Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is doing a great job of educating the public

“I want to say this,” Kennedy began.

“We’ve had four measles deaths in this country in 20 years. We have 100,000 autism cases a year. We have 38% of our kids now are diabetic or pre-diabetic. That should be in the headlines,” he said.

*Applause erupted*

“When I was a kid, there were 2 million measles cases a year and none of them got headlines. And we had 400 deaths. We had deaths between 1 in 1,200 and 1 in 10,000. We have so many kids now who are afflicted by chronic disease. And the media never covers them. They only want to cover measles,” he added.

“And what I’ve been saying to people is, let’s pay attention to other illnesses as well—illnesses that are really, really damaging our country, that are existential for our country. We now spend almost a trillion dollars a year on diabetes and metabolic disorder,” Kennedy explained.

Then he drove the point home, contrasting the media’s obsession with measles to its silence on autism.

“By 2035, we’re going to be spending a million dollars a year on autism. Autism in 1970 was 1 in 10,000 Americans. Today, it’s 1 in 31. In California, it’s 1 in every 20 kids—1 in every 12.5 boys,” he said.

“This is what the media ought to be focusing on, and it’s not. And because of that, we don’t have the solutions and we don’t have the cures.”

During that 90-second stretch, the NewsNation panel sat there stunned in silence.

No pushback, no rebuttal.

That’s because they knew Kennedy was dropping undeniable truths.

Do you think the rise in autism cases might be because there is more/better testing which would lead to more cases diagnosed, especially mild ones?

Do you think more/better testing is the sole reason for the dramatic increase in cases? Why would anyone be opposed to getting to the bottom of this?

I am not opposed to getting to the bottom of the rise in cases but I’m just saying the most simple answer is probably the right one

Well, I'm not buying your most simple answer... and the push back from the left to hinder any progress into getting to the bottom of this only enforces that.

It’s mostly push back from people like me who know what it is like to be autistic and don’t think that it’s necessarily a bad thing that needs to be cured(this is just my opinion and other autistic people may disagree with me) So let me ask you this, are you anti-vax or anti-autistic?

Very much especially mild ones.

I worked with Autism in the '80s, before Asperger's became a term, when even most psychiatrists and others in the health field were unfamiliar with the condition, and I assure you what is considered Autistic today has been so broadened and diluted that it's like calling Hanson a Hard Core Punk Rock band.

On top of that, it's become something of a fad, with kids actually utilizing ASD like some sort of street cred. They're taking self diagnosis tests on Facebook and other social media and proudly proclaiming that they're on a spectrum. And other than being overly-sheltered only childs with not as wide a social circle as they wish they had, there is absolutely nothing autistic about the vast majority of them.

Just want to make it clear, I have an official medical diagnosis. Also thank you for working with people like me, you change lives

I wasn't aiming that at you, if it seemed that way. I was actually discussing the subject with someone on here the other night.

I didn't do much, it was just 4 years as a volunteer and two jobs that came out of that - one a summer camp for 3 years, and the other group home for half a year.