Rossco Phillips, Wanganui Gorge
Asren Pugh’s letter of last week, in which he vilifies The Echo and the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN) makes me wonder whether his ancestors were involved in the infamous ‘Book Burnings’ of past centuries when those who ‘knew better’ decided the ordinary man should not be exposed to certain kinds of information.
His strident use of language like ‘anti-vaccination propaganda’ in relation to the AVN ad placed in The Echo and his comment that ‘The anti-vaccination movement is built on fear and conspiracy’ makes me feel that he has more than a touch of the Barnaby Joyce-type politician, doing God’s good work.
I am not anti-vaccination. What I am against is people shutting down debate and freedom of speech, and the right to decide what I do with my body. There is a strong push from Big Pharma and Bill Gates, the self-appointed expert with no medical background, for ‘cradle-to-the-grave’ vaccination for all.
As Mr Pugh has stood for public office for the Labor party, I am concerned that this is a platform of said political party, as readers may remember Paul Spooner from Country Labor in recent history being outraged that AVN had been able to hold an information night at a local hall.
As for AVN being, ‘a dangerous organisation’, it was the Labor Party under Julia Gillard that ushered in fracking as a great ‘transitional energy source’, and apart from the ongoing polluting from fracking, the Labor Qld Premier continues to champion coal for our choking planet through her relentless support of Adani, one of the most dodgy organisations on the planet!
There is much information, regarding the negative experiences some have experienced from vaccination, that is all too often suppressed. Big Pharma has a huge slush fund that is used for legal cases to stop negative press and for when they ‘settle’ cases, usually out of court; the plaintiffs inevitably are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Then there is the testament of people from within the industry who have been vilified for blowing the whistle, like Judy Mikovitz, the once renowned American scientist who was integral in producing Gardasil (vaccine for cervical cancer) who is NOT anti-vaccination but is very concerned about the ingredients and efficacy of some new vaccinations and spoke out accordingly. She is now referred to as a ‘disgraced’ scientist.
And this term ‘conspiracy theory/ theorist’ is now used to denigrate anybody who has an opinion that doesn’t meet the current paradigm being flogged by the politicians of the day, and the mainstream media – especially with COVID-19. Talk about using ‘fear and conspiracy’ to control the masses!
Mr Pugh, I think maybe you’d fit in better in China where people do as they are told, not what they believe and are free to do. But then, you are in the right job, eh? Politics!
The science community is behind man made global warming and also behind the science of vaccination
Phil the science community is telling us to do something about global warming!
I’m all for allowing for a contest of ideas and uncensored debate if there is an even playing field and everyone plays by the same rules. There is conflicting scientific opinion and revision in the face of new evidence all the time (think of the discovery made by two Australian researchers that stomach ulcers are caused by bacteria not traditionally blamed stress). But such mainstream scientific debate occurs within a context of some degree of regulation of onus of proof and peer revue.
There has to be some safeguard against unfettered claims to the unqualified in areas involving complex technical knowledge. Otherwise you have situations where people start drinking bleach because someone said it would offer protecting against COVID-19.
I’m glad our Labor representatives are following Health Department guidelines in the parameters of these safeguards. I don’t absolutely trust Government Departments but I have a bit more faith in the medicos that advise this one than some celebrity chefs and SM influencers.
Rossco, this is not about “shutting down the debate”….there is no debate. Calling it a debate presumes there is either new evidence to present, or even just any supporting evidence, not just discredited opinions and dangerous lies.
Freedom of speech means you can say anything you want, but it doesn’t mean it should be taken seriously or treated as truth. AVN is free to keep constantly repeating the myth that vaccines cause autism, no matter how many times it has been disproven. Freedom of speech doesn’t mean all views have equal right to be given the same level of media coverage, and definitely doesn’t mean that The Echo is somehow obliged to accept AVN advertising propaganda. It appears the right to express views has been confused here with some nebulous right to have your views taken seriously. I know people who think we should start driving on the right hand side and others who think we should stop wearing seatbelts.
Beats me why anyone thinks AVN is entitled to have their pernicious “opinions” heard, particularly given their proven lack of expertise and honesty, the nature and history of their abhorrent tactics, and the repeated court and tribunal rulings against them.
& BTW fracking is totally irrelevant to vaccinations, and it makes no sense bringing fracking into the argument about AVN unless they are now linking two. Typical of AVN sympathisers.