BLUE LETTER

CLIFF’S NOTE: RFK Jr. Dabbled In EUGENICS In The Past With COVID. Now With Autism, The Loon Is Back

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—when not feeding his cerebellum to a friendly feather duster worm—isn’t just peddling junk science about vaccines and autism—he’s reviving the ugliest ghosts of world history. His claims that vaccines cause autism and that there's an “autism epidemic” tied to mass violence aren’t just wrong, they’re dangerous propaganda ripped from a dusty old playbook of dope-fueled, dingbat science pushed by past amateurs and cons like…him.

The same twisted logic that once led to forced sterilizations in the United States and mass murder in Germany is now being laundered through Kennedy’s speeches and media appearances. By suggesting that autistic people are ticking time bombs of societal decay, RFK Jr. positions himself not as a truth-teller, but as a modern-day snake oil salesman pouring fear into a bottle labeled “progress.” Here is Kennedy with his learned assessment—which is to say about as carefully calibrated as his marriages—on autism:

…these are kids who will never pay taxes. 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.”

Seriously, WTF is he talking about? Though, I must admit, we’d be living on such a superior, spinning, space beach ball if only Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Jane Austen, Benjamin Franklin, Bob Dylan, Lionel Messi, Eminem and Greta Thunberg had contributed something to our lives. Pity, that.

Autism isn’t a disease, it isn’t an epidemic, and it sure as hell isn’t a predictor of violence—but to a Kennedy, who shot up enough heroin over 16 years to kill the whale whose head he palled around with, facts are just inconvenient speed bumps on the road to power and delusion. If he wants to find someone who’s never held a real job and had paid less in taxes than Attila The Hun, maybe check in on the harangue-fueled hyena sitting in the Oval Office.

The smear that autistic individuals can’t live normal lives or are mass shooters or serial killers is a steaming pile of ableist garbage. And it’s exactly the kind of congealed-stupidity that dehumanizes those with autism and provides cover for those prone to ideology animated by “superior races” committing the worst atrocities human history has on speed dial.

Also, this horses*t has been debunked by actual experts more times than Kennedy’s found himself in a car with a dead animal riding shotgun. As Psychology Today points out, there is zero evidence linking autism with planned mass violence:

The whole idea of this latest study is flawed. The issue is simple: Correlation does not imply causation. Researchers often forget this to their detriment as they are led to wildly wrong conclusions when two data sets seem to fit together. I’ll give you an example. Right now, if we compare data from the US Census and the USDA for the years 2000-2009, we find a near-perfect correlation (.993) between the divorce rate in Maine and the per capita consumption of margarine.

Who knew margarine consumption predicted divorce with such accuracy? It (probably) doesn’t. But an ignorant person, looking at the near-perfect fit, could easily be led to that conclusion if he lacked the common sense to see through it.

Ahh, yes, “ignorant” people. Isn’t that MAGA’s new slogan: Making America Great Again By Being Ignorant AF?”

In fact, autistic people are far more likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators. But RFK Jr. doesn’t care about that truth here—in the same way he just made up that Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people were somehow more “immune” to COVID (hey, guess what, numbnut-for-brains! Ashkenazi Jew here! I got COVID, so I guess nobody showed me the secret genetic handshake).

Because fear, like RFK Jr.’s gravelly voice, travels faster when untethered from reason. His crusade against vaccines and his vilification of the neurodivergent aren't brave stands; they're cowardly, conspiratorial attacks that stigmatize millions for personal gain. As his sister made clear in rebuking his presidential run and rejecting him, RFK Jr. isn’t fit for public office—he’s barely fit for a podcast with Alex Jones.

…Yo, Check This Out!

• Our second “Amped Up w/ Cliff Schecter,” on Substack was yesterday & went great! Check it out! We talked Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Marge Greene stock tips & Trump’s evil, oft-unknown history. I was Joined by David Shuster & Greg Olear! We discussed serious issues, but as you can see in the pic, we have fun too!

• Trump isn’t just attacking our courts. And press. And Democrats. Etc. He’s directly targeting a McConnell ally in the Senate, supporting an indicted criminal/alleged abuser of women and impeached “lawmaker” in a primary challenge that may deliver Democrats a seat!

• Republican center-right Senator, Lisa Murkowski, said “we are all afraid” this week, to explain why Republicans like her don’t always speak up. Trump takes revenge, so she sometimes zips it. My answer? Thank you for being one of the GOPers to most often challenge Trump. Also: I DON’T CARE If you’re scared.

  I have sympathy, I’ve received death threats. But if you won’t risk it all to save freedom—see MLK Jr., Michael Collins, other key historical figures—the moment is too big for you. Caucus with Democrats and stop some of this madness (see Jeffords, Jim). Or, retire. Let someone have your seat with your conscience AND the courage to act!

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