Meme - "And remember, Your server is not responsible for how long your food is taking to cook."
"And remember, your customer is not responsible for the money your employer doesn't wanna pay you"
‘They think rules don’t apply to them,’ Torontonians call out cyclist after interaction with police goes viral
Of course left wingers were claiming there was nothing wrong. Presumably pedestrians who are already on the crosswalk need to yield to cyclists who refuse to stop. But if a car doesn't stop of course the driver is evil and needs to be banned from driving
Toronto plans to install signs blaming Doug Ford for traffic - "Unsurprisingly, support for the motion was clearly divided between the city's urban and suburban councillors, with councillors representing central cycling-friendly wards voting in favour of the motion and the elected officials representing less densely populated car-dependent suburbs voting against the motion."
The cycling lobby knows incontrovertibly that shrinking roads reduces traffic!
Angry London pedestrian blocks cyclist as he tries to speed through zebra crossing - "It's a daily hazard for London pedestrians - impatient cyclists riding through zebra crossings. But this man had clearly had enough - when a Lycra-clad commuter on a red bike tried to go through a crossing as people were walking over it, he confronted him. The pedestrian had begun to cross just behind the biker, but rather than continuing across the road, he stopped and turned to physically confront him. 'Oi' he shouted. 'You have to stop, it's the law, it's the law'. He then body-blocked the man on the bike from proceeding further up the road for several seconds, as other cyclists - who had halted at the crossing - looked on... A Metropolitan police spokesman told Mail Online: 'A cyclist may pass behind a pedestrian (with due care and consideration) but must "accord precedence" i.e. allow a pedestrian to cross first unless the pedestrian is on the opposite carriageway and there is a central island. 'On the face of it, this rider may have intended to pass behind the pedestrian who confronted him. 'However, there was very little room to do so. This might be a prima facie case of cycling without due care or consideration (s29 Road Traffic Act 1988). 'It appears the cyclist may have failed to accord precedence to the pedestrian who was crossing from left to right.' The penalty for breaking the law is a fine of up to £1,000... 'I find it amazing that the "into it" cyclists, the ones that wear all the gear are the worst on the roads. You would think that collectively they would act more courteously in an effort to promote them as the good guys.' Another commented: 'Cyclists always defend each other in packs so it's really telling that no other cyclist had a word to say about what happened.' A third viewer added: 'Good for the pedestrian. Yet another example of why most pedestrians and motorists despise cyclists"
Damn drivers!
Jason Curtis Anderson on X - "๐จMeet Noora Shalash, Director of Government Affairs for CAIR-Kentucky. She really let the mask slip that this is a harmless civil rights organization when she yells “I demand Jihad, I want ISIS to kill all of you.” Great job @jewhatedb ๐ช"
Islamophobia! This is why Muslims hate "Zionists" so much
An Iraqi couple is charged in Germany with keeping and abusing Yazidi girls as slaves - "Germany’s federal prosecutor on Monday charged an Iraqi couple with enslavement, torture and war crimes, alleging they kept two young Yazidi girls as slaves and sexually and physically abused them. The man and the woman, identified only as Twana H.S. and Asia R.A. in line with German privacy rules, were arrested in Bavaria"
Meme - "These are 11 different movies..."
"Title - Role
Price of Glory. Hector
Ghetto Rhapsody. Hector
The Animal. Gang Leader Hector
Barrio Murders. Hector
The Fast and the Furious. Hector
Training Day. Hector
The Gangster Hit. Hector
Masked and Anonymous. Inmate Hector
Malibu's Most Wanted. Hector
Old School. Hector
Double Blade (Shuana Dao). Hector"
Why do you think the Neo Saban era wasn’t critically well received by fans? : r/powerrangers - "They treated the audience like dumb 5 year olds instead of smart 9 year olds."
"this. and every time you say something like that people go “WeLL iTs A KiDs ShOw” like yea obviously it is. doesn’t mean you have to make the target audience literal 3 year old kids who find fart jokes funny. i was in middle school when ninja steel was airing and even i couldn’t take it. i didnt even make it halfway through the first season. all the fart jokes. the babied down dialogue. it’s so hard to watch and trust me that says a lot for a show that values it’s campiness. you can be campy, you can be silly… but you can also have some dignity with what you’re working with. the saban (not neo) and disney seasons did that perfectly. hell, other live action hero shows at the time on disney channel (which are literally sitcom humor focused) did that perfectly and it’s why to this day people still talk about the Lab Rats and Mighty Med. does anyone talk about the neo saban power rangers outside our fandom? not really…"
Why do you think the Neo Saban era wasn’t critically well received by fans? : r/powerrangers - "This. I was feeling kinda worn-out by the whole kiddy tone of Samurai onward so I really liked the more mature theming and mood of Once & Always like a lot of people here."
