Unmasking the anti-maskers – Aug 20, 2021

 

A chiropractor, a lawyer, and a would-be philosopher…it’s no joke.

We came across some information about the masking and vaccination debate that stopped us right in our tracks.

Consider this…You trust your chiropractor to heal your aching back, but you’d probably not ask him to treat an infectious disease. Your lawyer’s good for legal advice, but she’d tell you to see a medical professional if you asked about a sore throat. And if you ever meet a real-live philosopher, you could ask about the meaning of life. But ask them how to literally stay alive and they’re likely wise enough to suggest you follow your doctor’s advice.

That’s why it’s downright dangerous that a chiropractor, a lawyer, and a would-be philosopher are peddling advice to parents on how to reverse school district masking and vaccination policies for their opaque employer called Stand for Health Freedom. This band of three anti-experts are well funded; their slick website and materials are curiously silent on where they get their dough. They’ve clearly taken to heart the adage that it’s better to look good than to feel good since they are working very hard to spread COVID to children and more adults. (Just trust us and don’t check out their website because Facebook will simply increase their traffic as a result.)   

While the troika is ringing the alarm bell that parents rights are being violated and arming them with a grassroots tool to roll back school district masking requirements, their mission is in service of an even more dangerous purpose: ending child vaccinations. Think Polio, Measles, Rubella, Smallpox. It’s hard to find anyone that thinks the world would be a better place if these nearly eradicated childhood diseases were once again infecting and killing our children. But that’s their cause.

Not surprisingly, regressive causes find impressive ways to market their mission. “Stand for Health Freedom” is hard at work in southeastern Pennsylvania to unravel reasonable decisions that protect the lives of students, school staff, and families. Not to be outdone, a sister organization, “Health Defense Fund,” is working overtime to make sure Black people reject the vaccine despite their shocking COVID death rate that outpaces the White death rate by 40%. To be sure, this movement has multiple front-groups pushing these reckless messages.

For the second year in a row, school board members are on the front lines of the pandemic battle where fringe groups are fighting its cure and prevention to build their political movement.  It’s a big leap to suggest that efforts to stop the spread of a plague constrain personal freedom. Yet eight states embraced this charged mantra by prohibiting local school boards from taking reasonable steps to preserve life itself. Clearly, something besides COVID is infecting our communities.

There are rays of sanity and hope as some districts are listening to the scientific experts. A Children First survey of school districts found that three Delaware County districts are requiring masks of some or all students. The same goes for 18 districts in Montco and Philadelphia is expected to follow suit. Another 43 suburban districts may adjust to the new CDC guidance, but right now are only recommending masking.

Real philosophers like Plato give us useful wisdom. “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” A perfect reminder for school boards, parents, and students as they reject the paranoia fostered by fake experts and listen to the infectious disease researchers who, time and time again, have saved us from real contagious diseases that threaten our most fundamental freedom – the freedom to live.  

Help kids have a better outlook on life by volunteering to schedule eye appointments for uninsured or underinsured children. A few hours of your time can make a lifetime of difference for a child who needs glasses. childrenfirstPA.org/SightDayVol.

“How many kids have struggled with depression and suicide this year because you are [taking] away the normal school year our children need?” 

– An accusation hurled at Bucks Co. Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia for supporting masks in schools. Marseglia, whose daughter committed suicide in 2005, abruptly left the meeting.

Teen girls have lots to say about preventing pregnancy.

Hear what they think and what policy makers can do at our Girls With Options webinar, Sept 10th at 12:00 pm. 

“Given the way the [Child Tax Credit] program is expected to reduce child poverty and its potential large long-term benefits, Congress should seriously consider a permanent expansion.”

Gus Faucher, senior vice president and chief economist of The PNC Financial Services Group