Beware Jenny McCarthy and Her Angry Mob
October 3, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
The quote of the day on Time.com by Jenny “Mother Warrior” McCarthy is here and refers to actress Amanda Peet being on one “side” of views about vaccination, and to a certain part of the male anatomy. On the “side” of McCarthy is (per her quote) “an angry mob” of anti-vaccinationists who say that vaccines or something in vaccines cause autism.
An angry mob?
Yikes!
Seeing as I (a confessed former warrior mom) don’t think vaccines or something in vaccines can be linked to autism, I ought to be typing this with fingers a-trembling.
But why?
Because study after study shows that there is no link between vaccines or something in vaccines and autism?
Well yes.
But actually because there’s too many friends (including my two best guys and many parents of autistic children who know vaccines had nothing to do with their child being autistic, and many more) with me on this.
We can get kind of aggravated at times but in general, hope is on our side.
Today on Ellen Ms. McCarthy stated Evan is not cured of autism. She also stated he’s “neurotypical”.
??!!
The woman’s nuts. Period.
I’ll go with Borderline + NPD. When can a qualified team begin the intervention? Maybe a call to Dr Drew is in order; he’s local.
She can be as nuts as she wants. It’s America. I just wish she would stop stating that she is speaking on my behalf (a mother of an autistic son). I don’t want people thinking that all autistic parents are dying for a cure and that we are angry. I am in fact, rather happy with my child.
Shoot I forgot to watch Ellen to see what she was spouting about. I am tired of her crap, and I saw her say that the next book is coming out in April – there goes autism awareness month. Someone with some authority better have a book due in April, maybe HBO movie on Temple will be done since shooting starting now in Austin.
Oh she was on Good day LA yesterday and she was on before Suzanne Somers, pissed me off and then when SS was on they were talking about Jenny, what a slap to Suzanne who is an actress, not sure what Jenny is.
I got the pictures book in mail from amazon today, thanks for wrting about it. I think I will have to get amazon kindle or start getting books with large print, almost certain I have cataracts from taking prednisone for my eczema. If not that then prednisone induced diabetes, need to see Dr soon.
I see that the Chicago Tribune is taking this seriously.
“…That made McCarthy very angry, almost as angry as the people who paid to see her recent movie “Witless Protection,” in which she starred alongside Larry the Cable Guy…McCarthy said in the article released Wednesday that the American Academy of Pediatrics “sucks…”
(Is the promotion junket almost over yet?)
I actually just finished a children’s book, dedicated to parents of kids with autism. It’s a social story for my son to teach him about dreams. It is the exact opposite of anything that Jenny would publish. It’s celebrates autism. I just need a publisher. Hopefully someone will pick it up by then!
[blockquote]McCarthy said in the article released Wednesday that the American Academy of Pediatrics “sucks…”[/blockquote]
How could the AAP ever compete with such eloquence?
I think she meant to say that she had an, “ignorant, drunken, angry mob” on her side. That would have been more scary.
http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2005/12/12/bash_gallery__470×309.jpg
Maybe more effective. Right now they have people who email death threats out. But if they had an actual mob with weapons and stuff then even more people could see that she had no facts on her side, just bluster, whining, stupidity and vulgarity.
With her talking this week about putting a stripper’s pole in her son’s room —- and hosting a fundraiser for Generation Rescue at the Playboy mansion for a “leather and lace” event—-it kind of seems that her true colors are showing, and it’s not just about greening vaccines.
@Mama, Good luck finding a publisher for your book!
@Bonnie Sayers, look forward to your review of the book with the pictures……..
Just what “true colors” are you talking about, Kristina?
What a snotty, judgemental comment. I don’t care *where* she hosts a fundraiser. Until autism is a thing of the past the money can come from porn, tobacco, gambling or the mob.
And Mama at 7:51 – as “happy” as you are with your child with autism, don’t try to tell me or anyone else that if a safe cure was found tomorrow you wouldn’t line up to get it for your son or daughter.
Jenny we hardly knew ye and apparently she’s already got her mob.
“Just what “true colors” are you talking about, Kristina?”
I certainly can’t speak for Kristina, but let me take a stab at this. I’ll go with, “What is attention-seeking and self-promoting” for $500.
