Brother and Sister of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Accuse Him of Spreading Misinformation on Vaccines

[choie]

By Roni Caryn Rabin
May 8, 2019

A brother, sister and niece of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Wednesday chastised him for campaigning against vaccines, saying he has been disseminating “dangerous misinformation” that discourages immunization even as measles spreads throughout the United States.

They declared that they love him and praised his work to protect the environment. “However, on vaccines he is wrong,” they wrote in a column published in Politico under the headline: “RFK Jr. Is Our Brother and Uncle. He’s Tragically Wrong About Vaccines.”

Mr. Kennedy’s sister, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a former lieutenant governor of Maryland; his brother, Joseph P. Kennedy II, a former Massachusetts congressman; and his niece, Maeve Kennedy McKean, executive director of Georgetown University’s Global Health Initiatives, criticized him for participating in social media campaigns that have stoked fear and mistrust of vaccines and for attacking public health institutions seeking to stem the spread of infectious diseases.

More at

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/08/health/vaccines-kennedy-measles.html?action=click&module=Latest&pgtype=Homepage

[maxsolomon]

1. He's the 1st one I heard on NPR discussing vaccines and autism

thermerisol, mercury, etc.

Ground zero for anti-vax bullshit.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

2. His father and his uncles would be ashamed of him.

He has traded on the family name for far too long with nothing of substance to show for it. He has personified "entitlement" to the extent that he is intensely disliked by many in his orbit, especially jurists.

A sad, pathetic, bitter and empty man.

[Blue_true]

3. He is and has been for a long time one of the foremost environmentalist in the country.

But on vaccines and Pot, he has his head up his ass, IMO.

By the way. He has NOT traded on his family name. He made a pretty renowned name for himself as an environmentalist. I just wanted to re-emphasize that to make it abundantly clear.

[Caliman73]

4. Okay: Reiterated...

He has sullied his reputation as one of the foremost environmentalists with this ridiculous conspiracy theorist bullshit on vaccines.

Ralph Nader was a renowned consumer advocate who gave us a ton of good safety legislation on consumer products because of his efforts, but what is he really remembered for?

Messing up the 2000 election and giving us W. Bush.

RFK Jr. is going to end up being known as the kook anti-vaxer rather than for his work on the environment.

[Blue_true]

5. You make excellent points that I don't disagree with. nt

[Haggis for Breakfast]

6. Sorry, I must disagree with your second PP.

RFK, Jr's sense of entitlement (especially in judicial settings) has outraged many, who believed that he was indeed floating on his name. His behavior has caused even mild-mannered jurists to rebuke him and remind him that he is ONE lawyer (in a courtroom of many) and that even he must adhere to appropriate court room comportment. His conduct during the Michael Skakel charade, alone, earned him some very sharp-tongued (and abundantly clear) reprimands in legal journals. (You can research this for yourself. I'm not doing your homework for you.)

As far as being the "foremost environmentalist," I suggest you examine the profiles of Dr. Sylvia Earle, Al Gore, Winona LaDuke, Frances Beinecke, Rachel Carson, Peggy Shepard. Also, Dr. Jane Goodall, Aldo Leopold, Edward Abbey, Arne Naess, Wangari Maathai, and Gaylord Nelson - if not for him, there would be no Earth Day as we know it.

It is only the Kennedy name that propels him to the headlines. These other scientists and researchers, who have dedicated their entire lives to the field and done the heavy duty lifting, have done far more in the name of the environment than RFK. He deserves to be acknowledged, but to refer to him as the "foremost environmentalist" is just laughable.

[Blue_true]

7. A person can be one among several and be foremost.

It is an inclusive term. You have your view of the guy, I have mine. I do think that he is 100% wrong on vaccines, but another person could argue that.