Author Topic: Christians against cancer vaccine (Read 2440 times)

Vekseid · « **on:** March 02, 2007, 01:07:19 PM »

I'd have posted this under comedy, but it's too depressing

Quote from: The Article

March 2, 2007 | New Rule: If you don't think your daughter getting cancer is worse than your daughter having sex, then you're doing it wrong. Last year, science came up with a way to greatly reduce cervical cancer in young women. It's a vaccine that prevents women from getting HPV, which is a sexually transmitted disease that acts as a gateway to the cancer. And the vaccine is so good, it could wipe out HPV. I keep a stockpile near my hot tub, and I can tell you, that tingling sensation means it's really working. And I'd say that even without the endorsement deal.

Now for the bad news: Not everyone is pleased with this vaccine. That prevents cancer. Christian parent groups and churches nationwide are fighting it. Bridget Maher -- no relation, and none planned -- of the Family Research Council says giving girls the vaccine is bad, because the girls "may see it as a license to engage in premarital sex."

Which is really a stretch. People don't get the vaccine for typhoid and say, "Great, now I can drink the sewer water in Bombay." It's like saying if you give a kid a tetanus shot she'll want to jab rusty nails in her feet. It's like being against a cure for blindness because it'll encourage masturbation. It's like being for salmonella poisoning in peanut butter because it'll discourage weirdos from spreading it on their ass and calling the dog.

And yet, Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma is another one who's anti-vaccine. He thinks if a teenage girl feels a little prick, she's gonna want to feel a whole lot more. But HPV shots don't cause promiscuity. Tequila shots do. Everything your kids buy is sold to them with sex. The vaccine doesn't make them want to screw: MTV does. And hormones. And having moron parents they want to escape from. Hey, when you're 15 years old, breathing encourages sexual activity.

But let's be frank: These Christian groups aren't just against the HPV shot; they're against family planning and condoms and morning after pills -- they want to make sure sex is as dangerous as possible, so that kids know, if they sleep around and get an STD, that's God teaching them a lesson. And the lesson is, you should never have tried out for "American Idol" in the first place.

There's only one kind of medical science that excites Christians, and that's anything that proves life begins earlier and earlier in the womb. If you could use stem cells to prove that life begins at foreplay, the pope would turn the Vatican into a lab. These people don't really want to see a cure for anything, except homosexuality.

But as a parent, if you're so obsessed with abstinence you'd risk your kid's health, there's a word for what you are, but it's not "follower of Christ." It's not "moral." It's not "Christian." It's not even "logical." So just admit it. You hate sex. It's OK to say you hate for the sake of hating. It hasn't hurt Dick Cheney.

I hate to tell you this, Mrs. Maher, and Sen. Coburn, and anyone else who thinks a vaccine gives your girls a "license to have sex": Your daughter knows she doesn't need a license for sex. She's already on the Internet exchanging bondage fantasies with a German boy she met on MySpace. Forget HPV; she's already on to S/M. We all know, there's only one 100 percent proven method to make a woman abstinent -- marry her.

Jefepato · « **Reply #1 on:** March 02, 2007, 02:34:39 PM »

Where are all the psycho Christians coming from, anyway?

I mean, obviously they exist because they're in the news all the time, but none of the Christians I've ever met act like this.

ZK · « **Reply #2 on:** March 02, 2007, 02:45:33 PM »

They come from the South-East. I've experienced a bit of such, I've seen foolishness of this caliber here in GA.

Vandren · « **Reply #3 on:** March 02, 2007, 02:54:16 PM »

Also in Texas. One of the top legislative committee members recently tried to get the state legislature to ban the teaching of evolution in public schools because he claimed it is a "religious" theory stemming from the Pharisees and Kabbala. This is part ofthe new conservative Christian tactic of claiming that everything they don't like in schools is religious in nature, since courts have unanimously struck down teaching Creationism on those grounds. Of course, this particular legislator has been roundly heckled and laughed at because his primary source for this information is a group of conservative Christians who believe that the Earth doesn't spin and that the universe is geocentric ( http://www.fixedearth.com ).

ZK · « **Reply #4 on:** March 02, 2007, 03:10:34 PM »

I honestly do not know where to begin...should I laugh? Should I cry? Or should I do all of the above and run screaming to boot? That's...pathetic.

Vekseid · « **Reply #5 on:** March 02, 2007, 04:00:14 PM »

Hey, at least they're not trying to legislate pi=3, again.

Vandren · « **Reply #6 on:** March 02, 2007, 05:45:02 PM »

Quote from: Z.K. on March 02, 2007, 03:10:34 PM

I honestly do not know where to begin...should I laugh? Should I cry? Or should I do all of the above and run screaming to boot? That's...pathetic.

Yes, to all of the above.