“What a snotty, judgemental comment. I don’t care *where* she hosts a fundraiser. Until autism is a thing of the past the money can come from porn, tobacco, gambling or the mob.”
What do you mean by “autism” being a thing of the past? All things called an autism spectrum disorder by subjective interpretations of the DSM?
And really, research funding could come from anywhere? The mob? What about the sales of children into slavery? Would that be okay? How about taxes on sales of illicit drugs to teenagers? That cool?
@Janell…there goes another person speaking for someone else. Let me be happy with my child. Why would that anger you? Maybe you should get some therapy for yourself and then go look for your cure. Good luck. Sounds like you need it.
Wow. Talk about how vulgar Jenny and her angry, unthinking mob and **poof** one of them appears as if on command to demonstrate how unthinking they are. The mob? So if the money came from murdering a person, it would be ok if Jenny took it and spent it on more google adwords ads to promote Jennynation Rexu and the Indigo boys of AoA?
Am I the only one with a sneaking suspicion that Bunny’s “angry mob” is largely interchangeable with Gov. Moose Patty’s “hockey moms”? Does it not seem apropos that the Mercury Militia should join ranks with “Joel’s Army” and carry out their respective Holy Crusades as One Chosen People? Seeing as their “reasoning” is of roughly the same quality? And after all, was it not those same godless liberal secularists in government who forced them to poison their children?
So many witches … so little time …
Janell did say “to anyone else” so I’m speaking as the mother of an autistic son. I can tell you that if a cure was found tomorrow that NO I would not be lining up for him to get it. He doesn’t need it, but most importantly, HE doesn’t want it. He’s been very clear about that, and that he doesn’t need to be cured, and what he wants, feels, thinks and says is what matters most as far as I’m concerned. So don’t assume you know better and think everybody would be all for getting cured if one was made available. And so you know, my son is happy the way he is which makes all of us in his family happy as well.
Please don’t ever think that Jenny’s angry mob has anything to do with Gov. Palin. I am voting Republican and I know a lot of liberals who blame the government for poisoning their children. It has nothing to do with politics and has everything to do with blaming other people, and as we all know, that goes on both side of the political and religious spectrum.
I read that and found myself wondering what could cause a person to think that writing “I have an angry mob behind me” reflected well on them?
Mama, that last point is a good one.
I believe I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. Jenny McCarthy is a dumb as a stump. That mob behind her must not only be angry but also a mob of fools if they’re following her. There’s a great example right here on this thread of the kind of moral relativism that is implied in much of what McCarthy and her mob proselytize. Her name calls to mind another McCarthy who had to do with witches and hunts and angry stupid ignorant mobs intent more on false prophets and straw men than reality or rationality. Where’s Arthur Miller when you need him?
It’s McCarthyism, MTV style, it could be said.
What I think is fascinating is to hear Jenny talk her Indigo talk and then turn around in another venue and talk her “hoochie mamma warrior” talk.
If you look at the rhetoric used by Jenny and her friends among the Indigo/NewAge types it’s all about how karma will even things out, how a new age of the holistic-organic-mother-earth-goddess is about to descend and straighten everything out for the confused (confused because they have been poisoned by twinkies and diet Coke) masses. The New Age types aren’t talking about gathering angry mobs who are going to hurt people. They might insult someone else’s aura (not Indigo or Crystal, obviously!) but they wouldn’t do that to pick a gutter fight. There are too many toxins in the gutter, and punching a less enlightened person in the face or calling them a murderer because they believe in the benefits of vaccines doesn’t help anyone’s karma.
She uses whichever community’s rhetoric that will bring in the most attention at point in time and with that attention comes $$$$cash$$$$ which is what Jenny is ALL about. She’ll get cash for selling her “green” ideas and her line of “green” household products. Will it include a “green” “free-trade” “cruelty free” stripper pole? Probably not, the stripper pole is from the OTHER Jenny’s schtick.
