Robert F Kennedy is not anti-vaxx

[RobertEarl]

It is a lie that is being told about him.

It is an anti-science screed that psuedo scientists are spewing here on DU.

RFK is calling out the fact that mercury in vaccines are not kosher, and indeed, the medical community has requested, and it has been affirmed, that mercury in vaccines has been removed from most vaccines.

[Android3.14]

1. Kennedy authored this Rolling Stone article on the supposed vaccine/autism cover-up

Click on the link to find the archived article
[link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy,_Jr.|I seem to be unable to embed the link, so you will need to copy and paste it into your browser
http://web.archive.org/web/20060422012127/http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/7395411/deadly_immunity/

Salon.com ran the same article and ultimately had to retract it after making five corrections.
Correction Statement

The wikipedia entry on RFK refers to him an "outspoken opponent of vaccination".

If it is a lie, apparently Mr. Kennedy is spreading it.

[hobbit709]

2. What a load of taurine metabolic byproducts

[msanthrope]

3. Too bad he was the keynote speaker at the anti-vax AutismOne/Generation Rescue conference

this year. Last year was Jenny McCarthy.

[HuckleB]

10. +1

[SidDithers]

15. Where he compared vaccine proponents to Nazis...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022933992

But he's a Kennedy, and a "genuine Democrat and a liberal", so his anti-science bullshit must be defended by some DUers.

Sid

[SunSeeker]

4. Well, since you brought it up, I Googled it.

I was shocked to learn about what a vicious anti-vaccination nut bag this guy is. This recent Slate article really lays it out:
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/07/robert_f_kennedy_jr_profile_in_the_washington_post_anti_vaccine_theory_and.html

Kids and adults will die because of anti-vaccination hysteria pushed by idiots like RFK Jr. He brings shame to the great Kennedy name.

[HuckleB]

11. That's a good piece.

I was about to post it myself.

[SidDithers]

5. Dude. You couldn't be more wrong...

And I suspect you're going to be hearing a variation of that statement over and over and over in this thread.



Sid

[hobbit709]

6. when you refute him he brings up oranges instead of the apples he started with.

[Archae]

20. Well, there is this...

By the time apples and oranges get to you, they are simply like Kennedy, out of their tree.

[Orrex]

7. Actually, he's classic anti-vax

The fact that you conflate thimerosal with mercury, as he does, suggests that you're anti-vax as well. Certainly you both make the classic anti-vax argument.
I don't think that you're in a strong position to advocate on RFK Jr's behalf.

Tell us again how Fukushima's radiation is melting starfish in the Pacific northwest?

[X_Digger]

18. Using chroniton radiation (traveling backward in time to affect sea stars *before* fuku..) n/t

[SidDithers]

8. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Anti-Vaxxer

The Kennedy family name is laden with history and brings to mind a definite set of characteristics: glamor, power, intelligence, wealth, influence. Kennedys have had their name on a president, numerous senators, representatives, ambassadors, and other high office holders.

The Kennedy dynasty, if you wish to call it that, has seen its share of triumphs and disasters, of course. I need not go into detail; scores of books have been written about them, from putting humans on the Moon and the championing of civil rights to personal tragedies of assassination, death, scandal, and more.

Most of these issues are in the past. But there is an ongoing problem associated with a Kennedy, one I consider extremely troubling. Specifically it’s with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is an attorney, a radio host, and an environmental activist.

He is also, as it happens, a full-blown anti-vaccination conspiracy theorist.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/06/05/robert_f_kennedy_jr_advocate_for_antiscience_and_antivaccination.html

That's from Phil Plait.

Sid

[aikoaiko]

9. He's not anti-vaxx, he just plays one on tv.

[H2O Man]

12. True.

I'll go a step further than you have here. There are several industries that have hired guns who are tasked with discrediting Robert -- primarily by focusing on the vaccine bit -- in order to distract attention from his important environmental work. This includes having individuals post, over and over again, on liberal/progressive web sites, such as DU.

[SidDithers]

16. It's a conspiracy!! I'm disappointed to see you buying into RFK Jr's anti-vaccine crap...

It is what it is. His statements and writings speak for themselves.

He's damaging his environmental credibility with his quixotic crusade against vaccines.

And he's doing it all by himself.

Sid

[Orrex]

17. That's the real shame of it IMO

He's done excellent work raising awareness about environmental hazards and combating industrial pollution, but then he throws in with the anti-vax kookery and pisses all over his own credibility.

[X_Digger]

19. Did you get your check this month?

This includes having individuals post, over and over again, on liberal/progressive web sites, such as DU.

Wow. Just wow.

[SidDithers]

21. Pretty stupefying, eh?...

Sad to see once respected posters go the conspiracy theory / paid shill route.

Sid

[HuckleB]

13. The evidence is clear: He is anti-vaccine.

You don't headline the Autism One/Generation Rescue conference if you're not anti-vaccine.

Is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Anti-Science?
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/collideascape/2013/06/01/is-robert-f-kennedy-jr-anti-science/

Here's a quote from his speech there:

"The enablers may not belong in Nuremburg, but they do belong in jail, Bobby said. “I would do a lot to see Paul Offit and all these good people behind bars,” he said, after listing Offit’s litany of lies and profit. Just to make sure people got the point, he returned to it in his speech. “Is it hyperbole to say they should be in jail? They should be in jail and the key should be thrown away.”

That's simply despicable. It is anti-vaccine extremism.

More...

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: Still an antivaccine crank after all these years
http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2014/07/22/robert-f-kennedy-jr-still-an-antivaccine-crank-after-all-these-years/

[maddezmom]

14. Bullshit, he is anti-vax

Not sure why you don't get it.