This is also how Nazis talk.
In a press conference Wednesday morning that surely delighted his allies in the anti-vaccine movement, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded to a report about apparent rising autism rates with a vow to look at “environmental factors” as a possible cause. While Kennedy didn’t explicitly discuss vaccines, his remarks made it clear, again, that he’ll likely use the power and money of the federal government to prop up the long-debunked claim that vaccines cause autism. He also repeatedly made crude and stigmatizing references to people with profound autism (which he calls “severe” autism, an outdated term) painting a picture of such people as a burden on society and to their families.
“These are kids who will never pay taxes,” Kennedy declared. “They’ll never hold a job. They’ll never play baseball. They’ll never write a poem. They’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted. We have to recognize we are doing this to our children.”
“The epidemic,” Kennedy said at another point, “is real.” Autism, he added, “destroys families and more importantly it destroys our greatest resource, our children.” Many children, he claimed, were “fully functional” and “regressed.”
Vaccines do not cause autism. I repeat, vaccines do not cause autism — this bogus claim has been tested repeatedly and in depth. This is a red herring, one that RFK jr will pursue at great cost to our country and to the health of our children. He does not actually care about children, his priority is defending his delusions.
The world has gone down this road before. This talk is a prelude to first institutionalizing autistic children, then sterilizing them, and then quietly, and no doubt painlessly at first, exterminating them. They’re useless, a drain on society, so why not get rid of them?
Furthermore, look at this chilling gem from the CDC report: white kids aren’t afflicted as much as black and hispanic kids. We already know this administration is racist as fuck, so here’s more fodder for the white nationalists.
RFK Jr. called today’s press conference to discuss new findings published this week in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which found an increase in apparent autism rates, from 1 in 36 children to 1 in 31. The report, based on 2022 data, found that the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder was higher in 8-year-old children than in previous years, and higher in Black, Hispanic and Asian Pacific Islander children than in white children.
Knut
I’ve mentioned before that my grandson is autistic. He has learning and language disabilities, but he’s going to a special school and his language is getting much better.
He loves playing with his father’s phone — he has figured out how to call me, so every once in a while I’ll get a surprise FaceTime call, and he’ll say “Hi, grandpa,” and then be at loss for words for a while, and he’ll close by saying “I love you, grandpa,” and go back to playing. He likes playing music on the phone, and has somehow figured out how to send his playlist in a text message to me. He seems to be on an Elton John kick right now, and he’s a fan of the Bee Gees.
He’s a human being, and his family loves him. How dare this incompetent, over-privileged fantasist dehumanize him?
Is RFK Jr “pro-life”? Because this sounds like the bullshit a “pro-lifer” will happily spew: Save the fetus! Fuck the actual living, breathing autistic child…
Does the fool do any research? It’s generally considered that about 80% of autistic referrals have a genetic cause. The other 20 % could be environmental or an as yet unknown genetic cause. Also you are born with autism, you don’t develop it later in life. Health Secretary?? That’s a joke.
@ 2
I’m sure he’s devoured all the best studies from prestigious science publications like “The Journal of Astral Projection and Smudging” or “New Age Bullshit Monthly.”
how sad is it that something that usually I would celebrate (announcement by HHS spending on research into autism) I must assume is a red herring. Kennedy will not use the resources at his disposal to help people impacted by autism. Fund therapy? schools? actual medical research? NO, he’ll spend taxpayer money on spin, press releases supporting his preferred narrative or no information at all (when the research into ‘environmental causes’ (vaccines) shows no link. – will he announce that no link was found or that no link was found ‘yet’?)
I hope the country survives until 2029 – the ass-hats can’t be kicked out soon enough
Agree… the press being complicit is not helping, they report this like it’s normal and not the ravings from a guy who collected and froze road kill. Like maybe we need to question his motives and assumptions? sigh.
And of course it will spread to other disabilities and harmless differences, unless they are forceably stopped. Although I’m a bit surprised that Musk, who supposedly has Asperger’s, isn’t protesting. But then he thinks empathy should go one way only – towards him.