When she’s doing raging “recovered autism mom” schtick she’s not doing the “let’s all just hug” thing. In her interview in LA Parent from May of last year she was all Indigo, even though her book “Louder than words” had already been written and she mentioned that it was due out in that September. She knew Evan was “autistic” and had seizures and supposed had cured him with toxic “diflucan” and the GFCF diet by then, but did she mention any of that?? No. She was still in the Indigo mom mode. She says that moms shouldn’t try to compete with each other LA style. She says she has “school envy” instead of “stroller envy” because some moms say, “Did you get your kid into that prestigious school? You didn’t? Well, I did.” She says that moms need to realize that they are “all in it together” and should “hug” each other instead of competing. And she does the whole Indigo schtick about a new generation of mouthy kids that will save the world.
Nowhere does she mention seizures, autism, late talking, GFCF, DAN! or diflucan. She uses the term “poop stories” which made me wonder if she took that from TACA or if TACA took it from her. She says that she found that her son wouldn’t “act out” as much if she fed him “organic” food and she says his bedroom is all organic and that all they eat at her house is organic food.
So why wouldn’t she say anything about autism and vaccines or hating the AAP in that interview? Because she was in Indigo mom mode.
In her interview on World Puja Network she did within days of the Green Our Vaccines angry mob rally she didn’t say, “angry mob of mothers,” no, she said her next book “Mother Warriors” is “really an Indigo book” and her friends in the autism community were empowered mothers who have re-claimed their all-natural woman-power and internalized the spirit of the goddess.
It would be funny to get the raging, bitter, Orange County TACKY momz crowd together with the holistic, gentle and organic Indigo moms crowd (from Topanga canyon?) in one place with Jenny and see what happens.
Here’s Jenny doing the Hollywood Sexy Mamma thang … gambling to raise money for TACKYNOW
http://www.planetc1.com/cgi-bin/n/v.cgi?c=1&id=1223141696
And who’s that next to her at the GREEN felt covered poker table? It’s Dr. Green, Jay Gordon!
From the link Ms. Clark quoted:
I agre with Mama and Michelle. My HFA son is happy with his interests, etc. I am not looking for a cure and never have looked backwards at why and instead living each day.
The poop stories were on TACA way before Jenny appeared on the scene.
I was curious about emails Jenny sends out and signed up to get Generation Rescue. Last week there was a message urging all to buy the books thru amazon or B&N right away so that she could get on the NY Times list. They explained the process of how she needed to get on there and how it worked. Maybe I still have it.
Not to be missed: Ms. Clark’s comments on Dr. Steven Novella’s Neurologica blog, about what McCarthy said about her first “autism” book in May 2007 (the book was not published till September 2007):
@Bonnie Sayers, when David Kirby’s Evidence of Harm was first published in 2005, there were similar emails on email discussion lists urging people to go out and buy his book, so it’d get on the bestseller list. Wonder if the book actually gets read.
I might have that copy of LA Parent in my closet. I pick them up but hardly get to read them, but do save autism related ones, and remember her on the cover. Off to find it.
The edition of LA Parent that featured Jenny also featured an article on Gardasil. She’s on the cover looking like Rosie the Riveter with her forearm up in the air, making a bicep muscle pop-out. The article isn’t online anywhere. I aske LA Parent if they could send me a pdf and instead they sent me the magazine, which was very kind of them.
I have been transcribing bits of the article since I don’t have a way to scan it and OCR it. The box in the article says, “Jenny Goes Indigo,” here’s what it says, “The indigo child concept (www.indigochild.com) is a popular movement that has gained momentum since 2005. The term was originated in the 1970’s by San Diego parapsychologist Nancy Ann Tappe, who classified people by their auras. Tappe classifed children with deep-blue (indigo) auras as highly intuitive, self-reliant, energetic, gifted, compassionate to other living creatures, and reactionary to anything they perceived to be unfair (rules, discipline, authority).
Often children described as indigo are hypersensitive to foods and chemicals and also have been diagnosed with forms of autism, ADD, ADHD and other social-emotional disorders. McCarthy has become an advocate for the movement as a way to help moms and children understand and learn how to support what many call “spirited” children.
You can learn more about her views on her website, Indigo Moms with Jenny McCarthy (www.indigomoms.com), which features a community for moms to share their parenting experiences and find additional resources.”
The resources that were on Jenny’s indigomoms.com website (that she say she is bringing back) were “angel therapy” and links to sellers of gemstone and mineral necklaces to be used for crystal therapy. Jenny was promoting some kind of new age machine from the site… a cosmic healing clock or something, part of the proceeds from the sales were to go to her so she could build all organic schools that would serve all organic food, etc.
