Kellen Ott, contributor
I am sure most folks reading this have heard the claim that vaccines cause autism. A completely baseless claim that somehow has not died in the past few decades, no matter how many studies disprove it, or even that the original study was retracted due to the fact it had scientific misconduct. One could argue that the idea is kept alive by the many public figures that somehow agree with the claim. Seriously, check out how many celebrities believe it, it is upsetting. The average person knows that, despite what our extremely underqualified Secretary of Health and Human Services might believe, vaccines do not cause autism. But now, thanks to the current president, we have another scapegoat to blame for what has proven to be a genetic spectrum disorder.
Now is the time to ask your mother if she took Tylenol when she was pregnant with you, because according to Pres. Donald Trump you likely have autism. In fact, if you have ever taken Tylenol, you might have autism. That’s right, if you are autistic it is definitely the Tylenol. Do not listen to reputable sources and researchers who actually know what they are talking about, telling you it is genetic. Instead, you should listen to the man who considered injection with disinfectant as a possible way to treat COVID-19. Seriously, how have we gotten here?
The phrase is usually “one step forward, two steps back,” but nowadays I would say it is more of a “hop, skip, and a jump right back to the 1950s.” However, instead of the colorful decor and bubblegum pop, it is just bigotry and medical misinformation. Next thing you know people will claim doctors are wrong and that cigarettes strengthen your lungs. Better yet, dip that cigarette in bleach and fully cleanse your system.
As I write this, I assume that my sarcastic statements of obviously destructive behavior read as just that, sarcastic statements. But we live in an age of misinformation and extremist beliefs. If the right person says the wrong thing, their audience accepts it as truth. Nowadays all you need is a cis white man with a microphone and you can convince hoards of people to believe whatever you want. Donald Trump is the poster child of that exact concept. Around the time of Trump’s public consideration of consuming chemicals I mentioned earlier, there was a spike in calls made to poison centers regarding incidents with cleaners and disinfectants.
But we live in an age of misinformation and extremist beliefs. If the right person says the wrong thing, their audience accepts it as truth. Nowadays all you need is a cis white man with a microphone and you can convince hoards of people to believe whatever you want.
kellen ott
As a neurodivergent person myself, it is enraging to see the government focus more on stupid claims about what causes disorders like autism rather than the creation of accessible resources for people with those disorders. Especially considering that this whole conversation arose from higher rates of autism being found in children. Sorry, kiddo, the president’s not worried about you getting the resources you need, he is too focused on his fantasies regarding painkillers and pregnant women. Not only do autistic people have to deal with constant misunderstandings and ableism, as well as the strange and frankly disgusting normalization of the R word, but now their neurodivergency can be villainized even more by people who think they are smarter than doctors.
What I mean to say is that you should trust qualified professionals. And do not follow any figure blindly, do your own research and form an opinion from that. In this age, it is very important to be critical of the information you come across.