December 1, 2019

"Anti-vaxxer" is Used as a Bigoted Epithet and a Smear, Why Are You Using It?

What do you call a woman who delivered a combined 77 doses of vaccine to her two sons?  An "anti-vaxxer."
What do you call a pediatrician who deliverers vaccines in his office every day?  An "anti-vaxxer."

What do you call the Princeton/Harvard educated father of a disabled daughter who works to improve vaccine safety science and policy?  An "anti-vaxxer" who deserves to be hung.

I have written several vaccine safety reform bills, one of which that resulted in adding this page (https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/immunization/vaccine-safety.shtml) to the Maine.gov web site, to make sure that the state officially recognized and informed the public that the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Exists.

So naturally by working to assure that the state, and its medical providers, know about federal vaccine safety and injury programs, I am opposed to vaccination in any and all forms, and should be tagged as an enemy of the people.

Someone last year said on Twitter that the bigoted moniker, "anti-vaxxer" was akin to calling someone the "N" word.  He was roundly attacked for the comparison, and with some good reason, as his idea was not yet thought through.  He was not quite right, but he was in the ballpark.  The hatred of anyone critical of any part of the vaccine program is not based on who they were at conception, as the "N" word is.

The term "anti-vaxxer" is a bigoted epithet.  Some bigoted smears are based on racism, hatred of someone for who they were born to be, and some are based on choices that people have made.  The "anti-vaxxer" term falls into the latter category.

There is a term that border patrol officers made up in the 1950s for those coming into the US illegally from Mexico, that described their appearance after swimming across the Rio Grande.  I don't need to write it, we know what it is, and it is cruel and devaluing.

There is a term that soldiers use when fighting in the middle east for those who choose to specific headwear.  I don't need to write it, we know what it is, and it is cruel and devaluing.

There are many terms that individuals use to describe those of other religions to extend cruelty to them, and to devalue them.  Often to justify their wholesale murder and genocide. They are too myriad for me to write here.  (And frankly I don't want to write any of these dark designations.)

These are terms that serve the purpose of turning those they find undesirable into "other."  To dehumanize them so that treating them poorly is made more palatable.

To belittle them, to minimize them, to marginalize them, to tag them as "less than."

And it is done every day in the press in the US to those who simply say, "I vaccinated my child and they had a reaction."

Here is the current search for the use of the term in mainstream media headlines:

Anti-vaxxer parents don't want their kids to be bitten by vampires, Russian ad campaign suggests

Newsweek|3 days ago
A new Russian ad campaign mockingly suggested that parents opposed to vaccinations are afraid to give the potentially life-saving inoculations to their children out of concern they could be ...

Anti-vaxxer footy WAG who boasts she doesn't immunise her children sparks outrage over 'fear-mongering' $2000 online 'wellness' program - despite having NO qualifications

MSN News|6 days ago
A controversial anti-vaxxer NRL WAG is facing more public backlash from health clinicians over the online wellness and lifestyle programs she promotes on social media.

Nazi Samoa: Anti-vaxxer Taylor Winsterstein's comments on measles crisis 'appalling'

MSN News|5 days ago
Her views must be condemned when children are dying of the disease writes Peter Williams.

These Parents Are Going to War With Anti-Vaxxers on Facebook

Vice|4 days ago
A new brand of pro-vaccination parents are heading to Facebook to do battle with anti-vaxx ideas at their source. Anti-vaxx activists have used Facebook and other social platforms for years ...
It is used without compunction by most mainstream outlets, and the message is clear... those they are talking about are stupid enough to think that vaccines are akin to vampire bites, have no qualifications to speak on vaccines, are Nazis, and it is ok to harass them, remove their rights and eject them and their children from school, camp, college, the medical profession, religious observances and public gatherings.

They are undesirables, they are dangerous, they are stupid, they are worthy of devaluation, they are undeserving of understanding, they are less than.  It is OK to call for their public execution.  They are worthy of brutalization.  Don't be one of them or we will say the same of you.

Do Newsweek, MSN or Vice us these kinds of terms when discussing South American immigration, or middle eastern enemies, or Jews, or Catholics, or Muslims or... anyone?

Why in the age of "self-identification" is anyone in any press outlet able to do this to anyone?

Even for those who are just picking up the term from other articles, it is lazy writing at best.

Why in the WORLD do they get away with doing it to parents of vaccine injured children, or those whose children died at the hands of the liability-free vaccine program that they trusted?

So next time you are reading an article on "anti-vaxxers" slide in one of those old, hateful appellations that would be anathema to anyone that cares about human beings and see how that sounds in your mind.  Or when you are reading an article on immigration, pick a bigoted phrase to replace the words "migrant" that no actual bigot in polite society could get away with using any longer, and see how hard and ugly that sounds in your head.

That is how hard the term "anti-vaxxer" sounds in my head when I read it as it is used on people like Sheila Ealey for showing the world her beautiful boy who crashed after his MMR and his struggles in his daily life.

Why do some of us use that horrid, demeaning term?  If that is your preferred term, that is certainly your choice, but it is not my choice to spend 15 years trying to make the vaccine program safer to be diminished as, "anti-vaxx."

