For the record, she actually abandoned the movement BEFORE they all got whooping cough, but abandoned it too late. There’d been a breakout of measles in her area that caused her to reassess, and she and her doctor had already drafted and started a catch-up vaccination schedule, but her kids caught whooping cough just before it could be started. Then she wrote a blog post for The Scientific Parent explaining how she and her husband had come to wrong decisions in the first place, how they changed their mind, the consequences they suffered as a result, and asking other parents to please vaccinate their kids. And now she’s an activist for destroying the misinformation of anti-vaxxers, and reaching out to anti-vaxxers because she’s understands their fears but knows their kids deserve better.
She was trying to the best for her kids and just didn’t know how to interpret the validity of information or its sources, an actual skill that can be actually difficult and that is under-taught and a necessary first step to being able to trust vaccination research, so chose no action over taking an action she wasn’t sure of. She kept looking into it with family and friends and even eventually came to the right conclusion before her kids became sick, but it was still too late.
Honestly it was pretty brave of her to publicly admit she was wrong. She could have just quietly vaccinated her kids and not become a national news story, but instead she spoke out, even saying “I’m writing this from quarantine, the irony of which isn’t lost on me.” and also “I am not looking forward to any gloating or shame as this ‘defection’ from the antivaxx camp goes public, but, this isn’t a popularity contest. Right now my family is living the consequences of misinformation and fear. I understand that families in our community may be mad at us for putting their kids at risk.”
She understood the consequences and still put herself and her story out there.
The point is: You are allowed to change and shift your opinion based on new information and perspectives gleaned!!!!
You are allowed to change and shift your opinion based on new information and perspectives gleaned
Easter is nearly upon us, and having seen a few posters reminding people that bunnies are not toys, I thought it would be good to compile some bunny welfare facts that you may not know.
1) You cannot keep rabbits alone.
I’ll be honest, until speaking to @philovesophist, who works as a vet with a special interest in rabbits, I did not know how few people are actually aware of this. You cannot just have one solitary rabbit. They get lonely, and believe it or not, your companionship is not enough for them.
2) It is incredibly important you spay a female rabbit you don’t intend to let reproduce.
Rabbits are very fertile. An un-spayed, fertile, female has about an 80% chance of developing uterine or ovarian cancer. Your female hasn’t developed it, you say? You’re the lucky 20% and that’s not an excuse. In addition to the myriad of health problems, a female rabbit that is fertile but isn’t being impregnated can turn into a rabbit from hell, showing violent and aggressive behavior. It is also important that they do not get a partial spay. They need everything removed.
While males do not carry the same risks as a female, studies have shown that neutering them increases life expectancy.
3) Rabbits are considered “exotics” and not just any vet is able to treat a rabbit.
While rabbits may seem like common pets to you, just like cats and dogs, from a veterinary point of view, they are considered exotics. Treating them requires special equipment and special training; equipment not every vet has and training not every vet gets. You absolutely need to check out vets in your area and see which are able to handle your rabbits’ needs.
4) Carrots are not the only thing you should feed your rabbit, and you should never feed them pellets.
Pellets are a high risk food for rabbits, leading to a myriad of problems, including obesity, dental disease, soft stool, periodic refusal to eat, heart and liver disease, calcification of blood vessels, and bladder and kidney stones.
So what does your rabbit need? Loads of fresh hay, and grass. Did you know your rabbit needs no less than 3 different types of greens every day? Acceptable greens include but are not limited to: broccoli, dandelions (both the flower and the leaves), celery, leaf lettuce, brussel sprouts, water cress, and kale.
5) Those tiny cages they sell in pet shops are nowhere near adequate to their needs.
Because rabbits are not supposed to be kept alone, and most cages are designed for singular rabbits, the sizes are far too small for rabbits. The bare minimum of what a rabbit should have is 6 times their size when they are completely stretched out. That’s per rabbit, and again, that’s the bare minimum. Good animal welfare is going above the bare minimum.
In addition they should ideally have plenty of time spent outside on the fresh grass. It’s a great way for them to take in a part of the greens they need for the day and get exercise. A small dog play pen or baby crate is a great way to keep them enclosed with adequate space.
6) Rabbits live more than just a couple years and are every bit as much a long term commitment as a dog or cat.
A rabbit kept in optimal conditions can live 8-12 years! They last through Easter and they are living, breathing animals that require love and care and work just like any other pet.
Before acquiring rabbits, please do the necessary research. They are not a novelty item.
Yesterday, in the course of one day, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a nondiscrimination bill that bans discrimination based on “biological sex,” but specifically leaves out sexual orientation and gender identity. The governor signed it into law last night.
The law also prohibits transgender people from using the bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity, takes away nondiscrimination protections from veterans, and blocks the minimum wage from being raised.
“This bill essentially repeals 50 years of non-discrimination efforts and gives lawmakers in Raleigh unprecedented control over our city and local governments,” Senate Democratic Leader Dan Blue said in a statement. “North Carolina Republicans want to pass what would potentially be the single most discriminatory act in the country. This is a direct affront to equality, civil rights, and local autonomy.”
The single most discriminatory act in the country. And it just passed unbelievably quickly because of the hateful rhetoric that says LGBT people – particularly transgender people – are predatory and do not deserve equal rights. This was a failure, North Carolina. When you go to the polls in a few months, remember how these politicians treated us.
As some of you may know, I live in North Carolina. This bill is a travesty. It not only denies protection by the state, it legally strips away all local laws created to protect and assist LGBT (particularly trans) citizens. If you follow me on twitter, I made it very clear how unacceptable this is to me.
North Carolina voted Barack Obama into office and elected a female governor and senator from the democratic party eight years ago and since then the Republican party has gerrymandered districts, passed a law requiring state id’s to vote, and passed every anti LGBT bill that’s come across their desks.
It’s time to fight back. If you are not a bigot, you have eight months to get your state id and voter registration sorted out, because no single person who voted for this bill should be allowed to keep their seat.
Let me make a few things very clear:
If you do not vote in this election in North Carolina, you are implicated in the ruining of the lives of LGBT people. You are a party to the discrimination against and assaults on trans people in NC. You are the one holding the gun.
And if you decide not to show up at the election because you are unhappy with the democratic presidential candidate that the DNC chooses, you are guilty of bigotry and hypocrisy. I know there are some of you out there that are very salty that it looks like Hillary is going to win and I’m no huge Hillary fan, but if you’ve been telling every person you meet about how Bernie Sanders supports the LGBT community and you don’t show up to support the LGBT community, you a hypocrite.
A Google Chrome extension that you can press when you think something may be triggering to another person out there. It’s a crowd-sourced thing, so the more people use it, the more it will be able to warn us 30 seconds in advance so we can decide if we want to keep watching. Brilliant.
This isn’t captioning related, but it definitely falls under the banner of ‘Access for All’
