A Special Place in Hell for Andrew Wakefield

This is so sad and tragic. This jackasaurus Wakefield has caused tens of thousands of parents (who were well-meaning but ultimately emotional and silly) to take up a crusade to spare other would-be parents their anguish. What's worse is that many of these parents of autistic children will never give up their now fervent belief in the link between vaccines and autism, they are too invested emotionally. The result will be many additional years of misplaced anger, effort, worry, pain and anguish. Wakefield and the lawyers he was in cahoots with are the essence of evil. They didn't murder and pillage, but the human suffering they caused is on the same level. They gave false hope and false confidence to a vulnerable and anguished group numbering in the tens of thousands, enlisting them in nothing more than a shakedown scheme. There is a special place in hell for the Wakefields of the world.

This is also a lesson in the cold reality that scientists are human too, just like the rest of us. Their training doesn't eliminate the cupidity, stupidity, and sundry flavors of vileness that humans are often capable of.