A reader who requests anonymity writes:
I am a volunteer for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. After voting at Saugatuck Elementary School last week I donned my Kennedy t-shirt, grabbed my flyers and stood with the other electioneers, excited to spread early awareness of his messages.
I quickly discovered, though, that the strangers I had encountered in Stamford 2 days earlier were much more polite than most of my “neighbors” and candidates here in Westport.
Invalidly assuming that Kennedy will take votes from Biden and allow Trump to win, most of them ignored and distanced themselves from me, or gave me looks of disgust and rudely swatted me away.
One person even challenged my right to be there. For 3 hours, except for a few friends, friends of friends and inquisitive voters, I was treated like the plague.
Only I am not the plague. I am your neighbor, and the mother of a child so sick with an amalgamation of autoimmune and long-term Lyme disease with undiagnosed co-infections that turned into brain inflammation, such that over the past 15 years she has endured innumerable doctor visits, painful and invasive tests and procedures, hospitalizations, and traumatic, middle-of-the-night ER trips.
I am also the recipient of a defective surgical screw that was fast-tracked through the FDA without sufficient testing and quickly removed from the market thereafter, the complications of which left me handicapped and in severe pain for 5 years.
I doubt anyone would have guessed these challenges simply by looking at me; I’m thinking they saw a smiling, hopeful person.
And the reason I have hope is because of RFK Jr. I appreciate his pledge to declare war on chronic disease, to unwind the corrupt corporate capture of our regulatory agencies, and to clean up our food and water supplies from the multitude of chemicals and pesticides which contribute to our skyrocketing autoimmune and chronic disease rates.
I understand the battle that Mr. Kennedy faces given the intentional smears and misrepresentations of his positions by the media and 2-party system — the “crazy anti-vaxxer” and “conspiracy theorist” tropes — but he is a man of high integrity and values who puts the welfare of others ahead of his own.
He is not anti-vaccine. He and his children are vaccinated; he is for safer vaccines, with increased testing.
For all the talk of inclusivity in this town, only one man dared to be curious and ask me why I was supporting RFK Jr.
Asking questions of someone we disagree with is a portal to understanding, and it is exactly what philosopher Charles Eisenstein calls for when encountering a political opponent:
Ask what confluences of circumstances, social, economic, and biographical may have brought them there. You may still not know how to engage with them, but at least you will not be on the warpath automatically. We hate what we fear, and we fear what we do not know. So let’s stop making our opponents invisible behind a caricature of evil.
I am your neighbor, and a human being with a confluence of painful circumstances that have brought me where I am.
I am striving for an end to the hate and division enveloping our country, and for the health and wellness of my family — and of your family too.
Even if you will never see it that way. Even if you are rude to me. Even if you think the challenges I have faced will never befall you or your children.
Because I don’t wish on anyone what my child and I have been through, and more than anything, I want to see our nation and our world at peace.
If we can’t engender peace and understanding in our own town, we have no chance of engendering it outside of it.
I wish I had seen you there. I would have stood by your side, dear neighbor, in love and solidarity.
There are a lot of inconsistencies in what RFK Jr has said, including on abortion and on his stance on vaccines.
That being said, I’m sorry you felt people were rude to you at the polling place. That shouldn’t have happened. However, given his positions, I can see why they might not want to engage.
you have the right to believe in unsubstantiated facts. you have the right to view Kennedy and Trump and anyone you want to be an expert on medical issues. I believe it would be beneficial for the USA to have a hospital staffed by Kennedy and similar staff attend patients like you. Then the world can study the outcomes. During covid I advocated hospitals following Desantis protocol. No masks necessary. Visitors can walk right in without masks. Perhaps doctors shouldn’t have to scrub before surgery. Perhaps surgeons shouldn’t have to wear masks. Lastly what about having schools where vaccines are not mandated and study how the students develop and perform
Thank you Richard for validating the author’s point. When did this become a political discussion? We get your persepective, liberals are honest and truthful and everyone else is dishonest and dangerous. Have some freaking compassion for her story, and not turn it into your moronic soapbox.
You read quite a lot into Richard’s comment.
Ironically, this guy likely displays a “Hate Has No Home Here” sign on his front lawn.
if you you tube Dragnet you will see it’s an old vintage classic television show. When the detective interviews the subject and the subject speaks irrelevant words the detective responds Just The Facts Mam. This is what leads to solutions and truths. Falsehoods and science denial are destructive. Kennedy is Destructive.
and the theme of the post is RUDENESS. Your ignorant response is living by proof. The sign in front of my house is a Star of David.
