Respectful Insolence on mercury, autism, and tactics
April 30, 2007 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
My April 25th post (entitled Theories and Tactics) on the Nature Neuroscience editorial on the tactics of those who believe in a vaccine/mercury autism link generated some discussion. Orac over at Respectful Insolence goes into more detail today about the “mercury militia” and debates about the causes of autism. Orac is a surgeon/scientist and, while he notes that he has not himself been on the receiving end of much “harassment from mercury militia devotees,”
I rather suspect that, because I am not autistic myself or a parent of an autistic child, parents who do have autistic children and have bought into the mercury militia line for the most part dismiss me as irrelevant (although why they do not do the same with David Kirby, who is also neither autistic nor the parent of an autistic child , I have yet to figure out). They also accuse me of “not understanding,” which to some extent is true; I have no personal experience of the day-to-day struggles of raising an autistic child, although contacts like Kev have opened my eyes as much as they can be opened not being in his shoes. However, I do know science and epidemiology. I do know that the science has shown that mercury, whatever else it might do, does not cause autism. I know that subjecting autistic children to chelation therapy at best will do them no good and at worst might kill them. Such dubious treatments are the outgrowth of the whole “mercury causes autism” concept.
Being the mother of an autistic child, and not being a scientist or an epidemiologist, I very much welcome Orac’s contributions to discussions about claims of a vaccine/mercury connection to autism. As any one who is the parent of an autistic child knows, the vaccine/mercury-autism connection—while there is no scientific evidence to support such a hypothesis—can end up dominating discussions about autism research and autism in general and there is indeed so much else to discuss (and disagree about).
Go here to read Silencing the opposition over autism.
I could not agree more every conversation I have comes back to me having to explain why I do not believe that Rebekah’s autism was caused by vaccines and that a lot of these therapies I believe to be harmful. I wish the focus was on how to help them rather than trying to “cure” them.
I am not against a cure and would seek any treatment that was proven to help and not harm my child. I just wish they wuld focus on Education. That is the key to helping any person be the best they can autistic or not.
I am sorry I disagree here.
For me the focus should be HEALTH and EDUCATION. BOTH, without imbalances to one or other side; with the needed equilibrium in the approach to take into account the individual needs.
Orac says
However, I do know science and epidemiology. I do know that the science has shown that mercury, whatever else it might do, does not cause autism.
I have different criticisms in parts. CAUSE has not more its place here, BUT problems with HM/essential/toxic elements due to genetics/epigenetics in autism have not been researched with the needed standards to know what is happening and what the value of anecdotical evidence is.
Genetic Epidemiology has not been studied in autism. Transport/excretion of xenobiotics have not been studied in autism. Biochemistry at the needed molecular level to analyze molecular mimicry has not been studied in autism.
I am sorry, but WE do not know enough about autism to have this kind of absolute statements. This kind of statements such as “autism is Hg poisoning” are the sides of the same problem many parents of autistic children must face, unfortunately.
Kristina, Are you being paid by a drug company to say this? The link was proven 4 years ago. We had proof before that when Amy Holmes showed us that chelation would cure autism. It’s hard to believe that a Princeton grad could be this dense. Why do you favor poisoning babies? Are you writing this nonsense to help control the population in China where you know some of those autistic children will be slaughtered?
I agree with Maria. We don’t know enough about the causes of autism at this point, and it sounds like there are diverse phenotypes of autism that are probably triggered by different offenders – of course the primary cause is genetic (80-90%), but the researchers still don’t know what environmental toxins work as triggers.
In any case, I think the main point of Kristina’s and Orac’s posts is the horrible tactics utilized by parents that THINK THEY ALREADY KNOW the cause of autism and bully and harass everyone else that disagrees with them.
I agree with Maria too. We do not know enough to make absolute statements.
We also don’t know the primary cause is 80-90% genetic.
I have seen the bullying tactics and the nasty personal insults coming from the ND side used against the “militia” as well. It’s definitely not one-sided. The arguments often don’t stay on subject, they turn to personal attacks.
Orac outlines a number of very personal attacks that include finding people’s personal information and publicly posting it—-I am all for debate and exchange; it is bullying, verbal and otherwise, that he describes, and in particular against those who have spoken about their views on there not being a connection between vaccines/mercury and autism. I find the exchange between the two “side,” and the use of language, very interesting; this exchange has indeed become part of the history of autism.
Minni Matta,
Where did you see the bullying? Citations please? The ND are a very much smaller and very much poorer group and have never hired a publicity agency to spread slander as NAA has. I have never heard of a scientist getting a death threat from anyone but the mercury mafia (or maybe the animal rights people).
The mercury mafia say that they want people like the ND to be wiped off the face of the earth, are they not supposed to be bothered by that? Keep in mind that none of the ND has attacked in a similar way to the mercury extremsits. No death threats, no death threats to family members. Mostly the ND are very patient with the talk of people wishing they were never born. The ND seem to have become accustomed to such abuse, and they tend to be very ethically minded and fair.
I’m sure Roy Grinker could provide some specific examples of the ridicule and harassment he’s endured following the publication of his book.
If I might add to the previous post, I haven’t read any posts on here from the ND movement equating individuals with autism to those involved with witch hunts, autistic children to “toxic waste dumps,” parents of autistic individuals as uncaring and unsupportive, or high functioning autistic individuals as “fakers” seeking attention because their fathers were weak men. All of which have been posted by commenters here on this blog. Anyone reading the archives here will find ample evidence of the character attacks mentioned earlier.
