Why does celebrities do this?
I wish I knew of a better way to write to Amanda directly, but who knows, maybe this post will make it's way to her ears directly or indirectly.
What an astonishing, bold, and ignorant statement to make towards the very people who SUPPORT the whole reason you have millions upon millions of dollars! It's not wise to insult the parenting population. Just because you demonstrated the ability to give birth to another human being, by no means, makes you an expert at parenting. People make their PERSONAL decisions because this country gave them that very right to do so. If you, Amanda Peet, disagree with the RIGHT that American parents have and exercise freely to decide against giving their children vaccinations, then perhaps you need to be whining to the government.
What you obviously didn't research before opening your mouth, which happens to carry an echo considering you are a celebrity that gets media coverage, is that there are children who DIE or are crippled from some vaccines.
I, myself, chose to vaccinate my children, but it sure as hell didn't come from the pressure of being judged by someone like yourself. It come from my own personal decision to do so, because I felt it was OK for my children. My cousin, Kelly, thought the same thing as me, and it's been medically PROVEN that the shot vaccinating against MMR for my younger cousin, Sean, is what caused him to become autistic. How dare you insult my friends, family, and fellow Americans for their free rights and choices. You might reserve the right to have your opinion, but when your opinion is taken with media coverage, newspapers, and internet - you're opinion obviously doesn't carry the same weight that the rest of the human population's opinions carry. You have a responsibility to speak CAREFULLY, or risk being seen for a very close minded, uncaring, ignorant human being.
Being a celebrity doesn't mean you get to disrespect the rest of the world no more than being a cop means you get to randomly shoot at anyone who ticks you off. With positions of power comes a great deal of responsibility, which I am seeing for the first time from your uninformed comment otherwise sinking to name calling, is not a skill you carry with finesse.
Remember, no one forces you to quit your job because the media attention you get is bad for your child, therefore showing you to be a neglectful parent. People may very well carry this opinion, but saying so in public certainly holds a small chance of reaching MILLIONS of ears just to insult you. You have your rights as a mother, an American, and a human being to raise your child in the environment and in the ways you see fit within the legal boundaries you are given. Why is anyone else bad for doing just as you do with the rights they have within their reach? You don't have to agree, but you don't have to insult others for their choices either. Parents don't demonstrate maturity through name calling. Your daughter will one day see your words which are marked down in history now. Hopefully she will be ashamed of her Mother being so hateful to the rest of the world.
Educate yourself, Mrs. Peet before you open your mouth to insert your foot and insult the parenting population. Did you know this? "It doesn't take a genius to do the calculations when on their day of birth children are given the hepatitis B vaccine, which is 12.5 micrograms of mercury," Geier told Insight magazine. "The average newborn weighs between six and seven pounds, so they would be allowed 0.3 micrograms of mercury but in this one shot they are getting 12.5 micrograms. That's 39 times more than allowed by law."
Incase you did not know, mercury is poisonous and kills humans if they ingest it in a large enough quantity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_poisoning
Here's a few links for you to review. This is what happened to the parents who decided to not be your opinionated "parasite".
http://www.vaccinationnews.org/DailyNews/October2002/PublicHealth12.htm
http://www.rense.com/general57/ddee.htm
http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Health/2007/6/56136/
http://www.hindu.com/2008/07/04/stories/2008070458870800.htm
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.kids/browse_thread/thread/2d31fee62da1fece
http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2005/10/new-jersey-baby-dies-after-being.html
http://www.metafilter.com/69700/Settlement-in-case-of-child-who-developed-autistic-symptoms-after-being-vaccinated
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2007/06/703336/
http://vaccineawakening.blogspot.com/2008/07/hpv-vaccine-victims-pile-up-15b-for.html
http://www.jenjensfamily.blogspot.com/
http://parenting.amuchbetterway.com/sids-sertonin-vaccines/