Ginger Taylor,
Vaccine Safety & Choice Activist,
Vaccine Injury Mom,
Person Worthy of Being Treated with Dignity



July 17, 2019

I Am Blocked From Facebook for Seven Days for Posting St. Augustine's Correct Theology

Well it turns out the FB attack on Christianity is real, as it has declared the foundational biblical doctrine of Original Sin is "hate speech."

When PJ media wrote that Facebook was blocking St. Augustine's discussion of the fallen nature of Man, which necessitated the self-sacrifice and resurrection of Christ for the spiritual salvation of humans, I didn't take it seriously.  I thought that they had done something silly in just one case, but it turns out the bloggers in their jammies knew what they were talking about.

Today, for posting the article and the quote, I have been blocked from posting on Facebook, or using messenger for 7 days.

Let's review the 2k year old gospel of Jesus Christ.

1.  The nature of humans is fallen.  All men have fallen short of the glory of God.  There is no one who is good, no not one, but Christ Himself.

2.  God so loved us anyway, that he became flesh, walked among us as The Christ, lived a perfect life, and gave his life to substitute His undeserved death for our deserved deaths.

3.  When we accept His offer of loving grace, and confess our fallen nature, and turn from it to follow Christ, we are forgiven for our fallen nature, and our repentance of sin and good works are proof of our new life in Christ.

Facebook has decided Step 1 of the Gospel is "Hate Speech."  It has therefore invalidated the entire Gospel.

No original sin, no sin nature, no need for forgiveness, no need for Christ's death or resurrection, no need for any kind of God.

Jeremiah 17:9 is brutal in its clarity and description of the human heart:
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

And all the way back in the book of Numbers 5:5-7, we were taught to repent of our sin:
"Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, ‘When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind, acting unfaithfully against the Lord, and that person is guilty, then he shall confess his sins which he has committed, and he shall make restitution in full for his wrong and add to it one-fifth of it, and give it to him whom he has wronged. "
This is the way we taught it to our children.  Hey kids, when you do something wrong, either intentional wrong that you knew was wrong when you were doing it, or absent minded wrong that you realized was wrong after you did it, or wrong that someone has confronted you on that you know you are guilty of...
  1.   Stop doing it.
  2.   Admit to what you did wrong.
  3.   Clean up your mess and leave it a little better than before you messed it up.

But all of that is predicated on, "WHEN you do something wrong..."

Because ALL MORTALS DO WRONG THINGS.

Search my comments over the years and you will find that I often say that there are two kinds of people in the world, Sinners and repentant sinners.  Everyone is broken, and some of those broken people who do broken things try to clean up what they broke and not break things any more.

But no one can completely, because people are broken, and will continue to break things.

Augustine correctly observed:
"Let us never assume that if we live good lives we will be without sin; our lives should be praised only when we continue to beg for pardon. But men are hopeless creatures, and the less they concentrate on their own sins, the more interested they become in the sins of others. They seek to criticize, not to correct. Unable to excuse themselves, they are ready to accuse others."
"But Ginger... I know you and you are a good person!"

No.  No I am not.  I have met me.  I know me way better than you know me.  I am shocked at the terribleness that I have been capable of.  But because I love God, live in gratitude for his grace, and want to obey and become more like him, I have decided to live a life of repentance.  There are two kinds of people in this world, sinners and repentant sinners.

I am either the former or the latter, but again... the entire gospel is predicated on the fact that we are all sinners.

Everyone is broken.

As Paul reminds us in Romans 3:

"9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written:

There is no one righteous, not even one;
11     there is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
    they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
    not even one.”
13 “Their throats are open graves;
    their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
14     “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16     ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.”
18     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin."

Have I made the case yet that Christianity is predicated on the fact that the nature of humans is "human nature?"

Paul spends Romans 7 contemplating his own sin spiral that he cannot escape, and then Romans 8 REJOICING that God loves him and saved him anyway!  If you know anything about me, and my relationship with God, you know how important these two chapters are to me.
7:24 "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."
And then he calls me a co-heir with Christ!
"12 So then, brothers,[e] we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."
Which is a big deal given the fact that I am broken and can't stop breaking things.  Which I am and I do, because that is the nature of a human.  Which I am.

All I can do is continue to try to clean up after myself and do better next time, and depend on the free gift of salvation that God gave me.

So FB has declared the Christian view of human nature verboten on their platform.  Will they block people for posting any of the scripture that I have posted here?  ANY scripture on our fallen nature, or need for forgiveness, or any scripture at all?

Where does the attack on Christian theology end if it starts with doctrine of the sinful nature of man?

This week I will spend my time exploring and developing my other social media profiles.

THIS JUST IN: FB repents of sin, commutes sentence to time served after I posted this blog.

UPDATE 7/18: And the Facebook persecution of those who quote St. Augustine continues! Yesterday  my friend Yvette shared my post, and the Augustine quote, adding, "Being accountable for your own faults is now hate speech!!!!"

This morning she was banned from posting on facebook for 3 days and her post is gone.