Bobby Kennedy Jr. is a prominent candidate for one reason — his last name. He relies on the history of the Kennedy name to launch his run for President, but he runs away from his own history in order to make himself appear to be what he is not. Your anonymous reader claims that Kennedy is not against vaccines. That is false. Kennedy is an ANTI-VAXXER and encourages mothers to not vaccinate their babies. This alone makes him unqualified to be President.
Kennedy has a long history of making false claims about vaccines and discouraging their use. For example, here are Kennedy’s own words from a 2021 podcast:
“For many, many years, I think parents were so gaslighted, and they were scapegoated, and they were vilified and marginalized, so that even parents of kids who were very, very badly injured, knew what happened to their kid, but they were just reluctant to talk about it. And I think now those days are over,” Kennedy said.
“We – our job is to resist and to talk about it to everybody. If you’re walking down the street – and I do this now myself, which is, you know, I don’t want to do – I’m not a busybody. I see somebody on a hiking trail carrying a little baby and I say to him, ‘Better not get him vaccinated.’ And he heard that from me. If he hears it from 10 other people, maybe he won’t do it, you know, maybe he will save that child.”
“If you’re one of 10 people that goes up to a guy, a man or a woman, who’s carrying a baby, and says, ‘Don’t vaccinate that baby,’ when they hear that from 10 people, it’ll make an impression on ‘em, you know. And we all kept our mouth shut. Don’t keep your mouth shut anymore. Confront everybody on it.”
Bobby’s campaign slogan might as well be “Bring Back Polio”. His advocacy against vaccines is a danger to our children.
Vaccines save lives. Don’t listen to Bobby — get your babies vaccinated.
I think you have a great point. People do not need to be rude. After a very contentious and controversial local election it may have not been the best time to stand there supporting RFK Jr to get your point across to voters who were already making decisions about our local race. I do think it is important to educate the public about other candidate outside the ones being selected for us in the 2 party election. I is think many would opt for a third choice, but again our national politics and money given by big donors with deep pockets and lobbyists that know how to play the game are what drive our national politics. Luckily locally it is not that way, and we can elect people locally and statewide to make a difference. Now if we could change our laws for funding the national election, we could make much bigger change in this country (starting with health and wellness (stop letting the pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists run our national health system) and gun control laws. Thanks for sharing your story and I hope you have more kind neighbors greeting you in the future. And I pray for your child and for your health and wellness too. This is a great community overall with a lot of wonderful people who truly care . ❤️
There is hope for all people with autoimmune if you read last months natures of science magazine, you’ll realize that via AI. All the proteins in the human body which stems over 100,000 have been gene sequence meeting their DNA has been found.
The sign says that because of this I need to do is put the right protein back in the liver and that will create an auto immune response such that the body does not continue to re-Kavik on these proteins so technically all autoimmune diseases will be cured it’s just gonna take a little bit of time There is hope. Believe in science like Edison.
thank you. science is denied by a great deal of the USA. Politicians feed the emotional needs to a large constituency by disregarding science and facts.
I question why this was posted anonymously. The points may be valid – if as the author should be willing to give their name.
The author feared retribution against herself and her children. She also wanted to protect the medical privacy of her family.
def right (given the snap back even in the comments on here with names) and nice of you to make this exception for her.
Because of the public vilification she went through standing there with her sign. For exercising her basic right as a US citizen — to PETITION us, her fellow citizens, to consider voting for her candidate. Being new to this “tumble”, it was a shock to her. She contacted Dan, they discussed her personal concerns and he agreed to print her “cry of the heart” out of respect for her. Like a good neighbor should. Thanks, Dan.
And thanks Poster for explaining your positions, and circumstances, so well. Continue your path. You are doing it within the bounds.
Also, Welcome to American Politics! An old phrase about it is “It ain’t bean-bags” and being hit by a bean-bag can really hurt. There is a four-corner intersection local to me in the PNW where, if I tried to stand at one corner on a Friday rush-hour with my candidate’s sign — just stand there waving at drivers — verbal harassment is the LEAST of what I might have to experience from supporters of an other candidate who regularly stand at the other corners (after all, they consider all four “theirs”).
As someone who, while at college in the spring of 1968, woke up on two mornings to the scratchy sounds of AM radio bearing the news of two murders that truly changed the courses of ALL of our lifes — even unto this generation * sigh* — often I say to myself, where are Martin and Bobby when we need them? By being placard holders, peititoners, precinct workers and voters of today, we are there for them now.