Here's the whole story (partially copied to my blog and with a link to someone else's):

Warren Chisum (chairman of the Texas House Appropriations Committee) has attempted to claim that evolution is a religious theory dating back to the Pharisees and expounded in the Kabbala, thereby making it a theory that cannot be taught in public schools, according to various court rulings regarding creationism.

http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/archives/2007/02/warren_chisum_h.html

Swedish Steel · « **Reply #7 on:** March 02, 2007, 06:06:13 PM »

Damn, I wish we had some of your christians, ours are so damn sensible and boring. Well, not all of them, but they are nowhere near as bad. Or maybe they realise that they don't have a chance in hell to get their wacko ideas through the swedish riksdag.

Elvi · « **Reply #8 on:** March 02, 2007, 08:21:09 PM »

In all honesty, THATmade me weep, well at least brought a teer to my eye.

I cannot really believe that a parent would forbid something that could prevent their daughter from suffering a long painful illness and possible death.

As the parent of an 11 year old girl, if I could I would book her injection now......

NightBird · « **Reply #9 on:** March 02, 2007, 09:27:07 PM »

I've got the human papilloma virus that causes cancer. I have the lesions. They're pre-cancerous so far, but if I'd had a vaccine... yeah. You can probably guess what I think of those parents.

Vekseid · « **Reply #10 on:** March 03, 2007, 12:50:47 AM »

Och.

Sometimes the vaccine still works, or can be modified to... so there is hope...

NightBird · « **Reply #11 on:** March 03, 2007, 09:57:49 AM »

*smiles*

Thanks. It's possible for it to go away on its own, or never progress, but it can also move from infection with HPV to full-blown cancer inside six months. The medical community doesn't know why the variations yet, since it's tied up with quite a few variables, including immune response and environmental factors, like stress and exposure to cigarette smoke.

But knowing how it's felt to be starting over with my life after a painful divorce, finally doing what I've always wanted to do, and doing well in grad school, then finding out I have to learn to live with this diagnosis hanging over my head... it makes me want to scream at those parents. I guess we're still in a world of 'honor killings' and belief in virtue above life itself. I wonder if they'd refuse treatment to their daughters, too.

And just for anyone who doesn't know, more than 75% of adults have one strain or another of HPV, and condom use is considered to be only partly effective in preventing transmission, mainly because HPV isn't purely an STD. It's a systemic infection that may remain latent or may surface as viral warts (not just genital warts, but also in what are often called 'planter's warts'), may transform between strains the same way that herpes does, and may be transmissible through other forms of contact. Men can carry the cancer-causing strains without showing any signs. It's unknown yet if there is any correlation to testicular or prostate cancer for men. Research is ongoing to answer some of these questions and to work on an antiviral that will work against HPV the way acyclovir and valacyclovir do for the herpes family (which includes 'shingles,' btw, a recurrence of chicken pox that can erupt anywhere on the body).

It's just that it's such a miracle that a cancer can be largely prevented by a vaccine, and people are treating it as if it were something bad to do that. It really ticks me off. *growls*

Celestial Goblin · « **Reply #12 on:** March 03, 2007, 02:00:53 PM »

I'm not a christian myself, but for goodness sake...
Even I know that christianity is not about this level of stupidity and destructive attitude towards your loved ones.
Those folks are special. Literal creationist, flat-earthers, abortion clinic bombers, people from the document 'Jesus Camp'... They aren't just normal christians or even your stereotypical 'bible-thumping' conservative.
They are crackpots, and I heard many times how normal christians were equally terrified at what those folks are doing with their religion.
It's like 'Jesus Ftagn, raise from the sea and devour the unbelievers' or something. I won't be suprised when those folks write their own new bible...

Ajoxer · « **Reply #13 on:** March 27, 2007, 09:57:38 AM »

It's the sad thing about all walks of life, and news in general: People only ever hear about the fringe.

There's nothing really INTERESTING, newsworthy, about a group of christians who support the vaccine because it could give their daughters a long, full life. Any sane person would want that.

As we've seen, there's no real interest in sanity.

Swedish Steel · « **Reply #14 on:** March 27, 2007, 10:07:22 AM »

No. Sane people are boring. That´s why I hang out here.

Lilian · « **Reply #15 on:** March 29, 2007, 07:36:22 PM »

Why dont Christian parents just learn how to PARENT their fucking children already?! My GOD, are Christians ones to TALK!? They cant STOP FUCKING! If everyone was a Christian, or an offshoot of Christianity, we'd be CHINA!

Jefepato · « **Reply #16 on:** March 29, 2007, 08:01:53 PM »

Quote from: Lilian on March 29, 2007, 07:36:22 PM

If everyone was a Christian, or an offshoot of Christianity, we'd be CHINA!

Most Christian families I know have maybe two kids, so I'm not really sure where you're going with this.

Lilian · « **Reply #17 on:** March 29, 2007, 08:16:03 PM »

A lot of the christian get-togethers here are chances to find people to fuck and party with, about it.