Why do you think the Neo Saban era wasn’t critically well received by fans? : r/powerrangers - "Personally I wasn't a fan of the 2 year rotation. I also think they leaned way too far into the kids show aspect. The later seasons of the Zordon era and most of the early post Zordon era shows felt a lot more mature. Seasons like In Space Lost Galaxy Light Speed Rescue and Time Force all come to mind. Shows that didn't really talk down to their audience and had some very mature themes. Neo Saban era shows didn't balance this well at all."
Why do you think the Neo Saban era wasn’t critically well received by fans? : r/powerrangers - "Samurai was a dumbed down copy of Shinkenger, to the point they had to credit Yasuko Kobayashi for the script. However, they didn't take cultural differences into account, giving us a messy nonsensical season. On top of the "porno-level acting". It wouldn't surprise me if Kevin was going to be a stage actor like Ryunosuke, but then they saw Najee acting and thought "Swimming, your thing is swimming." And yeah, Jayden should have been Japanese. Megaforce was just insulting top to bottom. Somehow making Goseiger even more generic but also keeping the "miracle" moments with zero context (like Troy's glowing punch). Then came the jump to Gokaiger and along with showing unadapted Sentai, they went out of their way NOT to address the pirate motif. They really thought kids were stupid. They were banking haaaard on the Legendary Battle at the end, pushing it in all the promotion and the end result was... bad. It's no wonder Tzachor was removed. Not to mention non-existent characters with Gia getting zero focus episodes. Dino Charge was actually decent. It did fall apart in the second half and really fumbled the ending, but overall it was an enjoyable viewing. Ninja Steel took everything that made Dino Charge good and threw it away. Being more of a Mighty Morphin copy than Megaforce, right down to bringing back the Bulk & Skull theme in the second half for the gay couple I mean Victor and Monty. They could have improved a rather mediocre Sentai season, but instead they did nothing. Combined with "seasons" being spread out over two years, and it was all one big slog."
Why do you think the Neo Saban era wasn’t critically well received by fans? : r/powerrangers - "This^ imo they relied too much on Nostalgia. Every season had some sort of MMPR concept. Samurai Bulk and Spike(Bulk and Skull). Megaforce Gosei and Tensou(Zordon and Alpha). Ninja Steel Victor and Monty(Again Bulk and Skull). Shit if anything the plot of Megaforce was like MMPR which is sad cause it was horrible"
Why do you think the Neo Saban era wasn’t critically well received by fans? : r/powerrangers - "IMO, the problem with the Neo Saban era is that the production tried to recapture the lightning in a bottle that was MMPR, as evidenced by bringing back Bulk for Samurai and having a "Comedic Relief Duo" ala Bulk and Skull. The problem here is that Power Rangers as a franchise had long since evolved past MMPR. Post-Zordon Era Power Rangers was written in a way that yes targeted children but also appealed to the older members of the family, making the show have a "Fun for the whole Family" vibe. Power Rangers proved just because a show is made for children, doesn't mean it can't have nuance or be sophisticated. The Neo Saban Era threw all that away and dumbed down the show to appeal to the youngest demographic possible. Like another commenter said, they treated their audience like dumb 6 years olds instead of smart 9 year olds and it shows. The only exception is Dino Charge and even that season had some of the issues plaguing the other seasons."
Why do you think the Neo Saban era wasn’t critically well received by fans? : r/powerrangers - "Bad writing, boring characters, underwhelming storylines, horrendous comic relief, boring action, stupid catchphrases, etc."
Why do you think the Neo Saban era wasn’t critically well received by fans? : r/powerrangers - " Let’s separate these because they all have their own problems. First of all, the 2 season format sucked. It still does. Being restricted on episodes, spanning over two years can be horrible for retention, meaning there can be a lot of filler. And how they structured the episodes were terrible. They were incredibly localised in the sense that it was made in a way where episodes don’t connect, or if they do, it’s very loose.
