Amanda Peet - an actress with courage

[Deus Ex Machina]

Personally I do not think she need to apologize to the anti vaxers for calling them parasites but her letter still makes her point again:

http://www.cookiemag.com/entertainment/2008/07/peet_apology

[Nursefoxfire]

From the letter:

Vast reductions in immunization will lead to a resurgence of deadly viruses. This is as indisputable as global warming.

[italics mine]

Ooops! She's just opened up a 'nother whole can of worms!

Good for you, Amanda, and your daughter is a lovely (and healthy-looking) little girl.

[JJM]

I think we should write to Ms. Peet and thank her:

A. Peet c/o Management 360
9111 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[Deus Ex Machina]

I think we should write to Ms. Peet and thank her:

A. Peet c/o Management 360
9111 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

I will be doing that - I also contacted the American Association of Pediatrics to suggest that they may want to contact Ms Peet to help them on their current campaign.

[Travis]

Wow, way to go Amanda. Frankly I don't think she needed to apologize for using the term "parasites" because it seems quite appropriate to the situation.

[JJM]

Wow, way to go Amanda. Frankly I don't think she needed to apologize for using the term "parasites" because it seems quite appropriate to the situation.I agree, except- when one is trying to convert people to one's point of view, it is better not to offend.

[MattusMaximus]

Way to go Amanda Peet! :)

[Yuri Nalyssus]

Personally I do not think she need to apologize to the anti vaxers for calling them parasites but her letter still makes her point again:

http://www.cookiemag.com/entertainment/2008/07/peet_apology
An excellent letter, very well pitched. I think it was brave to apologise and very much the right thing to do.

I'm as guilty as anyone of occasionally using extreme terms when describing people with 'alternative' beliefs. It's sometimes difficult to see why people hold to what, to others, appear to be such implausible and dangerous views and my inability to understand frustrates and angers me. But it's important to keep in mind what we are trying to achieve here. If the aim is to have fun and ridicule people who have questionable views then fine go ahead and call people parasites or liars or frauds. There will be heaps of applause on a list like this; just don't expect to make any difference in the real world.

If, on the other hand, the intent is to help (for example) children who are damaged by not being vaccinated then insulting parents who are worried and confused by the apparently contradictory arguments around is not going to help.

Yuri

[Father Dagon]

Groovy! Mostly actors does drift into the latest, fashionable fog of fallacies and superstition.

[I Ratant]

I don't know who Amanda is, but she mentioned polio.
It has largely been eradicated, but is resurging in Africa due to religious/cultural fears of vaccination being really for sterilization.
Ignorance knows no lower limit as to what it will attack.

[Loss Leader]

I, for one, find it astonishingly courageous that Amanda Peet continues to insist on acting despite having no discernable talent.

[Deus Ex Machina]

I, for one, find it astonishingly courageous that Amanda Peet continues to insist on acting despite having no discernable talent.


Maybe its that same sort of courage that keeps you posting?

[Nursefoxfire]

I, for one, find it astonishingly courageous that Amanda Peet continues to insist on acting despite having no discernable talent.

While i agree with you that she has less-than-stellar acting abilities, the point of this is the fact that a highly visual media personality has the courage to stand up for what she believes to be correct, to actually look for scientific reasons that support her belief, and speak her piece without fear that she'll be blackballed by the public.

I think the pressures on stars must be enormous, and they've always got agents and publicists whispering in their ear, "Make sure you're always seen in flattering clothing, always smile, never be seen shouting in public, don't go out without makeup, even if it's to pick up a latte."

It's easy enough for us average citizens to say we're pro-vac, there's no fallout for us.

[steve s]

I'm bumping this up because there is now a TV commercial featuring Amanda urging people to have their children vaccinated.

Steve S.

[ZirconBlue]

There was a brief story on Peet on NPR this morning.


Morning Edition (http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=3), December 11, 2008 · A movie star and a prominent scientist have teamed up to reassure the public that childhood vaccines are safe and do not cause autism.

Amanda Peet, who starred in films including The X-Files: I Want To Believe and Syriana, is working with Paul Offit, the chief of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Their goal is to counter the assault on vaccines led by celebrities including Jenny McCarthy, Jim Carrey and Holly Robinson Peete.