That was all going on while she was writing, “Louder than Words” which next to nothing in it about indigo moms or about her son being a crystal. I understand there’s one reference to “crystal” meaning “autistic.” But nothing about how these “crystal autistic” kids are a gift from the other world and are psychic because they are all tied in together in one community consciousness.
Jenny’s angry mob representative, Janell, should go yell at Jenny from promoting autism as something wonderful, to be accepted, not just that, but treasured and bragged about, and as a fabulous gift from some great spirit “source” out there, instead of the worst curse imaginable invented by Eli Lilly in 1930 to destroy humanity as we know it.
Thank you for pointing out the chameleon-like aspects of JMc.
Just for the record, I don’t care a hoot about Jenny McCarthy’s professional career, lifestyle choices or her home furnishings. If she disappeared from the talk show and speaker’s circuit tomorrow presenting herself as an autism expert, as far as I am concerned she can go on her merry way without my approval or disapproval. Hang out at the mansion, green the house…whatever.
What I do care about is her somewhat aggressive and presumptive self-declaration of representing the autism community or other families beyond the circles that she runs in and specific groups that she acts as celebrity spokesperson for, as well as the hubris involved with some of her public statements on medicine. Sorry, a Google degree, access to the media and a knack for self-promotion is not enough.
Yep I agree with Regan. When Jenny was first mentioned thru TACA or one of the yahoo groups the Indigo Moms site was up and I looked at it and was turned off. So it is back up now? Many do not seem to like her DVDs as they are always selling them on autism for sale on yahoo groups
I found Jan and April 2006 issues of LA Parent and TACA newsletter Volume 1, issue 1 from April 2006. I think I might have TACA online emails from past years at another email address, maybe a search of my emails for Jenny Mc Carthy will find something of interest.
Here is some history on her. I did not know most of thiis, not impressive really, just heard the name:
http://www.askmen.com/celebs/women/models/8_jenny_mccarthy.html
Nov 16 06: “The mission of Indigo Moms is to create a community where moms can meet to have fun, share stories, make new friends, join a support group, and hopefully learn and laugh on this adventure called life.
Your host is Jenny McCarthy. Jenny has a 4-year-old son, Evan, who is a Crystal child. Being blessed with Evan led Jenny to have the inspiring vision to create this meeting place.”
July 3 07: “Jenny McCarthy’s website will be posted in June. Looking forward to seeing you then!”
Aug 19 07: “The Indigo Moms website will not be returning.”
May 2008: “You know I had to take that down and I was so sad to take it down, for a while anyways, it’ll be coming back up.”
Not up now, still displaying “The Indigo Moms website will not be returning.”
Jenny had a cafepress.com shop where she sold indigomoms and indigo kids t-shirts! That had to be taken down, too. Bummer.
Guess she’s moved on from cafepress.com to her own too good brand.
I don’t think she’s said anything too much about…education, schools. why she’s homeschooling Evan (besides saying that he’s got teachers who understand his particular learning needs)?
Know for a certainty that those in that “angry mob” who remain angry too long will drown in their own bile — spiritually and psychologically if not physiologically — and then to what end will they have helped their children?
I was an interesting article tonight which examines how sometimes firm self-belief of expertise can also be combined with a lack of actual expertise, and factors which contribute to the situation.
“…In sum, we present this article as an exploration into why people tend to hold overly optimistic and miscalibrated views about themselves. We propose that those with limited knowledge in a domain suffer a dual burden: Not only do they reach mistaken conclusions and make regrettable errors, but their incompetence
robs them of the ability to realize it…”
(Perhaps “incompetence” is an unfortunate word choice, because I think the reference is to weak knowledge in a particular area or subject, i.e., inexpert, but points to the motto, “a little knowledge being a dangerous thing”.)
Somehow it seems relevant.
Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own
incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 1121-1134.
Sorry–”I was reading an interesting (etc.).”
(Sweating over proofing the html too much and not quite enough over the words.)
Anyway, it’s still an interesting article. .