On a PC reboot, this platform Dan uses had me log-in using an established usename/password. Not sure how to fix that for Dan’s preferred discussional mode. So, for the record, I am Robert M. Gerrity, Staples 1966, just staying in touch with my home town.
Kathy, the main point of that anonymous, math challenged post is NOT valid….a Kennedy run would make a Trump victory CERTAIN rather than just very likely and, therefore, supporting Kennedy is, Defacto, insane.
From an article this morning in the NYTimes about RFK Jr.:
“Behind much of his public career has been a relentless private hustle: board positions and advisory gigs, side deals with law firms, book contracts and an exhausting schedule of paid speeches, once upward of 60 a year by his own count.”
“In 2021, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earned more than $500,000 as the chairman and top lawyer at Children’s Health Defense, the nonprofit organization that he has helped build…The compensation was almost three times as high as the amount paid to the organization’s president,”
“For decades, he has entwined his loftier missions with opportunities for enrichment. In addition to his salary at Children’s Health Defense, for instance, he stands to profit personally from lawsuits, including against the pharmaceutical giant Merck over a common vaccine for children.”
Grifting is one way of making a living – and you go with whatever conspiracy theory gains traction and fits your brand.
If someone wants to stake out a public political position and stand in front of their neighbors and advocate for a candidate who is committed to provocative theories on critical issues, you can’t expect everyone to agree with you and say ‘thank you’. And they may say things you disagree with and don’t want to hear. And it’s possible those who disagree with you may be right. It is not rude for other people to think your viewpoint is pernicious. Respect goes both ways.
I am with you that RFK is a better choice than either of the two we have now (and he continues to be mis represented in the media). I don’t buy that we should keep accepting mediocrity because we’re afraid of pulling votes from someone else. That is simply not acceptable. We need to fix the spoiler effect (voting reform), but in the meantime, we need to start electing people who can actually envision a different kind of political future. The 2 party sytem is not functioning and the founding fathers predicted this might be the worst possible outcome for the country. Full disclosure, I am one of the state leads of a new political party – the Forward Party. The party will not run a national candidate in 2024 and the views on RFK are my own. You can learn more about us at ctforwardparty.com . ps – to the anonymous writer, let’s work together (Dan can give you my email).
what are the issues that Kennedy is running on that you admire.
I admire that he speaks about stuff that no one else is taking about. Among other things: (1) strong desire for peace in Ukraine and Israel (and a recognition of the some of the key steps the US has taken – or not taken – to get us where we are today); (2) his commitment to returning the focus (and money) to fixing THIS country before we go off trying to change the rest of the world (including trying to rebuild the middle class); (3) a recognition that the 2 parties have become a party of extremes and that most of the country actually lives in the middle and we should meet them where they live. Obviously there is more, but I would encourage people to listen to HIM – not the bs you read about what the media SAYS he stands for – honestly most of which is just not true.
1. Well, there was a rally just in the past few days in Washington DC advocating for cease fire in Israel. 300,000 attended. And there have been calls for a cease fire in demonstrations all over the world. So plenty of people are talking about it.
2. If you want to rebuild the middle class, rescind the $3t trump stole from the middle class and gave to the top 1%.
3. Only one party has opted out of the peaceful transfer of power and that refuses to accept election results.
I forgot one. And only one party is actively engaged in using deadly violence to achieve their goals.
I’m curious what makes you think Trump “stole $3T” from the middle class? Even the NY Times understood that the Trump tax cuts resulted in tax reductions for the majority of the middle class and that it was only effective Democratic spin doctoring that made people think otherwise. Maybe the top 1% benefited “more” (which makes sense since they pay way more taxes so any cut helps the “more” in absolute terms) but it wasn’t coming out of the pockets of the middle class. Was there something else you were thinking of that I’m missing?
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/14/business/economy/income-tax-cut.html
1. In order to pay for the cuts, Trump exploded federal borrowing.
2. You forgot to mention most of tax cuts given to the middle class expire, I mean, “sunset”, by 2025 and are completely gone by 2027. But the cuts given to the ultra wealthy and corporations were permanent. Well, isn’t that special?
3. The 1% pay next to nothing in taxes because they don’t make their money from “income” which is taxable, no, they make their money from the increasing value of their assets which are not taxed like income and that they borrow against. But you knew that, right?
4. Trickle down supply side economics were discredited a long time ago.
In other words, you were incorrect that $3T was stolen from the middle class and given to the 1%. Thanks for clarifying.