You can listen to the story here (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97940354&ft=1&f=1027).

[JJM]

I think we should write to Ms. Peet and thank her:

A. Peet c/o Management 360
9111 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210I still hope you will write her expressing your gratitude.

[pgwenthold]

She is going to be on Ellen Degenerous's show tomorrow. I wonder if it will come up?

[Starthinker]

She is going to be on Ellen Degenerous's show tomorrow. I wonder if it will come up?

It will. She's gorgeous.

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

I, for one, find it astonishingly courageous that Amanda Peet continues to insist on acting despite having no discernable talent.

I disagree. I don't think she's Maggie Smith but she's certainly talented. I think she could do serious work if she wanted to.

[sthomson]

I heard the piece on NPR this morning. The most compelling part was when she said (and I'm paraphrasing here), that she's just a celebrity - you shouldn't take her word for it but should listen to the scientists and doctors who informed her commercials.

It was like, "Oh, snap! Jenny McCarthy!"

[ZirconBlue]

I disagree. I don't think she's Maggie Smith but she's certainly talented. I think she could do serious work if she wanted to.

I liked her on Studio 60. . . , but, apparently, I was one of about 4 people watching that show.

[Patsy]

I was one of the other three, apparently :o

[ParrotPirate]

Actually,I don't think anti-vaxers are parasites. They are however,horribly ignorant. How can they ignore the evidence?

[pgwenthold]

I saw a panel discussion on Public TV the other day on vaccines. It was mostly doctors (including the head of the CDC and Sears) and there was an anti-vax mom. Her reasoning error was pretty obvious.

They were discussing the recent studies all showing that vaccines are not a problem. Her response was basically, "We laypeople are not qualified to judge the results, and how can we know we can trust the scientists are not biased?"

In principle, she is correct. But the problem is, why does she hold these studies to that standard, and not the claim of the anti-vaxxers? This is a common cognitive error: we tend to hold more scrutiny on claims that run counter to what we want, and don't apply the same standards to those we agree with.

So basically, 7 scientific studies can't be trusted because we don't know if the researchers are unbiased, but we should listen to Jenny McCarthy?

BTW, one guy on the panel was great. A hypothetical question: I work in a hospital and am required to get a flu shot. I've heard the flu shot gives you the flu, and besides, I never catch the flu, so why should I?

The guy says, this isn't just an issue of differences of opinion, this question is factually wrong. The panel mod (and the anti-vaxxer) are taken aback! What do you mean? he says 1) flu vaccines can't cause the flu, 2) no one has never gotten the flu. Put that together, and your choice to not get the shot is putting others at risk. This is in a hospital, where the flu virus is all over. Don't be a carrier.

[pgwenthold]

BTW, Amanda Peet did not talk vaccines on Ellen

[Skeptic Guy]

I have been confusing Amanda Peete with Holly Robinson Peete, Rodney Peete's wife. They have an autistic son and Holly has been active in the autism community. However, she seems to be friends with Jenny McCarthy and may buy into the vaccination / autism myth. Definitely not the same person.

[Eos of the Eons]

Actually,I don't think anti-vaxers are parasites. They are however,horribly ignorant. How can they ignore the evidence?
They have their own brand of evidence, which they want to use to support themselves in their lawsuits to blame vaccines for autism.

Anyone saying that vaccines don't cause autism are just evil big pharma peoples trying to prevent lawsuits.

[Luciana]

Calling them "parasites" had the effect of multiplying her message tenfold. Had she been politically correct, the matter would have gone unnoticed. But by offending anti-vaxxers she made them work against themselves, because it brought the spotlight onto her ideas.

I don't know if she made it on purpose, but it ended up nicely.

[luchog]

From the original article (http://www.cookiemag.com/entertainment/2008/07/amandapeet):


Well, not only is Frankie up-to-date on her vaccines (with no staggering), but her mom will soon appear in public-service announcements for Every Child by Two. "I buy 99 percent organic food for Frankie, and I don't like to give her medicine or put sunscreen on her," says Peet. "But now that I've done my research, vaccines do not concern me."

Good to hear that she's doing that, to counter the anti-vax hype, and doing the actual research with a skeptical mindset; but it sounds like she's still buying into a lot of other woo.

Oh well, baby steps I guess.