Summary
A father whose unvaccinated six-year-old daughter became the first U.S. measles death in 10 years remains steadfast in his anti-vaccine beliefs.
The Mennonite man from Seminole, Texas told The Atlantic, “The vaccination has stuff we don’t trust,” maintaining that measles is normal despite its near-eradication through vaccination.
His stance echoes claims by HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., who initially downplayed the current North American outbreak before changing his position under scrutiny.
Despite his daughter’s death, the father stated, “Everybody has to die.”
The fuck
He’s Mennonite. They don’t believe in any English medicine/science. If someone dies, it’s God’s will.
Unpopular opinion: I actually respect this. It’s a personal decision not put upon anyone else, has nothing to do with political mis/disinformation, and is entirely consistent with the rest of their beliefs.
I don’t have to agree with them to respect how they choose to live their lives. Especially if they will keep their kids in seclusion if displaying symptoms and wear masks themselves when coming into town.
Maybe they’ll die, but that’s not my call to make, nor can I force them to live my way (nor do I want to).
Except the dead kid
Yes there is that. It’s a tricky one too bc likely if you were to ask the kid, they would consent to whatever the family says to do. On the other hand, it’s definitely not “informed consent”.
Then again, I choose not to become thought police, so long as the parents themselves give informed consent. The alternative would be to take the child away from their parents, which is also a bad outcome.
Like I said, it’s “tricky”.
Strong disagree. I’m not talking about thought policing, I’m talking about punishing actual decisions that directly lead to the death of a child. People can think and say what they want about vaccines. But when their decision to not get their kid vaccinated directly leads to that kid’s death, that crime leaves the realm of thought.
We as a society don’t hesitate to take children away from parents who beat them, or punish parents who kill them by a malnutrition, and we go rabid over hot cars. These aren’t thought crimes, they are physical actions that physically harm children, and they deserve punishment.