The number one reason for the rise in the diagnoses of autism is that we learned to diagnose it better. Most of the individuals identified today as autistic would not have been considered so in the 1970s. And most of these individuals can grow up into adults that will function just fine if they get the support they need as children. Others grow up into adults that need some support, and a smaller number will need a lot of support. All do better when they are supported as children. And where does the support for autistic children come from? A significant part of it comes through special education programs that are funded federally, via the Department of Education (thanks to IDEA – Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). One of the departments the current administration wants to shutter.
“Health Secretary?? That’s a joke.”
But this is the whole point! Appoint people so incompetent and evil that the public loses all trust in these institutions. Then sell off the parts. Millions will die, but that is exactly the point here. Cue Jon Stewart making some harsh yet humorous remarks about it.
This is a response from an autistic friend. She holds several masters degrees and a PhD, runs a successful business and is highly respected by her community.
RFK says autism destroys.
Dismisses autistic children as broken toys.
“No jobs, no dates, no poems,” he cried –
But that’s just fear and ableist f-ed up pride.
He claims they’ll never pay taxes.
Elon Musk is the only proof he’s right.
His words were cruel, dismissive, unfair
These rich, old white men do not really care.
Autism’s not a curse or crime.
But his words? Way past his retirement time.
“He claims they’ll never pay taxes.
Elon Musk is the only proof he’s right.”
Hello 911, I’d like to report a murder.
Does President Von Shitzin-Pants* Trump?
Source : https://www.pride.com/politics/donald-trump-shitzinpants#rebelltitem1
There’s also stories of Trump messing his pants gpoing back to at least his Apprentice Days too.
I heard an argument for why the rate of autism and neurodivergence has gone up: we have stopped suppressing it. The creator used handedness as an example. In the past a very small percentage of people were left-handed…I think she said 3%…but that has gone up since society has become more accepting of left-handedness. Parents and teachers used to tie children’s left hand behind their back to force them to use their right hand, and of course, beat them, starve them, and otherwise abuse them. Now there’s a lot less of that kind of stupidity. Unfortunately idiots like RFK Jr. won’t think of that.
By the way, my son was diagnosed with all kinds of things when he started to school: ADHD, Aspergers, Autism-spectrom disorder, etc. He struggled, and still does sometimes.
As already noted above, we’ve known for decades what causes autism and autism spectrum conditions. Both have a high genetic component.
The estimated heritability is high at 70-90%.
RFK jr. could have looked this up on the internet in 5 minutes.
His comments about autism are also wildly ignorant and wrong.
Autism is a spectrum with each individual having their own collection of symptoms.
More importantly, many autistics are high functioning adults who ultimately do well in life. They are overrepresented among…scientists and mathematicians.
“By the way, my son was diagnosed with all kinds of things when he started to school: ADHD, Aspergers, Autism-spectrom disorder, etc. He struggled, and still does sometimes.”
The reality is, a lot of these kids improve a lot with medication, ergotherapy, psychological interventions. I write statements for social security and payment providers these days, and we tend to reevaluate children every 4 years or so, because often their progress is quite remarkable. The remarks of this absolute moron on autism are inexcusable, and simply wrong.
Has RFK Jr. ever paid taxes? held a job? played baseball? written a poem? gone out on a date?
It becomes obvious, the brain worm is not dead, it is controlling what is left of the diseased brain of Robert F#ckhead Kennedy, Jr. He is leading the effort to destroy science and murder people with his quack ideas. I hope only sheople die from believing him.
This is frightening stuff, coming from a guy whose family had his Aunt Rosemary forcibly lobotomized and who himself has claimed that heroin helped his attention difficulties and made him a great student.
Well, time to process this rage and turn it into a haiku.
Haiku? I’m more in the mood for a haka.
Fair.
…Widens eyes and ticks out tongue at RFK Jr.
Imagine a vaccine that prevents autism, what would they do then?
