the ersatz vegetarian

This time it’s not the folks who are convinced—against all rationality—that vaccine additives cause autism. This time it’s folks complaining (and going to court about) their liberty is being violated because of a perceived lack of religious freedom in the form of two kids that were sent home from school because they weren’t vaccinated:

Obviously, this is not about children’s rights. The children’s rights are being violated by their parents, who believe their right to use their children as symbols to prove their piety trumps their children’s right to health. Of course, we live in an environment where conservatives are claiming that it’s a violation of “religious liberty” if you can’t force your beliefs on others. The degradation of understanding of what a right is and who has it is one that historians of early 21st century America will find fascinating, I’m sure.

These folks are trying to nullify a law that would keep these unvaccinated kids out of school if classmates are carrying communicable diseases such as measles, mumps, and chicken pox. Freedom of religion also means, depending on the person, freedom from religion, and, if I had a kid who got a dangerous disease like measles or mumps from another kid who was unvaccinated, I would not be nonplussed (yes, that’s the right way to use that word).