But you really do live in your own spin zone don’t you?
1) No doubt the Trump tax cuts added to the deficit since there weren’t corresponding spending cuts. However, the real explosion in the deficit started in 2020 driven by COVID driven decline in revenues followed by the massive COVID stimulus packages. At an individual level, you may recall those were phased out for higher income taxpayers.
2) You are simply wrong. All of the individual tax cuts, for middle class, ultra wealthly and everyone else, expire in 2025.
3) The 1% pay between 30% and 40% of all income taxes depending on the year which is, for what it is worth, a higher % than 30-40 years ago. No doubt they don’t pay taxes on their accumulated wealth but borrow against it to minimize taxes but, of course, that is nothing new. But you knew that, right?
4) OK. And no doubt inequality is higher now than in the past though for a whole slew of reasons, only one of which has to do with tax rates. But that is a separate discussion.
Jan, his SISTER, yes, his SISTER say that he is “crazy.”What the hell more do you need to hear.
I respect his family and their right to speak and vote for anyone they choose, but his family is very old friends and political supporters of Biden. RFK’s run is hurting Biden to at least some degree and this may be their way to combat that. Now again, they have a right to speak as they wish and maybe they don’t agree with his stance on making legal medicine more safe (or other positions), but I’m not going to make my political decisions on people I don’t know. And, instead of saying “he’s crazy” – which I’ve heard many times from the media, maybe they should give us specific examples of what they disagree with, so we can all evaluate logically and fairly. I’m going to listen to him and then make my own mind up about whether he is crazy or not.
The point of her OpEd is NOT Kennedy. The point of her OpEd is to point out the lack of civility and lack of tolerance for any opposing opinions in our political discourse. There is growing factual evidence that people in this country are becoming less willing to engage with or respect someone they believe they disagree with politically. That is a problem. You do not need to agree with a person to engage in conversation. More important, you do not need to agree with someone to learn something from them or find out why they think as they do. Curiosity and tolerance are desperately needed in order for us to stop polarization and move forward as a country. I would never vote for Kennedy. But had I been passing by her that day, I would have been comfortable chatting with this woman to hear her views. We don’t need to agree with one another. But perhaps we do need to be able to agree to amiably disagree.
I think it’s about both, but to your point about civility, is well taken. This is the EXACT point of the Forward Party. Fix politics and return us to civility, grace and tolerance. Would love to chat with you about this if you want. http://www.ctforwardparty.com Thanks.
Agree Shonda, well said
I respectfully and amicably disagree. This anonymous post by an avowed Kennedy campaigner is tantamount to a political ad. She defends her candidate as she speculates about why people leaving a polling place did not agree to spend time with her:
“Invalidly assuming that Kennedy will take votes from Biden and allow Trump to win, most of them ignored and distanced themselves from me, or gave me looks of disgust and rudely swatted me away.”
She fails to even consider that these voters have jobs to go to, have sick and elderly relatives to care for, have family meals to put on for – simply put, have a life of their own and their own life’s struggles to contend with. I suggest this anonymous poster open her heart to the possibility that people are busy and after having taken the time to vote in 2023 didn’t have time to engage with her about 2024. That’s not incivility.
Rather than complain about Westporters who took the time to vote in an off-year election, let’s applaud them for keeping our democracy alive.
All that said, let’s try to smile more — it makes everyone feel better!
Well said, we need to reinvigorate civility. Opposing views are the best chance we get to understand how to move into the future….together. We need each other.
Your neighbor
Whomever you are, I am sorry for all of the medical issues you and your child have endured. And while I don’t agree with Kennedy as a choice for president, you are welcome to your views and should be able to hold those views without being ridiculed or ignored. This isn’t what this town should be, and on a local level we need to work harder than ever, because maybe from working to be kinder on the town level, we’ll one day impact the insane vitriol between both parties on the national level. One can hope?
Voice of reason, finally. Who cares with whom you agree politically? That is irrelevant to this story.
beautifully and thoughtfully written kudos
I am under the impression that if RFK Jr. ran as an Independent, he’d take away more votes from Trump than Biden. I also agree with the comment that the only reason he’s getting oxygen is due to his last name.
RFK “I do meditations every day,” Kennedy said. “That’s kind of the nature of my meditations. I have a lot of conversations with dead people.”
