, I can tell you now with absolute certainty
\nthat you fuckers have got your own burning stars on the walk of shame.<\/p>\n

Vaccinate
\n your god damn kids. And get your booster shots while you\u2019re at it. You
\nmight just save someone\u2019s life without ever knowing or trying.<\/p>\n

\n(Note: This is not aimed at people who cannot be vaccinated or whose
\nchildren cannot be vaccinated. I know that struggle, I know it is real
\nand I\u2019m so sorry other people are putting you and your loved ones at
\nrisk.<\/p>\n

Also yes, I know chickenpox parties used to be a thing, I
\nwent to one of them as a kid. Thankfully there is now a vaccine for that
\n too! Isn\u2019t living in the future neat!<\/p>\n

And just so you know, if
\nyou come onto this post telling me that vaccines cause autism, you will
\nbe afflicted with the condition known as my foot up your ass. I will not
\n engage on discourse over this, there is no discourse to be had. You are
\n wrong. And that is the end of the discussion.)<\/b><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

thebibliosphere: thebibliosphere: I just saw the phrase \u201cwhooping cough party\u201d and I can\u2019t\u2026 I can\u2019t. Okay, so here\u2019s the thing. Whenever someone asks me \u201chow are you still alive\u201d my favorite flippancy is usually \u201cspite\u201d, but in all honesty it\u2019s vaccines. Spite and vaccines. And not just me being vaccinated, but everyone around me too, … <\/p>\n

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