Does anyone else find this comment from the Vaccinations article in MNs 'The Big Issues' section offensive?

[Malaleche]

"If you have been convinced or even slightly reassured by reading the above you are obviously a very reasonable person and will visit your GP (your health visitor will tell you anyway) for a vaccination schedule."

So, as a mother who hasn't had her children vaccinated does that make me very unreasonable?

I'd have thought MN would be a bit more impartial than this

who wrote that?

No.

It's their opinion and this is their board.

They have their opinion and they allow me to express mine.

Seems a pretty fair exchange to me.

I find it condescending - they are more than expressing a view they are implying that if you do not agree you are unreasonable.

well I agree with them

and also with expat

Honestly, this is turning into America, which is full of nippy people who become 'offended' at people who dare to breathe too loud and everything else in between.

Believe you me, it gets tiresome and boards like this are a refreshing change.

I'm inclined to agree with Expat.

I don't think it does imply what Malaleche says, but it does seem a bit unnecessary to me - brings it into the realm of personal comments which makes it harder to discuss calmly.

By the way, is "In the Soviet Union diphtheria is re emerging after vaccination rates fell - in 1994 there were 1,7000 deaths." a typo - should it be 1,700?

yep i'm with expat too.

i also agree with expat. Mumsnet is very precious of late. It has always been so, but very recently upsettingly so.

i also like the use of the word nippy and will be employing it in teh near future

So, it would be entirely reasonable then to have a MN article saying that if you have chosen to bfeed rather than ff, or ff rather than bfeed, then you are obviously a very reasonable person?

It's not written by MN it is written by a Dr.

Giving an opinion.

There is plenty of debate and info on the forum about vaccinations giving every side of the "argument".

FFS, it's just an opinion, do you get offended by newspaper articles that don't agree with your point of view?

oh it's a quote from a doc? I thought it was from msnet - take back what I said.

Yes it's written by a doc but posted on MNs Big Issues section where persumably they decide what gets posted? And yes, i would have felt the same if it was a newspaper article.

Most doctors do think it's unreasonable not to vaccinate. Literally unreasonable ie not using reason and following scientific evidence to a logical conclusion. He might have meant that rather than the more colloquial use of "unreasonable" as seen in the "am I being unreasonable" threads.

4

With expat too on this one. I don't think they are saying pple who do otherwise are unreasonable.

I think it is unreasonable not to vaccinate your child, but I agree with the OP that it was unnecessary of Mumsnet to say that bit about obviously being a reasonable person. That whole sub clause could be left out and the message is still made.

Malaleche. When I joined mumsnet my first post was much like yours and somebody thought I was a troll

I agree with you completely. The vaccination info on MN is not balanced imo and I have expressed my view about that before.