I’m sorry people seemed unfriendly. I was there while you were poll standing at Saugatuck, and my concern was that this was a local election cycle. During these elections it is important that local* candidates from both parties (and the RTM) have an opportunity to greet voters. I’ve been in Westport for 12 years, and this was the first time I’d seen anyone poll-stand on a national issue during a local cycle. I’m terribly sorry about your struggle with chronic illness, and I hope you chalk the reaction up to public confusion versus hostility or rudeness.
To the person that wrote this:
My neurologist in Miami is Nationally known and was able to diagnose a neighbor with Lyme disease when no one knew what she had. She had an extreme case and could not go out in sunlight , anyway if you are interested in contacting him
Dr. Steve Wheeler 305 661-2022
6701 Sunset Drive
S Miami FL
He is a Functional Medicine Physician-Neurologist
Maybe this can help your daughter
Agree that this was probably not an appropriate time to canvass- this was a local election. Given RFKJr’s provocative views, I wonder what “anonymous” expected? Concern for your family’s safety & health was not served by this move. I hope you get the healthcare you need.
I think it was I who was the one neighbor who inquired of the reasons to support Mr. Kennedy. it was a fine conversation. However, I never considered that I was “daring” to speak. My recommendation was that Mr. Kennedy should focus on broadly supported issues and try to bring those more into the consciousness of the public.
The anonymous writer should obviously seek the solace she deserves in whatever way she chooses. She can certainly stand in public and try to persuade others to see what she sees. She deserves civility, of course, but people who have read and digested the pensées of RFK Jr. also have the right to sound a very loud and insistent alarm: He’s a dangerously unhinged guy whose hubris and privilege threaten the safety of everyone.
Be curious, not judgmental.
https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-election-2024-president-campaign-621c9e9641381a1b2677df9de5a09731
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/16/us/rfk-jr-finances.html
Some of these comments are truly disappointing. Completely ignoring the real substance of the post in order to push political agendas. The usual suspect being as annoying as ever.
Whatever your political leanings are, it really doesn’t take a lot of effort to be polite and civil to others. In this regard, Westport is proving itself to be no better than elsewhere.
Dan your blog is slowly becoming a cesspool of political garbage. When a resident shares a story like this — anonymous or not — and is then attacked for her political views by, well, “tolerant” folks, it devalues everything you are trying to do here. This story, and post, had nothing to do with igniting or even engaging in a political debate and the vitriolic comments along those lines are completely inappropriate.
Amen! In fact, Dan had previously posted his intent to restrain these specific political diatribes. Sadly, there does seem to be a political slant tolerated far more here and on Wepo Porch-“tolerant”, “inclusive” people and righteous comments. SAD. BTW, I’m a former Dem turned Indy as I’m VERY fatigued with either party and their canned one-sided, don’t want to moderate talking points.
Well-said, Mr. Post. I myself am a former Republican turned Indy and am also very fatigued with both parties and their respective brands of intolerance.
I’m the 40th comment. I’m notorious for not sticking to the topic at hand. It’s not Dan’s fault I wander off the topic. That’s just me.
It doesn’t seem like my response posted so I’ll try again. I’m the 40th comment and I’m notorious at posting comments that stray from the subject. Dan has nothing to do with my comments that stray from the subject at hand. Don’t blame him; blame people like me!
3/4 of this post advocates for RFK JR’s ideas, positions, causes and election. And disagreeing with him or with this contributor do not constitute being attacked. None of the comments I’ve read express vitriol (adjective. filled with bitter criticism or malice) towards the writer. That is false.
One can take their medical advice from those who have no medical or scientific education, training, knowledge or expertise, or, one could listen to the Center for Disease control:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html
I’m wondering if Anonymous misconstrued much of what she experienced. She writes:
——————————–
“Invalidly assuming that Kennedy will take votes from Biden and allow Trump to win, most of them ignored and distanced themselves from me, or gave me looks of disgust and rudely swatted me away.”
——————————–
I didn’t see Anonymous at my polling place, but I know that I ignored every single person I saw with a sign. I walked widely around them because I had no desire to engage. I already knew whom I was voting for and no one was going to change my mind at that point.
I was pleased that not a single one of them shouted out to me to get my attention, but respectfully – instinctively – let me distance myself from them.
What I did wasn’t rude.
I’m afraid Anonymous has taken personally something that had nothing to do with her.
The looks of disgust? No doubt that was for her candidate, and not directed at her.
Rudely swatted her away? People hit her?!? I desperately hope not. I hope that, instead, they might have been swatting away the sign that might have inadvertently gotten in their way as they walked.
