Dear Pro-vaxxer,
I honestly don’t know why I’m writing this, because it’s likely that it won’t make any difference to you. You’ll skim over the first few sentences, roll your eyes, and skip to the comments to bash me for my ignorance. You’ll type a few words into google, reassure yourself with the first results you see, and stay in your peaceful cocoon of ignorance. I can’t blame you, really. Most of us spent part or most of our lives in that very same cozy cocoon. We supported vaccination 110% and vowed to vaccinate our own children. We rolled our eyes at so-called “anti-vaxxers” and their blind following of some debunked theory about vaccines and autism. We believed in herd immunity and did our part to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. And mostly, we didn’t think much about it at all. We just grew up knowing it was helpful and good and didn’t really question it. Until we did.
For some, it took a personal experience with vaccine injury to initiate interest in the topic; for others, perhaps the birth of a child, or a recommendation from a friend, or a gut feeling, even. But once we started to look at ALL of the science and research about the immune system, vaccines, their safety, and their efficacy, it became quickly evident that there was so much more to this debate than meets the eye.
We are not stupid. We are not crazy. We are not gullible. We do not get our information from Jenny McCarthy or internet memes. We are intelligent, educated individuals from all walks of life. We understand how to analyze research and how to discern "junk science" from real science. We have devoted hundreds of hours of our lives to reading books, pouring over peer-reviewed articles and studies, and listening to the testimony of scientists, doctors, and researchers. And we are not backing down because the science is on. our. side.
We are asking you, begging you, to open your eyes. To notice and acknowledge the corruption and conflicts of interest that occur among the CDC, FDA, and pharmaceutical industry. We are praying for you to open a vaccine insert, to read and research the ingredients yourselves, and to investigate how vaccine safety studies are conducted (spoiler alert: there’s no true placebo control). We are asking you to learn about glutathione and the MTFHR gene mutation, about heavy metal toxicity and the blood-brain barrier, about vaccine-induced encephalitis, about the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System and the Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. We want you to listen to the whistleblower scientists within the CDC and pharmaceutical industry who are telling us about the fraud and deceit happening behind closed doors- the falsified studies, the fabricated numbers, the closed-door meetings. We want you to research the influence of the pharmaceutical industry on the field of medicine and medical education, the media, and the government regulating agencies. There is so much more to this topic than you could ever imagine, and we are desperately trying to get you to just open your eyes. To open your mind to the possibility that maybe there is a little more to the story than you've been told. Because we can’t possibly sum it up for you in one comment, or one post, or even with one book or one documentary. The vaccine issue is an extremely multi-faceted one, and you must be willing to do a good deal of open-minded research to even begin to see the big picture.
We probably come on a little strong at times. Maybe we even seem crazy. But we're not crazy; we're passionate. We're incredibly passionate because of what is at stake. This is not about pro-vax or anti-vax. This is not about autism or one doctor’s crazy idea or an irrational fear of “chemicals”. This is about the health and livelihood of our children.
Vaccine safety should be of the utmost importance to every parent and public health official, and the door should absolutely never, EVER be closed to discussion about the safety and efficacy of something that affects nearly every child in the country (and the fact that it IS should be an automatic red flag… if a product is completely safe, completely effective, and completely necessary, then there is no reason to fear discussion or debate.)
We are not afraid of the measles or the mumps or the chicken pox because we understand these diseases and how the immune system works. And while we pray that our children don’t get sick, when they do, we do not panic because we know their immune systems are capable of handling it. We breastfeed our babies, eat healthy diets, and supplement where nutrients are lacking. We understand that our bodies can and do heal themselves when they are properly nurtured and cared for, and we put great effort into giving our bodies and our children’s bodies what they need to naturally fight off, and acquire immunity from, sickness and disease. Our children are healthy, happy, and strong. They get sick less often and recover more quickly than their vaccinated peers. They have lower rates of auto-immune disease, cancer, and chronic illness. They do not endanger their peers because they are not vaccinated; in fact, it is much more likely that their vaccinated peers would expose them to the live viruses they carry for weeks or even months after inoculation. When our children are sick, they show symptoms, and we keep them home as any responsible parent should.
We fight this fight not just for our own children, but for yours. When we share something, we share it in hopes that maybe you will be inspired to do some research of your own. We endure public ridicule, are likened to child-abusers, and are aliented from friends and family because we cannot in good conscience sit idly by knowing what we know.
So please, do us a favor. We are absolutely not asking you to stop vaccinating yourself or your children. But, for the sake of your health and your child’s health, please just look a little deeper into the topic. Be willing to look at both sides of the research before making up your mind which science is the “right” science to believe in. Be willing to look beyond CNN or The Huffington Post for an answer to your questions, and be able to discern between hype and fact (on BOTH sides of the debate). All we want is for parents to have true informed consent- to know and understand the potential risks, benefits, and side-effects of ANY medication or medical procedure before agreeing to it, and to have the right to decline if/when the benefits do not outweigh the risks. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all medical intervention, so let’s stop pretending that size, gender, and genetic make-up have no bearing on how an individual might be affected… and let’s start taking responsibility to make decisions for our own children instead of allowing them to be dictated by a less-than-perfect government agency.
We’re here if you need us.
Love,
The Ex-Vaxxers
#ExVaxxer #WeDid #HearThisWell
-Marin Miller