You are describing my nightmares here, PZ. My son has profound autism, and is almost completely nonverbal. If they try to take him, well, footage at 11.
ducksmcclucken@22,
Lie about it, of course.
Scientific American just posted this in an email I get:
Here’s the article they refer to: RFK, Jr. Is Wrong about Cause of Rising Autism Rates, Scientists Say.
And here’s an interesting tidbit from that article:
The simpletons who blame vaccines might say, “Move from California to Texas,” but…
So the reality is that your child is just more likely to get the attention they need here in California than in Texas, and that could save your child’s life.
17 April 2025 at 2:38 pm ducksmcclucken said:
“Imagine a vaccine that prevents autism, what would they do then?”
Like this maybe? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21592401/
“Congenital rubella syndrome and autism spectrum disorder prevented by rubella vaccination–United States, 2001-2010”
— Brynn E Berger 1 , Ann Marie Navar-Boggan, Saad B Omer
I like Dan LaMorte’s take on it https://www.facebook.com/reel/1179092817048306
So correct me if I missed something, but…
He chases out the last person keeping him and his goons from read AND WRITE access to research databases. Why a political appointee needs to write (or overwrite or erase) anything on a database of scientific research and findings is… well, I’d say it’s unclear but there’s really only one reason and it’s not a legitimate one.
Suddenly he holds a press conference where he has the start of all these new findings. Gee, I wonder where those came from! I obviously trust this completely. :P
[1] There is a strong genetic component to autism, but it is extremely complicated and we’re a long way from having it well figured.
[2] Beware of heritability. It is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied statistics in bioscience.
Of course they won’t if you discourage them from the very moment they got their diagnosis. How many nice, intelligent, gifted people have suffered from under-performance and low self-esteem because they’ve been fed this prejudiced bull-crap?
Not all taxes are income taxes; e.g. sales tax.
(Too pedantic?)
@30 rietpluim
I have had several awakenings about differently abled people during my life. The first was when I was about 6 until I was in my teens. He had what was likely Autism . He had very limited attention span and self control. The popular language of the day would have been that he was disturbed. Another was the son of a co-worker. I do not know his exact diagnosis but he was severely intellectually disabled with trisomy-21 as well as autistic and nonverbal. My first introduction to him was at a company where his father Dave, and I first met. His dad would bring him to work occasionally as he had a separate office. The son would occasionally make nonverbal utterances and made a few of our coworkers uneasy. For my part I lauded the father for the things he did to enrich his son’s life. As an example, his son loved trucks so his father spent about half of each Saturday on a bus bench with him along a street that had heavy truck traffic. Fast forward about 3 years and Dave and I wound up working at a small startup. There were only 6 of us and no, it went nowhere. but Dave would bring his son in often and to company picnics and the Christmas party. Dave’s son seemed to gravitate to me as I spoke to him normally and was not put off by his favored greeting, a hug and sometimes lifting me up off the ground. I began to see the personality, whole individual who was there and he communicated in a nonverbal way. When I was a kid children with trisomy-21 were seldom seen, were deemed incapable of learning, were not in my experience said to have trisomy-21, when politely referred to they were said to have Downs syndrome. Usually they were referred to by a racist, denigratory term, I won’t use it. Most often parents were encouraged to place them in care facilities that might as well have been warehouses. We now have actors and TED Talk presenters and fashion models and everything else who are people with trisomy-21. I sometimes lose sleep when I think too much about the thousands of of children in the past sitting there with nothing.
There was a Brit science fiction author a century ago whose ‘utopian’ society included the Society of Sparta – an organisation dedicated to physically eliminating the sick and unfit to improve overall health.
This was before the art-school reject started the Schutzstaffel so the title The S.S. did not make people freak out. A scary example of reality imitating art.
@30 Rietpluim: So much this. I’ve heard stories about moms “seeing the light go out in their eyes” after getting a vaccine. It’s more like they chose that moment to label their kid as “the other.” So many kids have potential that parents refuse to believe in.