Vent about family, and uneducated opinions!!!!!!

[Guest guest]

Sorry, but I HAVE to vent, and I know many of you will know where I

am coming from. Making the decision to no longer vaccinate RJ was

pretty easy, in that I knew what he went thru as a reaction, was NOT

right! However, making the decision to not vaccinate, in that going

against the grain of society, etc, was difficult. We have spent MANY,

M~A~N~Y hours researching the facts, pros and cons, vaccine inserts,

etc etc etc, in making our decision; we obviously didn't make this

decision by pulling paper out of a hat! That said, on to the vent

about family...

I am a transplant to the area I live in, and have none of my family

around. The only family we have here, is dh's family, which is

fine. At one time, I was very close to dh's one cousin...that is,

until she decided she didn't like the way that we choose to parent RJ

(we attachment parent)...and it was just fuel to the fire when she

found out that we are no longer vaccinating. I spoke with her on the

phone today, about her youngest daughter's developement (she is

SEVERELY behind), and to catch up on how they were doing. She takes

her children to the old quack pedi I used to take RJ to. She was

telling me about how she had to threaten this pedi with pulling her

dd's recoreds, and finding another doctor, to get this pedi to take

action pertaining to youngest dd's health. That right there, would

be enough to make me switch doctors...however...the topic of

vaccinations came up.

She said she had spoken to the school superintendant in here

district, and that the super. had said that in order for her to allow

an unvaccinated child into the school disctrict, she would need a

medical waiver from a doctor, as well as a signed letter from a

pastor, citing specific religious tenets, that disallow vaccines. I

informed Kim that if the super. truly believed that, she was highly

mistaken. I also informed Kim of how many will say anything to gain

compliance, and then went on to inform her of Illinois mandates on

the issue. Well, she said she also talked to the pedi about not

vaccinating, and that the pedi recommended to her, that she should

call DCFS if she knows someone not vaccinating. This sent me over

the rim!!!!!!!!!!

Mind you, for obvious reasons, very few people know we no longer

vaccinate, and we certainly DO NOT flaunt this fact. Soooo...I lit

into her. I told her she was more than welcome to turn us in, but

before she does so, she had really better think about it...especially

considering she is one of a select few who know our decision, and

were DCFS to ever show up on my door, that she would be the first

person we come to...and in a V~E~R~Y unhappy state, at that.

Further, I asked her why she felt she had any right to tell us how to

raise our child, and where does she get off, deciding if we are, or

are not, raising our child 'correctly'. I then went on to tell her

that just because we choose to parent out of the mainstream, it

doesn't make it wrong. I mentioned that two could play the game, and

I could turn her in for many things that she does in her style of

parenting, that WE don't agree with, but unlike her, I wouldn't allow

my prejudices, opinions, or OTHER peoples opinions to cloud my

judgement. I asked her when this nation became anything but a free

nation, and that last I knew, we still had the freedom of choice, and

the right to raise our children the way we see fit (without obvious

abuses). She went on to say that with her being a daycare providor

she is educated in these matters. I burst her bubble pretty rapidly

when I reminded her that I went to school myself to become a pre-

school director, and took many, many hours of child related classes,

on top of it, and NOWHERE is there a mention of non-vaccination being

construed as abuse or neglect. I asked her to offer me some of the

information she 'knows' about vaccines...needless to say, she knows

nothing other than what the doctors, that act as pimps for the

pharmaceutical companies, have 'informed her' of. Well, I certainly

enlightened her to quite an extent...or, at least, I told her many

things...not sure how much she actually listened to. Kim is one who

is quite the holy roller, and has a pretty severe case of 'Holier-

than-thou-istis'. I told her that for her claiming ot be such an

educated christian, she certainly doesn't know her bible well, and

went on to tell her about the many verses that suggest such practices

as vaccinating are sinful. Her bright comment was that there is no

verse in the bible that has the word 'vaccine' in it!!!!! I had to

enlighten this 'devout, well educated' christian more, and did so.

I ended the conversation telling her that I would never accuse her of

abuses, etc, for the way that she chooses to parent, and for her to

do so to us, would be horrific, and that if she holds prejudices

about the way we parent, before she aims and shoots, she needs to

educate herself. Doctors are not gods, merely people as her and I,

who paid alot of money for schooling. It doesn't make them

infallable. No, it doesn't start and end with doctors by any means,

but many certainly ARE pimps, and it needs to be stopped. I then

reminded her, quite graphically, of how due to one person's belief,

and charasmatic personality, etc, that many were persuaded, and thus

6 million Jews were massacred. I left it at that, pretty much.

Now, I was probably stupid for spouting that tirade, and it'll be my

luck to have the DCFS police at my door, but dammit, it made me so

angry! I am absolutely accepting of how someone chooses to raise

their child (with the exception of abuse), which religion they do, or

do not choose to belong, what foods they eat, etc etc etc, and I

expect that same respect! Is that really too much to ask?????????

Going to go splash some cold water on my beet red face (from ANGER)

now!!

~Donna