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comment by mk
mk  ·  4197 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Bad Skeptic: Why I’m voting for fluoridation in Portland today.

I have a friend in Portland who lives in a house divided on the issue. I feel for him. It was also a house divided on vaccines. :/





AlderaanDuran  ·  4197 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    It was also a house divided on vaccines. :/

Yikes. I don't even know him and now I feel for him now.

mk  ·  4197 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yes. It was very difficult when they had a baby. When spouses don't agree on vaccines, what do you do? It's the kind of disagreement that can spin out of control. I thank gawd my wife and I see eye-to-eye on it.

b_b  ·  4197 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I think what you do is go down to your local book store and buy a coffee table book filled with picture of kids who have been deformed by the various diseases that vaccines prevent against and leave it out in the open without saying anything. In relationships, the more passive aggressive the better.

Did I mention I'm not married? Hmmm.

mk  ·  4197 days ago  ·  link  ·  

You'll either never marry, b_b, or you'll quickly remedy it if you do. :)

b_b  ·  4197 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'm not sure that coffee table book exists...yet. I'm thinking Kickstarter!

thenewgreen  ·  4197 days ago  ·  link  ·  

This thread is hilarious. I'll throw down for that kickstarter.

thenewgreen  ·  3797 days ago  ·  link  ·  

You ought to read this, I just stumbled upon it. By the way, you never did create that coffee table book...

b_b  ·  3797 days ago  ·  link  ·  

My fiancee has some beliefs that diverge from mine, but I made sure to check about the vaccine thing before buying the cow. It's a dealbreaker.

thenewgreen  ·  3797 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Well done. ecib, where did you and M end up on the issue?

ecib  ·  3797 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Oh, we are both pro-evidence.

thenewgreen  ·  3797 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Of course you are, I never doubted it. Now lets create that coffee book!

ecib  ·  4197 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    When spouses don't agree on vaccines, what do you do?

Eh...if there was no agreement after much careful debate then I would just get them vaccinated and either lie to my wife or tell her after if I thought our relationship would withstand the angry fallout. Sorry, but somebody has to win the debate. That sounds horrible I know, and I'd be willing to lose any argument except those where my kid's health is on the line. Hmm. I should ask my fiance what she thinks about vaccines...

thenewgreen  ·  4197 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Like AlderaanDuran, I too enjoyed the read even though I'm not in Portland. Humans are extremely adept at ignoring data in order to reinforce their "feelings" or beliefs. I'm also amazed by what causes people champion in the face of more dire societal needs. There are people that will spend huge amounts of energy and time fighting this.

eeweatherly, you are in the Portland area, aren't you? Or perhaps you are in Eugene? Either way, I seem to recall discussing fluoridation with you on Hubski in the past. Any thoughts on this article? Is there a lot of discussion about the topic in your neck of the woods?