Culture

Amazon Users Are Having A Field Day With This Kids’ Book By An Australian Anti-Vaxxer

"The best book I have read since 'Infant Car Seats Are For Sissies'."

by Meg Watson 8 February 2015

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Brisbane-based anti-vaccination campaigner Stephanie Messenger and her self-published cringe-fest Melanie’s Marvelous Measles have been known to Australians for some time now.

This, the tale of how a preventable virus that infects and kills around 140,000 children a year is actually super great, was initially self-published by the author in 2012. The book was quickly condemned by the Australian Medical Association as potentially harmful misinformation and it was removed from bookstores soon after. Messenger has more recently been spending her time organising events like a series last month with the controversial American anti-vaxxer Sherri Tenpenny.

This huge backlash against Messenger and the larger anti-vaccination movement in Australia has been well-documented, most recently with the fact that Dr Tenpenny was forced to cancel her tour due to public backlash. But now, the seemingly settled debate about vaccination is gaining momentum elsewhere.

Last month an unprecedented 100 people in 15 states of the US were diagnosed with measles, with 92 percent of the infection being traced back to a single trip to Disneyland. Many politicians have seized the moment to declare their own thoughts and the issue rages on once more.

If you admit that all children should be vaccinated, it's a slippery slope to acknowledging that we have societal obligations to each other.

— Josh Greenman (@joshgreenman) February 2, 2015

Because of this, Messenger’s book has been receiving delayed attention offshore via its listing on Amazon. As Salon discovered — though reviews are divided — it is the best kind of trolling you’ll ever see.