Anti-vaxx vs. pro-vaccine clashes are definitely raging in the USA, especially after a recent California law being passed. Just this week, California’s governor signed a pro-vaccine bill that would focus on medical exemptions that were previously used by many anti-vaxx parents to avoid having their children vaccinated. During the hearings as well as after the bill was passed, anti-vaxx groups launched multiple protests to challenge the bill, including a candlelight vigil for children who were allegedly harmed or killed by vaccines that were administered against their parents’ wishes. One woman also, reportedly, thew a menstrual cup at the senators from a balcony while shouting, “That’s for the dead babies!” One of the senators, Steve Glazer, later tweeted out a photo of himself sitting at a doctor’s appointment with the caption: “A couple hours of sleep since our Senate adjournment around 3am and I’m at a doctors appointment to follow safety protocols from blood exposure. Still absorbing it all. But as my hat says Relax! Thankful that none of my Senate colleagues appear hurt and we finished our work.”

And while it seems that with the latest reports, the protest has reached the maximum level of crazy, one Twitter user pointed to some questionable antics during the candlelight vigil.

Recently, members of the anti-vaxx movement held a candle-lit vigil for ‘children that have died after being vaccinated’

Image credits: Jordan_Sather_

“It would seem that an antivaxx rally on 9/11 had a candlelight vigil for dead children…and my picture was included,” wrote Ethan J. Lindenberger, next to an image from the vigil with his face circled in red. Not only is Ethan alive and well (and not dead or injured like the anti-vaxx members claimed), he is also a prominent figure in the pro-vaccine movement.

However, upon closer inspection, one man noticed that it featured a photo of him

Image credits: j_lindenberger

After pointing out the weird placement of his photo in such an event, Ethan received attention on Twitter from both sides. Some were quick to joke about how nonsensical it all was, others criticized Ethan and some even tried to ‘prove’ that Lindenberger staged the photo, to which he simply replied that their ‘proof’ was a cropped shot. There were also people who pointed out that the vigil also featured stock images.

Ethan Lindenberger is not only healthy and very much alive, he’s also a pro-vaccine activist

Image credits: j_lindenberger

Lindenberger gained national attention in late 2018 after he asked for help on Reddit where he shared that his mother had strong anti-vaxx beliefs and that he wasn’t vaccinated. He wanted to exercise his right to be vaccinated after starting his own research on vaccines at the age of 13. Lindenberger expressed that his mother rejected vaccination because of unfounded fears about the adverse effects of vaccines. His story quickly garnered attention not only on social media but from politicians as well.

Someone pointed out that the vigil also has a stock image of a baby

Image credits: Philip DeFranco

In response, people had varying reactions, from laughing at the incident to attacking Lindenberger

Image credits: j_lindenberger

Following Ethan’s story, he was invited to attend a US Senate hearing in March 2019 that focused on epidemics of diseases such as measles that could be easily prevented with vaccines but are making a return following the misleading information about vaccines being widely spread. “Approaching the issue with the concern of education and addressing misinformation properly can cause change as it did for me,” he said during the hearing.

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Lindenberger’s mother, of course, did not take her son’s approach kindly, expressing that his choice was “like him spitting on me, saying, ‘You don’t know anything, I don’t trust you with anything’”, however Ethan wanted to stress the sentiment that most of the anti-vaxxers, including his mother, often have good intentions. They’re just horribly misinformed.
Bored Panda has reached out to Ethan Lindenberger for additional comment and he has yet to reply.

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