It’s certainly possible that some people were unkind in their comments about her candidate. But without hearing the other sides of these situations, it’s impossible to know. Did Anonymous confront people as they walked? It’s obvious that she intended to campaign for her candidate – else why would she be there?
The bottom line is: if people were unkind without provocation, then shame on them, and let’s all try to be civil in our disagreements. But it’s also important to remember to respect people’s privacy and space. Not everyone wants to engage in a political discussion just because they’re voting … especially not one about a candidate who isn’t even in the current election.
(P.S. I’m sincerely sorry for the pain and suffering both Anonymous and her daughter have endured. I pray they are ok now, or will be soon.)
While free speech is important, I think the response had more to do with your candidate not being up for election in the current election, which was a purely local election. And again, while free speech is important, I am surprised Dan would publish this given the clear factual misrepresentation- he is very openly anti-vaccine.
I don’t know what to think of Anonymous’s message, and I have my doubts about the statements therein. But I applaud Dan Woog’s willingness to share it with us. We need free speech and respectful dialogue. Thank you.
if ever there was a sign that the power and influence of USA govt needs to be minimized, that the less govt the better, it’s the criticism of this woman just for supporting a candidate you don’t agree with (because he’s anti vax for himself but doesn’t think govt should make the decision for you, because he’s been part of the group of influencers that’s been a decade or 2 ahead of the curve when it comes to science re severe allergies, because if you were even caught associating with her you feel you’d be ‘canceled’).
having been someone diagnosed with severe, truly severe food allergies in the mid-1970’s and then having had suffered ignorance of people incl In WSPT who didn’t believe in food allergies ( a few anaphylactic shock trips to hospital only occurred because of other people’s ignorance then), when in the 90s RFK spoke up about them more people ‘lost their ignorance’ and I could safely avoid eating foods I was allergic to = no more trips to hospital for anaphylactic shock. so when you criticize his taking the side of too much under tested vax isn’t the only option to point you want to cancel someone who agrees with him … I swear I can see you centuries ago demanding everyone believe the earth is square.
My guess is that many of the neighbors who “ignored and distanced themselves” from the poster are actually very neighborly people whom, under normal circumstances would be quite warm and friendly, but were put off by the poster’s outward political statements. Whenever you wear your politics on your sleeve you should expect that people will disagree, and that those people will not want to engage with you. While rudeness and questioning the poster’s right to be there is unacceptable, it’s a natural reaction for those people to “ignore and distance” themselves from her.
Frankly, that’s probably what I would have done. The kicker for me was when RFK made the inane statement that “Covid-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.”
And therein lies the problem. He never said those words. If you are interested, listen to him – not the media.
Why would you say he never said those words when there is video of him saying those words?
https://nypost.com/2023/07/15/rfk-jr-says-covid-was-ethnically-targeted-to-spare-jews/
This the problem with sound bites and people making inferences without actually listening to the full conversation. His comments are referring to a study of the Cleveland Clinic which found that certain ethnic groups are disproportionately affected by Covid. He didn’t create the study. He didn’t make a judgement for or against the study. He was just referencing it. I do not believe, based on anything he has ever said, that he is anti semitic.
Totally agree with Matt Pincus.
99.99% of Westport voters are not mean or nasty. They are voters there to vote and then go about their daily business. Most don’t stop to talk to the folks out there with posters for either party and are even less likely to engage with someone who is there espousing a national candidate who has taken positions that most might think are outrageous.
I would think anyone would feel empathy knowing the medical back story of this person and her daughter- but 99.9% of voters are not mind readers (including me) and would have no way to know of their medical travails while running to vote.
She was lucky to find one person who, for their own reason, decided to stop and engage.
And let us not be so solicitous that we have to jump to the conclusion that everyone was not being nice to her!
I ignore all the hoopla going on outside. I am there to vote. I say hello to the neighbors and candidates I know- personally!
I’m sorry that the anonymous writer has dealt with serious personal and family health issues. Those kind of experiences are traumatic. And trauma can lead one to embrace unusual beliefs that may superficially soothe those wounds, but may seem outwardly troubling to many of us.
As an avid RFK supporter, I would like to invite everyone to take a fresh look at this candidacy, unencumbered by what you THINK you know about Bobby Kennedy or how he is portrayed in the media. He actually knows 100 times more than those who criticize him. RFK is the author of many books, all cited and sourced with science. His motive is to help those who cannot help themselves. Or is that a threat to some people? The man has been fighting on behalf of the middle class for decades. He is a genuine HERO!!