Lilac · « **Reply #18 on:** March 29, 2007, 08:30:39 PM »

Quote from: Lilian on March 29, 2007, 07:36:22 PM

Why dont Christian parents just learn how to PARENT their fucking children already?! My GOD, are Christians ones to TALK!? They cant STOP FUCKING! If everyone was a Christian, or an offshoot of Christianity, we'd be CHINA!

While I'm not keen on the type responsible for this article, please don't overgeneralize.

Lilian · « **Reply #19 on:** March 29, 2007, 08:49:54 PM »

Doot.

Cherri Tart · « **Reply #20 on:** March 30, 2007, 11:34:38 AM »

ok - my two cents. The thing is, the squeaky wheel gets the grease or something like that. I can't disagree with the viewpoint of these people more, i mean, if there was a way to prevent any illness, then it's a good thing. And, remembering myself at that age, vaccine or not, i wouldn't have changed my sexual haibts, so that's just stupid.

Now, here's the thing... this sort of thing is pushed by that very tiny percent of people to the far right who have VERY BIG VOICES. Most christians, i would imagine, find this view point as abhorant as most of you. Case in point - i grew up christian and, while i don't really practice, my family does, and in truth, if push came to shove, i would probably identify myself as such... and guess what? i know for a fact that they think these kind of people are whackos and give everyone else a bad name. Oh, and other religions/beliefs/groups aren't immune from such fringe groups... look at all the people who give folks on the left a bad name as well... i'm 100% behind animal rights, for example, but setting bombs or tossing paint on people is just wrong.

don't blame the group, blame the individuals :)

Billy Pilgrim · « **Reply #21 on:** July 23, 2008, 02:07:48 PM »

yes... mwahahaha.... us christians are out to destroy your precious 'medical science' bwahehehehe

why don't you take your 's#$%&$' and jump off a building

Just kidding, I'm a christian but I totally don't have a problem with finding a cure for Cancer, HPV, Syphilus, or anything else. As long as it doesn't involve killing anybody.

Galatea88 · « **Reply #22 on:** July 23, 2008, 02:43:04 PM »

Thank you to everyone who at least defended Christians in part. I am a Christian and I don't go around screaming and bombing things. And yes, a lot of you mentioned the Christians do things like have sex. Here is my response to that statement: are we not human? Doesn't everyone make mistakes? No, all of us are not perfect. No one is. I never claimed to be. I, for one, would let my future daughter get the vaccine. It's the same as getting her flu shot, in retrospect. Yes, HPV is more dangerous, but the idea is the same. Prevention is the best way to save her from the possible illnesses and such. Condoms would help, yes. Oh and on that note, I have not objection to comdoms or birth control, which someone mentioned on here as well. True, abstinence is the best way to avoid both diseases and pregnancy, just as not jumping off a wall prevents a broken leg. That doesn't mean it won't happen. Someone will do it somewhere. As a parent, I would do my best to prevent any situation that would put my daughter in danger. However, in the end, a lot of what she does it up to her. I can't staop er from having sex if she really wants to. I can advise her on why she shouldn't; condoms and birth control don't always prevent pregnancy or diseases. The least I can do is arm her with the information and proection as best as I can. However, NOT ALL CHRISTIANS ARE NYMPHOMANIACS, LILIAN. I for one am a VIRGIN, not because of my parents, but because I see that it is the best way to stay safe from things such as diseases, pregnancy, and unecessary heartbreak. Sex causes an attachment. Anyone who denies that is a fool. I simply choose to wait until I marry. However, we are still human. I cannot deny that I have sexual needs. I do try to exercise restaint. Do I always" No, I have experimented. However, I regret that at times as well. I agree with Lilac: you are simply angry for whatever reason and overgeneralizing. I would never do horrible things like bomb an abortion center or willingly indanger my children. Extremists exist in every walk of life and in every belief. My father has a very rare form of cancer and I am all for any findinf a cure or vaccine for it. Judgement is not something that is alotted to individuals to use to become vigilatees. I try my best to not judge other people. A person's life is that: their life. Yes, I beieve that you will be held accountable for your actions when you die, whether you want to say that its God or not. We all know that life is not without consequences. Why would death be any different?

In closing, I again quote another intelligent member on E, Cherri Tart: Don't blame the group, blame the individual.

Sabby · « **Reply #23 on:** July 23, 2008, 06:50:54 PM »

Hurray for thread necromancy.

I'll say what I do in all of these debates. I haven't got a problem with your skin. I haven't got a problem with your faith. I haven't got a problem with your book, your origin or your species. I do, however, think when your this mind numbingly, skull frackeningly stupid, and this vocal about it... then you'll take every bit of backlash the sane world will throw at you, because believe me, we go and try to cure AIDES with stem cells, and they'll be very, very loud at us.

Sherona · « **Reply #24 on:** July 23, 2008, 06:56:12 PM »

Locking this thread as it was Thread Necromancy, and just stirs up oold issues. Please keep the remarks nice. >.>