I think this post is timely, relevant, and important. It’s the personal venom thrown by some here that’s pathetic. We’re all after the same goal–what’s best for ourselves and/or our families. It’s the personal attacks on individuals’ characters, neurological functioning, and educational experience that get in the way of that objective. These are just issues that people will need to agree to disagree on, I think…
Oh my, Kristina, it’s NEVER boring on your site! LOL. Truly, I appreciate that you provide such thoughtful and thought-provoking commentaries and links to articles which I might never see otherwise. As a fairly new mom in the ASD game, though NOT in the multiple disabilities one, I appreciate the opportunities to read and learn and digest. I don’t know where I stand on the issue of cause/treatment/education except to say that I pray there is an identifiable and treatable cause that is discovered in our children’s lifetime. I do believe that education is the key that will allow us to bring out the best, the hidden potential in our children until such day comes and families can make informed, balanced choices for themselves. I don’t think my son is “lost” inside this shell of a boy. Rather, I think he is like a wonderful puzzle box. You know, the ones with all the hidden drawers? Finding the key to unlock the puzzle is my mission. For me, that choice right now is education. If the day comes when there is a scientific/medical treatment WITH WHICH I FEEL COMPLETELY COMFORTABLE TAKING THE RISKS, I may explore that possibility.
Thanks for the impetus for thought and personal reflection.
And thank you for the lovely metaphor—-it does seem like every day when I turn around, some new drawer-pull teases my eye.
There’s some rather strong wording of a rather ad mulierem sort in some comments I have received:
Never a dull moment, truly.
Can I take a stab at the rhetoric in the comment you posted? I just can’t help it…
“Are you being paid by a drug company to say this?” Definite appeal to ethics here that you’re motivations for posting said article were to propagate a corporate agenda. Such appeals to ethics are nicely aligned with the “Princeton grad” and “controlling the population in China” comments that follow.
The metonymy of “corporate” here, as a reference to all corporations as inhuman (inhumane) entities that that have no concern for the humans they serve, works especially well with the reference to Amy Holmes in the following sentences. After all, corporations have many board members who have little to no interaction with their customers/consumers, but Holmes is a “real” person with a human conscience and human face. The “Princeton grad” reference also works nicely here because now you are no longer a person, either, but a highly educated woman detached from the other “little people” in the world.
Then there are the rhetorical questions that aren’t really questions, but statements that the audience is supposed to answer for themselves. By phrasing them as questions rather than statements, the writer “tricks” the reader into thinking that he/she came to the conclusion on his/her own.
Finally, there’s the appeal to pathos with such phrases as “poisoning,” “babies,” and “slaughtered,” especially considering that the original article’s topic was on the “mercury militia.” And, what are methods of guerrilla warfare? Going after “slaughtering” innocent “babies.” One can’t forget that you’ve been forthcoming in your ethnicity on this site, so any references to the slaughter of Chinese babies has to be nothing but an intentional attempt to illustrate your own contempt for the “poor, suffering Chinese” babies.
You should consider yourself honored that someone crafted such a rhetorically-rich comment for you. Surely something so rhetorically-sound must’ve taken numerous hours and painstaking time to construct? My grade for an effective grab bag of rhetoric tropes: A+
” Never a dull momemt, truly.”
Ahhh, Kristina.
You have the wisdom of Solomon,
and the patience of Job!!
Most importantly, however, you are a gracious and genteel host, who welcomes genuine discussion and debate.
Your blog is one I visit everyday..
Apart from invaluable knowledge gained here, I find it a place of calmness and reason..
Take a bow Doc! ~ And….
I will pour you some wine
and you must relax.
Human feelings turn over and over
like the waves of the sea.
Friends who have gone grey together
may reach for their swords .
And the first with vermilion doors
may mock those cap in hand.
Colours of grasses all arise
from the wet of a little rain
Buds are on the point of opening-
and the spring wind is cold.
The world’s affairs and the floating clouds-
why question them?
You had best take life easily-
and have a good dinner.
From sage and serene Wan Wei!
Mind you, I think the wine helped a little, Lol!
Oh oh…. Wang is looking a little Wan! >
I am fond of this from Masahide:
Barn’s burnt down –
now
I can see the moon.
or,
Since my house burned down
I now have
a better view of the moon.
Had I but world enough and time, Kathy, I would be sitting with my classical Chinese dictionary (several volumes) and some Bai Juyi, some Li Po, some Wang Wei…… As it is, I just went through some stacks of paperwork and dusted…..
Rochelle, Nothing better than a stream of rhetorical questions begging for a too-obvious response—-in Latin there’s a word, num, which tells the reader (listener) that a rhetorical question is coming, so listen up! I figured the reference to China was at least somewhat brought up in regard to my ethnicity which is written in my last name (which is not, of course, my husband’s last name)—-I also could not help but think of references made to pollution from China wafting across the Pacific and onto my native state of California; would that one always had such well-deployed use of tropes of all types applied to one’s writing!
what is the relative dose of mercury involved in all the standard shots the average infant is subjected to up to the age when they have had all their shots?…..if the various vaccines were all added to one measuring cup….how much mercury would be in that cup and also how much would it equal if that cup were adjusted so that an adult would receive the same dose as the infant based on the mass of an adult compared to an infant?…..
i have never seen that discussed, i am new to this discussion and would like to also agree that autism has probably more than one trigger..essential fats missing from the diet for one……
Kristina, that troll’s e-mail is the perfect example of the obtuse and manicheist thinking of the mercury militia. It sounds like the right wingers in the beginning of the war in Iraq, who used to say: “if you’re against the war, you don’t support the troops, you’re not patriotic”. This type of rhetoric works only to mask the truth and make the fools feel better about themselves.
When John is longer welcome on a blog, he emails….after you don’t respond you can expect a starring role on his blog.
Wait! There’s proof chelation cured someone with autism??? I’d love to see the paperwork on that. *snort*
I’m also still waiting for someone to tell me how my son could be autistic if he hasn’t had any vaccinations with mercury in them.