I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking about the vaccine. I agree that those of us that work with the sick and immunocompromised should have been mandated to get it, disagree that OSHA and the government has the right to tell private companies that they need to. I think that those companies have the right to make their own mandates if they fear mass sickness is hurting productivity and feel that eventually the insurance companies would have raised negotiated rates on those that didn’t have them and think that’s reasonable. Decisions about schools should be made at the local level but should be based on science and community positivity numbers.
If that last line threw you off a bit because nobody in their right mind would ever think such a thing, know that not only are there plenty that do and that there are also plenty who would exploit that fear for their own political gain. It’s basically all that politics is anymore.
I edited out her name but this was a social media post by a recently elected member of our local board of education on her political page, not her personal one. I’m not sure that would make it any less irresponsible but at least she wouldn’t so blatantly be representing the town. When reminded of this and asked where she had received this information about the implied consent she admitted to me that it wasn’t our town that she was talking about but that she heard it was happening other places and was worried about our kids. She’s either a liar or an idiot and even though I don’t think I’ve ever met the woman if I was going to guess I would say both.
Listen, I’ll admit that I don’t know all the details about the local hospital’s plan to hold a vaccination clinic at our high school now that there has been approval for children five years old and older. I know that it was planned for after school hours and that not only was a signed paper required but that a parent had to be actually present to verbally consent before any child was given anything. I know that the list of required vaccinations for any child to attend public school is several pages long and that other than some fringe loonies this was never an issue before recently because most of civilized society has understood that this is an accepted way to promote public health since George Washington first ordered all of his troop to be vaccinated against smallpox in 1777.
The truth is that the scheduled clinic was put on hold as soon as the new board of education was sworn in and that the new board is again stacked with people who seem to believe that they are the last line of defense against nefarious liberals who want to place experimental drugs into our children and teach the white ones that they should be ashamed of their skin color.
It’s complete nonsense but I don’t think enough people understand how many there are that think that way and understand the damage that they can do. I think that by now most people have already made up their minds about whether of not they want to be vaccinated or want their children to be able to but if there were any on the fence this attempt to scare them and to limit the accessibility of those that would choose to in order to garner the support of those in opposition is deplorable. If you don’t want to vaccinate your child, that is your decision. To inhibit the ability of others to do so is exactly the type of overreach that you claim to be fighting against. I won’t judge your decision but I will judge the fuck out of your hypocrisy and I’m tired of it.
This week there was the first Board of Education meeting since the last set of elections and it was worse than I could have imagined. Besides some of the most absurd anti vaccine disinformation that I’ve heard yet there were also threats to sue about the child abuse that is mask mandates, the board chair made sure to mention that we would not be handing out birth control at the high school and the chair of the town council told a story about how much he’s been discriminated against in his life because he’s white. My choice to watch online and not attend in person seems a wise one as my ability to keep my mouth shut is pretty questionable.
The clinic was cancelled, something that really isn’t that big of a deal. It was a convenience being offered but there is no shortage of other places that parents can take their children if that is what they choose.
What’s important is the reasons that it was cancelled, the things that people who play a large part in shaping the education of my child believe. Things that not only are very easily proven to be factually inaccurate but don’t even make any sense.
This is why voting matters, not only when there is a presidential race or in next year’s mid terms but every time you get the opportunity. There are over 17,000 people in town but only 500 voted on a referendum to spend 28 million dollars on renovations and relocation of our community center. Whether you support the project or not, this is a lot of money and will affect every tax payer in town. Five hundred cared enough to show up.
Get out and vote guys. You might not think that it effects your life all that much but it does. Especially nowadays.
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Previously Published on Thirsty Daddy and is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: Shutterstock