Samurai - If you haven’t seen Shinkenger, Samurai is legit just a one-for-one adaptation of it. But Shinkenger is seen as one of the best Super Sentai series but Samurai is not seen as one of the best PR series, and if it is, not nearly to the same level as Shinkenger. Why? Well, cultural views, on having a white guy being the head of a Samurai clan in what was supposed to be Japan didn’t sit well with viewers, and what was supposed to be references to Japanese culture or aspects of the show that was supposed to reflect that culture was incredibly watered down and simplified in Samurai for a western audience which didn’t really make sense if you’re making a story about Samurais in Japan? Many people also felt the acting was flat and the emotional depth wasn’t that present.
Megaforce- Where to start with this one? First of all, merging two Sentais in one series. Horrible idea, especially if those two Sentais are complete polars of each other. Acting? Bad. Emotional depth? Bad. Story? Bad? The characters themselves also don’t match with their Sentai counterparts, so in fight footage, where the fighting style which reflect the character of the Ranger, it’s completely different. For example, Noah is a nerd. His Goseiger counterpart, whilst an intellect, exhibits confidence in his fighting style. Noah’s Gokaiger counterpart, is a badass Space pirate who is an expert swordsman. Neither of which fit Noah as a character.
Dino Charge- In the Neo Saban era, Dino Charge was actually really well received. The plot was good, and actually had episodes dedicated to the plot of finding the energems. The ending was considered a hit or miss for some people, and others did not like the characters in the show like James or Kendall. Not too many bad things can be said about Dino Charge, as the quality of the structuring of the show was improved a lot more than its predecessors, and overall quality of the show was much better.
Ninja Steel- Just all around mid. Not good, not bad. It had some good parts of it, and some bad. But one thing I noticed is why it’s called Ninja Steel when they have no experience being Ninjas? It’s like the whole ninja thing came out of nowhere. They’re like normal teens the next, and then boom, now they’re ninjas. I felt like they were trying to recreate the whole classic MMPR high school teens, with goofy side characters, but failed. Big time."
Permanently banned from r/Ontario for identifying as a conservative : r/CanadianConservative - "So this is where were at on Reddit. Militant left wing moderators who are now banning people because of their ideology or political beliefts without any reason and running away from any form of accountability. Leftist facism, ladies and gentlemen."
Why are hotel mooncakes the benchmark? : r/askSingapore - "Mothership got say before. They're all made in this huge ass factory in some industrial estate as a central location in Defu Lane. Then cos corporate gifting and fancy status to upkeep, the hotels just get packaging boxes and fancy ribbons and whatnot made up and all, and et voila a box that cost $20 lol. In which case, then they add to overall cost of the mooncake. But I'm convinced it's $20 for the box LOL. lemme see if I can find the article - it's probablt like diff hotels have diff specifications (plain lotus, white lotus, low sugar, certain size for filling, etc)"
"A client of mine claims 90% of his annual business is manufacturing mooncake boxes. He has 2 Ferraris and a Lamborghini Urus. ๐ซ "
captive dreamer on X - "There's no reason in the world that America should be sending money to big pharmaceutical companies so they can fight "AIDs" in some backwater African nation"
tantum on X - "And for some reason no one talks anymore about the reason Africans get HIV from sex. There’s no delicate way to put this: they use sand and grit to dry things out and increase friction, which leads to tears and fissures"
John Carter on X - "Friend's dad used to do sex ed in Africa. He'd travel around to their neolithic villages and demonstrate the use of a condom by rolling the condom over a stick. Then he'd drop off a giant box of condoms. Later, he went back to follow up, and discovered that they'd been faithfully rolling the condoms over sticks and hanging them up on the walls before sex, with the understanding that this white man magic would prevent them from catching the demon the white magicians warned them about."
Health NZ was using a single Excel spreadsheet to track $28 billion of public money; report outlines ‘significant concerns’ - "Health New Zealand had been tracking its finances through a single Excel spreadsheet, a financial review of the public agency has revealed. An independent report by Deloitte, published on Health NZ’s website, found the significant reliance on the use of a single Excel file was a “major issue” for the agency responsible for managing billions of taxpayer dollars. It also found Health NZ had a lack of control around expenditure and revenue, and its savings plans, intended to balance the gap, were ineffective. Budgets at the agency were not consistent with expected revenue... a savings plan from the 2023/24 financial year failed, as Health NZ continued to spend $130m each month beyond its income. The agency’s board was sacked as former Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti expressed concerns around its financial management and performance."