May 3, 2019

My Chats with Time and The Daily Beast

So I have had a LOT of huge media inquires lately from such notables as Daily Beast, Time, Reuters, blah blah blah who don't know I am not the head of MCVC anymore. I turn them down because 1. I am not the head of MCVC any more and 2. They lie so reflexively, that even when I turn them down they turn it into a lie and put it in their story.
This was my turn down to the Daily Beast and what they did with it:

Subject: momentum? Date:Thu, 21 Mar 2019 20:18:54 +0000 From:Jackie Kucinich <Jackie.Kucinich@thedailybeast.com> To: Ginger Taylor Hi there – I’m putting together a story about the vaccine choice movement specifically how it seems to be more organized and well-funded than ever. Is this your experience? Given the recent demonstrations in Maine regarding attempts to repeal non-medical exemptions, it certainly seems like there is momentum. Thank you so much for any thoughts you have on this topic. Best regards, Jackie Jackie Kucinich Washington Bureau Chief The Daily Beast (202) 210-4090 @JFKucinich

You're joking, right? Broke families of vaccine injured children up against a $30B a year liability-free pharmaceutical sector? What funding? Ginger Taylor, MS

Hi Ginger, I should have been more clear - I was looking at 990s and noticed an uptick/ Children’s Health Defense has been raising more money as well, which usually indicates interest in a cause. Would you have time to chat tomorrow? Thanks, Jackie

Jackie, when you start taking vaccine injury seriously, I will start taking you and your outlet seriously. Not interested in an interview. Ginger Taylor, MS
First off, why is she contacting me about CHD? Second, that exchange turned into the following in her article: "Not every group in the anti-vaccine movement says it is seeing growth. Ginger Taylor, director of the Maine Coalition for Vaccine Choice, said her organization was struggling for funding, especially when they were battling “a $30 billion a year liability-free pharmaceutical sector.” Meanwhile the Maine Coalition for Vaccine Choice had DOUBLED in size in 4 months. And note that she called me "vaccine choice" to my face and "anti-vaccine" in the article. Also note that she filed her story under the heading "Ruh Roh."

She says this too: "Experts say the anti-vaccine or vaccine choice groups, as they commonly refer to themselves,..." So what we identify as doesn't matter? Wow.

At least she quoted, “a $30 billion a year liability-free pharmaceutical sector.”
Noted fake news person Jeffrey Kluger Editor at Large of Time, has contacted me twice this week. Here are samples of his work: How to Change an Anti-Vaxxer's Mind, Aug 3, 2015
Meet the Heroes and the Villains of Vaccine Injury, July 29, 2015
Jim Carrey, Please Shut Up About Vaccines, Jul 1, 2015
Meet the Latest Driver of the Anti-Vaccine Clown Car, Jan 30, 2015
RFK Jr. Joins the Anti-Vaccine Fringe, July 21, 2014
That Moment When You Must Have a Word With Jenny McCarthy, Apr 12, 2014
Here’s How the Anti-Vaxxers’ Strongest Argument Falls Apart Aug 19, 2015
Kluger: "I am Editor at Large for Time magazine, and I’m working with two colleagues on a piece about groups like Maine for Vaccine Choice and their political and legislative efforts in the various states. I’m very much hoping to come to Maine, visit with your group, and learn about the work you’re doing. I’d be very interested in meeting and talking with some activist parents as well. As Time is hoping to close this story by May 15, I would very much like to schedule any visit for as soon as possible.If you have followed Time’s vaccine coverage, it’s no secret that I am very supportive of childhood vaccinations and have written quite a bit about their safety and efficacy. Often my coverage has been sharp in tone. I stand by my belief in the science, but what I hope to report here is the politics—the increasing influence groups like yours have and how you’ve succeeded in building a nationwide network. It’s a phenomenon that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention and I think it would interest readers. Please let me know if my visiting soon is a possibility and thanks in advance for your time and attention."

Me: "I am not longer the Director of the Maine Coalition for Vaccine Choice thus I do not speak for them.I forwarded your phone message to them...If you want a quote from me for your story: "In 1986, Congress passed the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, giving liability protection to vaccine makers for injury and death from their products, and planting the seeds of the vaccine injury epidemic. In the 1990s, as the vaccine injury epidemic began to bloom, parents asked Public Health for treatment for their injured children, but they refused to provide it. In the 2000s, as the vaccine injury epidemic came into full swing, parents asked Public Health for vaccine safety reform, but instead they made the vaccine program more aggressive. In the 2010s, as the vaccine injury epidemic began to decimate child health and public systems, parents gave up on previous requests, instead demanding vaccine choice in order to get away from the abusive vaccine program, and now public health is telling them they cannot leave their abuser. I believe that in the coming decade, because the Public Health will not admit to its failure that is crippling the country, the vaccine program will collapse under the weight of its own corruption. And it will be the vaccine program's own fault, because it simply will not admit to being exactly what the 1986 Act called it when the law was passed 33 ago. "Unavoidably Unsafe." Thank you for your time,Ginger Taylor"

Jeffrey Kluger: "Thank you for getting back to me.I'm familiar with the history and the arguments. No need for follow-up."
The mainstream media is a disaster.