I’m so tired of the current trend of certain interest groups trying to sell causes to the masses. Yes, I guess it’s good that now autism is the ‘talk of the town’. However, I don’t see the current ‘controversies’ helping the real issues of individuals with autism and their families. Jenny McCarthy definitively doesn’t speak for me. Neither does Amanda Peete for that matter, in the ‘quest’ of defending vaccines. On both ends, their comments have been irresponsible, and targeted just to spark reactions among people. That’s not educating the public. They should’ve stick to their lousy acting careers.
Looks like she is on the cover of US Weekly. Beating autism – How I saved my son. the article has 212 comments under the heading:
Jenny MC Carthy – my son no longer is autistic.
http://www.usmagazine.com it is on home page. my last post with a link still did not go thru so not posting links.
In a pic he is in a suit or tux and she is in a black gown, he is touching her boob. His smiles always look forced and not genuine.
Evan looks like a sweet little boy–I hope that the media exposure isn’t stressing him out and that he’s okay with it.
I wonder if JMc’s clout as a celebrity spokesperson is winding down or if the recent media junket was public overload. Last year the comments on the infotainment stories were generally favorable or sympathetic, but on that US Weekly story, at least for the moment, there is a lot of negative or skeptical feedback about her statements and claims, and, surprisingly, fairly pretty reasonable for the most part about autism.
It’s not necessarily a representative sample, but the shift in reaction is kind of interesting.
“What I do care about is her somewhat aggressive and presumptive self-declaration of representing the autism community or other families beyond the circles that she runs in and specific groups that she acts as celebrity spokesperson for, as well as the hubris involved with some of her public statements on medicine.”
Agreed. Our life is just about as close to the one she presents as my bra size is to hers. I cringe when she is presented as a spokesperson for me. Our experience is so different…
Did any one ever hear Evan say a word. How about to hear if he can say his name or how old he is or some thing like that be for I could give to much for the treament that she cured him.
As a Doctor I am shocked that people are so ignorant! No, not Jenny Mccarthy – the general public!
The people who do not have a child on the Sutism Spectrum – what are you basing your information on? The parents who do have an Autistic child – have you tried any of what Jenny is saying? If not then what are you basing your attitude on?
As a Doctor I fully agree with the treatments Jenny recommends and have seen the HUGE results of patients who have been recovered and others well on their way by the methods and referals she has mentioned! While it may not heal every child the same, it DOES heal some – and until you look into the eyes of a parent and see their child in need you cannot fully comprehend where any mother stands when faced with this illness! You cannot believe the media, the Government, or some Doctors! When was the last time you walked into the Doctors office with something wrong and the Doctor didn’t reach for his prescription pad?
**** As for the Government regulations Humor me and look at this site – http://cosmeticdatabase.com/index.php?key=36319579&message=Successfully+updated+Supporter+information take one of your shampoo brands or toothpaste and type it into here. Look at the toxicity levels and ingredients that come up. Now think about how this product is redily available without warning signs or regulations. Keep putting more brands in and then look in the mirror and ask yourself “can the FDA be trusted”, “Doesn’t the Government regulate our products”, and you will see that the truth isn’t always infront of us – we must dig! we must research! We must trust ourselves and not put our health so innocently into the hands of Doctors, FDA, or anyone else! Once you find out about your product – go ask your Doctor what he/she thinks of the toxicity and you will get “everything is toxic to some level” fluff off or “the amount is not high enough to harm us” etc… Oh but it is when you consider you use that product, and many others in one day – from toothpaste, to shampoo to aluminum in our deoderant – and the “Doctors” still say it’s safe but there are no tests for the combination off all things we each use in various combinations every day! This is something the Doctors won’t tell you! Doctors just don’t know, don’t research, and some honestly and sadly don’t care!!
Research before you comment – isnorance isn’t going to help your child/children…. I’m glad someone out there is brave enough to shed some light on a topic that is not being taken seriously! If it were it would be covered by the people everyone seems to trust – the Government!!!!
“Dr.” Harvey,
Your poor English skills and complete ignorance of the scientific method make it abundantly clear that you are NOT a medical doctor. Please do yourself a favor: enroll in an introductory science course to learn why advocating treatment methods that have absolutely no scientific backing whatsoever is at best wasteful and at worst downright dangerous.