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In Margaret Heffernan's book, Willful Blindness, she states that people are willfully blind when they "deny uncomfortable truths that cry out for acknowledgement, debate, action, and change."
She goes on to say:
"Many, perhaps even most, of the greatest crimes have been committed not in the dark, hidden where no one could see them, but in full view of so many people who simply chose not to look and not to question."
She devotes each chapter to astonishing examples.
"Many, perhaps even most, of the greatest crimes have been committed not in the dark, hidden where no one could see them, but in full view of so many people who simply chose not to look and not to question."
She devotes each chapter to astonishing examples.
One is the story of Dr Alice Stewart, who, in the 1950s, discovered the link between obstetric x-rays and childhood leukemia. Her research concluded that a fetus exposed to even the tiniest dose of radiation was twice as likely to develop childhood cancer.
It is estimated that one child a week was dying as a result.
Nevertheless, despite her findings being clear, and the data voluminous, doctors continued to x-ray pregnant women for a further twenty-five years! The practice was finally abandoned in 1980.
Why, you might ask?
Nevertheless, despite her findings being clear, and the data voluminous, doctors continued to x-ray pregnant women for a further twenty-five years! The practice was finally abandoned in 1980.
Why, you might ask?
Because doctors refused to believe it was true. They refused to believe that they were not only not helping, but also killing children with their beloved x-ray machines. Enthusiasm for radiology was enormous at the time. Shoe shops even x-rayed feet to get the perfect fit.
This new, fashionable piece of technology simply couldn't be harmful, let alone deadly
A fellow epidemiologist, Richard Doll, rushed out a paper refuting Stewart's, & because it was what everyone wanted to hear, Doll's findings were widely accepted, and children continued to die
A fellow epidemiologist, Richard Doll, rushed out a paper refuting Stewart's, & because it was what everyone wanted to hear, Doll's findings were widely accepted, and children continued to die
Another striking example is that of the town of Libby, Montana, where residents refused to believe that the vermiculite mine, and the asbestos dust that accompanied it, was responsible for the early deaths of the town's people.
Residents angrily asked the whistleblower to stop meddling, stating that if it were harmful, doctors would have told them so.
When the tragedy eventually came to light, it was discovered that the town had an asbestosis death rate 80 times that of the rest of the US.
When the tragedy eventually came to light, it was discovered that the town had an asbestosis death rate 80 times that of the rest of the US.
A future edition of this book will likely contain a chapter about the willful blindness of doctors & politicians with regards to the issue of transing children, and future readers will be as aghast as I was with these examples, asking: how could they possibly have been so blind?
How could they have ignored all the physicians who raised concerns? How could they have ignored the ever-increasing no. of detransitioners? How could they have ignored the long-term effects of the drugs? How could they have ignored the harm they were doing to vulnerable children?
How could they have ignored all the parents who knew it wasn't the right thing for their children? How could they have ignored all the people who tirelessly fought to put a stop to it?
How could they have thought themselves on the right side of history?
How could they have thought themselves on the right side of history?