Meme - "2+2 can equal 5, actually"
Enwortmann: ""Have you read theory?" from the same type of people that think 2+2=5"
dะผonopolฮนัั on X - "just found out ramadan “fasting” is having a massive breakfast before the sun comes up and dinner after the sun goes down: otherwise known as skipping lunch"
Plausible in Canon - "After that that stupid thing from Bezos and Musk about how a trillion humans would mean a thousand Mozarts, it got me thinking. We clearly must have Mozarts today, and at least a couple of them probably got the same upbringing he did to nurture their skill and talent, and we would therefore have:
a musician of significant talent, dedication and skill,
who can write music across a bunch of different contemporary genres,
who explicitly draws from the work of other musicians to build their style, and
who is willing to do the musical equivalent of shitposting and wear fancy outfits while doing it.
I can only conclude that the modern-day Mozart is Weird Al Yankovic. I will not be taking questions."
Meme - Samsung UK: "Hey, Ross. Congratulations on your new TV. You wouldn't be able to disable the ads we're afraid. ^HA"
"The "HA" really rubs salt in the wound."
Samsung UK: "We sign our messages off with our initals, we can assure you we were not laughing at the situation. ^BS"
Karnataka, India: An Israeli woman and her Indian host were gang raped, police say - "Police in southern India said Saturday that they arrested two men in connection with allegations of gang rape of an Israeli and a local woman. The Israeli and her homestay operator were stargazing along with three male travelers, an American and two Indians, in Koppal town in southern Karnataka state on Thursday night, police official Ram L. Arasiddi said. According to an initial investigation, three men on a motorbike approached them while asking for money. Following arguments, the three men pushed the male travelers into a nearby water canal and sexually assaulted the women, Arasiddi said. One of the Indian tourists drowned and his body was recovered on Saturday. The American and another Indian swam to safety... Despite stringent laws, it’s rare for more than a few weeks to pass without another brutal sexual assault being reported. High-profile cases involving foreign visitors have drawn international attention to the issue. Last year, in a video that was later deleted, a Spanish tourist said his wife was raped in northern India while an Indian-American woman said she was raped at a hotel in New Delhi. In 2022, a British tourist was raped in front of her partner in Goa."
Clearly, men everywhere are the same, which is why you read about this happening in the West all the time
Meme - Native American (?) to mother: "It's called a "dream-catcher". It gets rid of bad dreams."
*Kid in bedroom with dreamcatcher playing electric guitar, with yellow submarine, Rock poster, grammaphone, The Dark Side of the Moon cover, messy bed*
*Happy mum holding laundry with guitar and other stuff in trash, well-made bed, bespectacled son studying Law and Finance*
Meme - "Vegan Milk. Ingredients: *long list*
Normal Milk. Ingredients: *busty woman in bikini*"
WHO? on X - "When my wife sends me to the supermarket to get cucumbers, I also buy vaseline, so the cashier doesn't think that I'm vegan."
Meme - PETA (People for the Treatment of Animals): "An unforgettable Oscars opening performance from two iconic vegan..."
*Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande looking unhealthy*
Vegans to PETA: "How is this helping?"
Meme - The Bearded Vegan: MEAT EATER: You shouldn't judge me. I live my life the way I want, and you live yours the way you want. We all make our own personal choices, and what I do doesn't affect you in any way. What's so hard to understand? Therefore, you should stop condemning me, and just let me do what I want."
PAEDOPHILE: "What he said."
Vegans love to complain that meat eaters come onto their pages and attack them, but they post shit attacking meat eaters all the time
Meme - "DID HADES FINALLY CHOOSE A COSTUME FOR DYONISUS HALLOWEEN PARTY?"
"YES, BUT HE WANTS TO KEEP IT A SURPRISE. ALTHOUGH, HE TOLD ME IT WOULD BE A POWERFUL PLANT HERO THAT ONLY SAYS ONE THING,SO IT'S EASY TO GUESS."
"I CAN ALREADY PICTURE HIM..."
"I...AM...GROOT!"
