Riverkeeper Sails Over the Edge of the World

I used to listen to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr's radio show 'Ring of Fire' on Air America, when Air America was a thing. I liked RFK Jr's take on environmentalism... he's a local guy, and was active in both the Riverkeeper and Waterkeeper organizations that have been so instrumental in cleaning up the Hudson River. Yeah, I could have been considered a fan of the man. 

The Riverkeeper has sailed into Strange Waters, as RFK, Jr has emerged as one of the world's most high profile anti-vaccine cranks, and his stance has gotten him kicked off of Instagram. Casting my mind back, I recall him talking about thimerosal in vaccines, when thimerosal had been removed from childhood vaccines before he crusaded against it. This anti-vax stance rendered his show unlistenable... I couldn't deal with the cognitive dissonance provoked by a pundit who spoke about the deleterious effects of pollution on health AND spoke against vaccines, which were responsible for ending the scourge of deadly diseases such as polio, smallpox, and measles, mumps, and rubella. 

Now, with the world gripped by a global pandemic which has killed nearly half-a-million Americans, anti-vaccination paranoia is pernicious and pervasive- the vaccine contains nanochips so Bill Gates can track you, the vaccine will reprogram your DNA to render you sterile, the vaccine will interact with 5G towers to zap you... and now, the virus will make you gay, like a Alex Jones' frogs. These conspiracy theories are hampering the anti-pandemic response. It's a shame that RFK, Jr decided to fall down this particular rabbit hole after a productive career as an environmentalist. He's sailed completely over the edge from the real world to Cloudcuckooland.