Letter from a Coerced Mother
Teacher unions are not qualified to set public health policy
Feb 17, 2022 Robert W Malone MD, MS https://rwmalonemd.substack.com/p/letter-from-a-coerced-mother
To my readers,
I get a lot of letters. I get letters in my email accounts, in my social media accounts and in my mail box. They all get read. Today, I am going to do something different. I have picked a letter that touched my heart and am sharing it with you. People in the USA and all over the world are hurting in the worst way. They don’t know where to turn. It pains me. So, here goes:
Dear Dr. Malone:
Subject: Vermont now recommending that schools can drop mask requirement if they have >80% students vaxxed
I’m a busy working mom with small children living in Vermont, where my family has been living and farming for 8 generations. I do a little hobby farming myself, and I understand you are a man of the land and animals, too.
I was originally quite compliant with the pandemic response: we wore masks, I kept my healthy kids home from school, I worked from home even though it all felt nearly impossible and was a severe strain on our family. We cancelled vacations, stopped asking Grandma and Grandpa to help with the kids. My husband and I lined up to get vaccines when they came out.
After about the third time that I had to take a week off work to stay home with 3 healthy children who were in quarantine, this was in summer 2021, I started to get curious about whether all of this was really necessary, because it felt impossible and unfair that I would be denied access to my livelihood and my children would be denied school and childcare, simply because one of us made the mistake of breathing somewhere within the vicinity of a classmate who eventually tested positive for COVID-19.
I do have a, thankfully mild, (and unreported) vaccine injury in the form of menstrual disruptions: I now get a guaranteed migraine once a month. I was very sorry to hear about your vaccine injury and I am delighted that you survived it. This experience opened my mind to the fact these vaccines are not without risk and why wasn’t anybody talking about risk and choice?
That was when I became aware of the work you and so many others are doing to bring a different perspective to the situation, and I’ve been a fan ever since. It has been difficult, being of a different mindset about the pandemic compared to most of my peers, my inner circle, our local government. And I’ve been grateful lately that it seems as though the end is in sight.
And now, I’m up at 2 in the morning writing to you over what feels like it could be the last straw for me: our state, which has been recommending mandatory masking in schools this whole time, is planning to end masking requirements BUT ONLY IF more than 80% of a school’s students are vaccinated against Covid-19. So, in plain terms, we can drop not-very-effective mitigation measure if we increase uptake on not-very-effective mitigation measure which involves injecting our children with an experimental gene therapy for a disease that (a) my kids have already had and (b) doesn’t, statistically-speaking, cause any real harm for children.
Vermont is interesting because we were among the first states in the country to reach the 80% vaccination rate in adults that was expected to confer herd immunity, and here we are in 2022 coming off the worst case surge we’ve experienced yet. But apparently we somehow still think that vaccination is going to keep schools safer?
You better believe that there will be peer pressure at school and my daughters will come home once again asking to be vaccinated, because “everybody’s doing it.”
This feels like coercion of minors of the worst sort. It’s illogical, wrongheaded and I am so upset I can barely type straight. And I find myself thinking, “What would Robert Malone do?” I was wondering if you have an answer to that.
Very respectfully, Jennifer
Hi Jennifer, your situation touched me deeply. So, you asked me “What would Robert Malone do?” The first thing I would do is make sure I have very good lines of communication with my daughters. As they are old enough to be aware of peer pressure, I would start there.
Discuss the issues of “peer pressure” - why it is important to learn to resist such pressure, how it can affect a person emotionally. That peer pressure can cause depression, hurt, feelings of betrayal , etc. That finding true friends who won’t pressure is important.
Explain that there are risks and benefits to the vaccines. I think it is important to have a conversation with your children’s teachers. Explain that your children are feeling peer pressure and suffering the effects of that. If it is clear that the teacher(s) are unsupportive, it may be time to look for alternative schooling.
Your children may find this video that Jill and I produced with Children’s Health Defense Hawai’i helpful.
I know Vermont has a policy to allow home schooling and there is a robust community for such. There are many solutions that are in between full on homeschooling and public schools. “Pods” (where a group of parents hire a teacher), co-opts - where parents take turns teaching or pay one parent to administer and teach, and private schools are all options. The most important element in this is making sure that your daughters feel like they have a community. Seeking community for your daughters outside of “school,” may be as important as the actual work at school.
This all becomes difficult for students who are in high school and taking advanced coursework. But remember, such students are almost adults and should be able to resist peer pressure more effectively. Encourage your children to find like-minded individuals, who will support them.
Vermont is stating an 80% vaccine compliance. At this point, I would be front and center saying “NO. Not my children. Not now, not ever for the mRNA vaccines.” The reason to be front and center with the school, the teachers and your children is that if you make it non-negotiable, most likely -they will be less inclined to argue and try to persuade. If you shirk being straight forward, people will see you as someone to be coerced. Don’t let yourself be that person.
As this comes down to mask use - it is time to protest locally and at the state level. This is blackmail of our children to take a vaccine which is not fully licensed- for your children, these vaccines have emergency use authorization only. Which is to say that they remain “experimental” from the standpoint of regulatory law. There is no license (marketing authorization).
If the federal state of emergency is dropped (as both I and the Truckers advocate be done), then they can no longer be distributed. But there is no emergency, as you indirectly point out in your letter. Not for your children, not with Omicron. Go to your state representatives, write letters, go to local school board meetings, etc. You can find a school board meeting information package here. Get on social media to find other people willing to stand up and spread the message that masks are not a good solution. Phone like minded parents. Share this podcast, which covers the risks and harms being caused to our children from these vaccine and mask policies. Visit the school Principal. Let him or her know your displeasure with both mandatory mask use and the efforts to coerce your children to take the vaccine. Contact the teacher’s union. Print out the studies that show that the masks worn are in-effective and get the word out. Basically, now is the time for all of us to get involved politically.
My prediction is the the CDC is going to back off on this requirement. However, the fact that teacher union’s are so dug in on mask use - makes it a little harder to predict what influences they have on government.
So, you asked me what I would do. The honest truth is that there is no good answer except to continue to resist and to do so in a manner that is 1) peaceful, 2) effective and 3) benefits your children. You are setting an example for them that they will remember for the rest of their lives. So step up and help them as well as their and your community get through this.
Finally, if you can hang on until summer, I believe that come the next school year - the rules will have to be re-written. I can’t see what is on the other side, but now is the time to speak out- for your children, and for all children.
Sincerely,
Robert