"BULBASAUR!!!"
toddstarnes on X - "The mean girls who run Vogue published a scathing attack on First Lady Melania Trump's official White House portrait. "Melania Trump Cosplays The Apprentice in Her Official White House Portrait," read the snarky headline. Writer Hannah Jackson blasted Mrs. Trump's power pose, her wardrobe and the black & white image photographed by Rรฉgine Mahaux. "Trump looked more like she was guest starring on an episode of The Apprentice than assuming the role of first lady of the United States," Jackson wrote. "Trump’s clothing certainly didn’t help the boardroom pastiche. The first lady wore a black Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo jacket with satin-trimmed lapels over a white button-up, which she paired with a Ralph Lauren cummerbund and trousers," the writer sneered. "The choice to wear a tuxedo—as opposed to a blazer or blouse—made Trump look more like a freelance magician than a public servant." It's unclear why Vogue directed their poisonous venom at Mrs. Trump. Envy, perhaps? Or it could just be that they hate bold, confident Republican women. Barbara Bush, Laura Bush and Mrs. Trump have never graced the cover of Vogue. Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris and Jill Biden, however, have been the subjects of multiple cover photographs. And how can I say this delicately? Hillary, Michelle, Kamala and Jill aren't exactly finalists for "America's Next Top Model." There's no debate that the most attractive women in America are conservatives. There's something special about a woman who can wield a cast-iron skillet in one hand and a rifle in another. A woman who embodies the precepts found in the 31st chapter of Proverbs. A woman who treasures her family and her faith. Feminists, on the other hand? Well, if you’ve been to one of those pink-hat protests in Washington, D.C., you know there’s a whole lot of butt-ugly. Melania Trump is a portrait of beauty, style, elegance and power. She's a wife and a mother. She's a person who embraces her God-given pronoun. She's incredibly intelligent. She can speak fluently in five languages. And she has a terrific sense of humor. Unfortunately, the Mean Girls who run the fashion magazines have an entirely different standard for style and beauty. That's why their pages are filled with photos of big-boned girls with magenta hair, piercings in every crevice, graffitied with tattoos wearing hemp sweaters and driving Subarus. And the kick in the pants is that most of those girls are actually dudes."
Anna Matson on X - "Some people definitely did not expect me to dig up this old clip. This is Kennedy in 2008 testifying to Congress on the harmful effects of mercury. Ed Markey was the chair who invited him, and he now says, “Robert Kennedy Jr. is an unqualified, unserious, and dangerous nominee for US Secretary of Health and Human Services.” Funny how no one called him crazy then."
Crรฉmieux on X - "The funniest part of the hearing was toward the end when the Senator said RFK Jr. didn't believe in germ theory and he said he did and she said he didn't and that she'd like to enter that into the record. Going 'I'd like to enter something I made up into the record' - priceless."
Thread by @AnnaRMatson on Thread Reader App – Thread Reader App - "๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐. Every single democrat will say RFK Jr. is not qualified, but they won’t tell you the truth. Here is everything RFK Jr has done in his career that makes him fully qualified to run HHS. Wait til you see Biden’s secretary’s qualifications at the end. ๐งต ...
๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง Kennedy attended Harvard University for his undergraduate studies, earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law, and obtained a Master of Laws from Pace University in 1987.
๐๐จ-๐
๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฐ ๐๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ฅ’๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐ข๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐. Kennedy received a special permit from New York to allow ten law students to practice law against Hudson River polluters.
๐๐๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ “Riverkeeper protects and restores the Hudson River from source to sea and safeguards drinking water supplies, through advocacy rooted in community partnerships, science and law.” In 1984, Kennedy Jr. became a part of Riverkeeper, which was then known as the Hudson Riverkeeper Fund. Throughout his tenure, he held the role of Chief Prosecuting Attorney on staff and later served on the Board of Directors from 2000 until his departure in 2017. Furthermore, the organization closed one of the state’s most notoriously harmful landfills and helped protect New York City’s upstate reservoir system.
๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐๐ He negotiated the New York City watershed agreement on behalf of environmentalists and New York City watershed consumers. It is regarded as an international model in stakeholder consensus negotiations and sustainable development.
๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ฅ, ๐๐๐ฐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐๐๐ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฆ “๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ง๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ.”... ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐จ๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ฌ His environmental work was celebrated by democrats so much that he testified in congress by Ed Markey’s request (who now turned on him). This hearing was in 2008.
๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ญ As President-elect, Obama strongly considered RFK Jr for Administrator for the EPA. Politico even said this would, “raise the profile of the EPA.”
๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐๐ซ ๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐๐ This is where Kennedy and his team won the monumental Roundup case. This secured a landmark $289 million verdict for a California groundskeeper who developed cancer due to exposure to the herbicide Roundup. This triggered many more cases against Monsanto...
Minority and Poor Communities: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long advocated for environmental justice in underserved communities. He represented the NAACP in opposing a garbage transfer station in a minority neighborhood, successfully reopened Croton Point Park for Bronx residents, and forced the reopening of Pelham Bay Park, which had been converted into a police firing range...
When Biden’s Secretary of HHS was being confirmed, Democrats praised Xavier Beceera for his qualifications. His background? A lawyer. RFK Jr.’s background? A lawyer. But unlike Beceera, Kennedy has been fighting for families all across America for clean food, clean water, and to get corruption out of our government. Beceera is simply a lifetime politician."
Tyson Zahner | Facebook - "I’ve seen a lot of criticism of RFK Jr. since his autism speech yesterday. So I decided to do something radical… I watched the full speech. (I know — crazy concept: go to the source and form your own opinion instead of blindly repeating media narratives and social media memes.) And what I found didn’t exactly match the headlines. So in this post, I want to address the five biggest criticisms I’ve seen and share my take.
But first — let me say this: Whatever you think of his policies, one thing seems clear to me after listening to RFK Jr. speak: he genuinely seems to care about the children and families affected by autism. You can disagree with his conclusions, but to paint him as evil or malicious is unfair... and, frankly, dishonest.
⸻
Criticism #1: “He called autism an ’epidemic.’”
Yes, he did ... to highlight the steep rise in diagnoses. (CDC data shows 1 in 31 kids today.)
The term "epidemic" does not always imply something contagious. I find it unlikely that those criticizing his use of the word "epidemic" showed the same level of outrage when it was used to describe the obesity epidemic or the fentanyl epidemic.
⸻
Criticism #2: “He said autistic kids will never have jobs, never pay taxes, never go on dates.”
This is wildly misleading and out of context. Just moments before making that statement, he referred specifically to the 25% of cases classified as severe (children who are nonverbal, not toilet trained, and unable to care for themselves). Clearly, within this context, his remarks were not about all autistic children. Anyone claiming otherwise is either unaware of this context or deliberately misrepresenting his words.
⸻
Criticism #3: “He rejected the science — autism is genetic, not caused by toxins.”
This claim misrepresents his stance. He didn’t dismiss the role of genetics; rather, he stated that while genes might create a vulnerability, they alone cannot explain an epidemic. This perspective is far from fringe. Even the CDC acknowledges that environmental factors may play a role. His argument isn’t anti-science; it’s a reasonable call for a more balanced exploration of potential causes.
⸻
Criticism #4: “He’s pushing anti-vax conspiracy theories again!”
This one is just false. Not once during his 27-minute speech did he mention vaccines. Instead, he discussed toxins such as mold, pesticides, and additives. But the media (who appear to hate him for past positions) decided to resurrect the vaccine angle even though he didn’t bring it up. This is yet another example of a targeted smear campaign by individuals more invested in promoting narratives than seeking the truth.
⸻
Criticism #5: “His words were emotionally harmful to autistic people and their families.”
I guess this one depends on your perspective. Yes, his language was intense, but maybe what’s also harmful is ignoring the existence of the most severe forms of autism. RFK Jr. is amplifying the voices of parents whose children face extreme challenges, such as self-injurious behaviors, inability to speak, constant supervision needs, and requiring round-the-clock care. These families are real, and their struggles are profound. For once, someone on a national platform is recognizing their pain and saying, “We see you, and we are committed to understanding why this is happening.”
⸻
I’m not saying RFK Jr. is perfect. His words could’ve been clearer. His policy ideas are certainly open to scrutiny. But let’s stop pretending he dehumanized autistic people or rejected science. He’s asking tough questions. He’s challenging the status quo. And instead of outrage, maybe we should welcome the conversation. Watch the speech. Check the CDC data. And let’s focus on facts instead of clickbait."
