A long time ago, a bored group of housewives came up with stupid theories about why some people are different from others or why people get certain disorders.
Somehow, they managed to spread their crazy ideas into society, and now humanity believes the stupidest things for no reason.
The time for people to base their decisions on urban myths is over. As the younger generation, we must push aside these beliefs to make way for what society should really strive to achieve: Acceptance of every and all types of people.
An example of an urban myth affecting our society is the made up connection between vaccines and autism.
Celebrities like Jenny McCarthy and Kristin Cavallari speak out about their fear to get their children vaccinated because of their belief that the urban myth is true.
As the lead researcher of autism, geneticist Wendy Chung addressed the urban myth during her TED talk in Vancouver on Wednesday.
Chung said that while there is still little known about the “spectrum of disorders” that comprise autism, one thing is certain: autism and vaccines have no relationship.
Yes, this urban myth had been corroborated by a medical study, but it was revealed to be a fraudulent study and the researcher in charge lost their medical license.
In some individuals, Chung says, autism is genetic.
This means that until scientists figure out a way to change our genetic makeup, there is nothing we can do to prevent the disorder.
Instead of focusing on ways we can prevent the disease, we as non-scientists must focus on learning how to communicate and advocate for people with autism, rather than making their lives harder by not protecting them from easily preventable diseases.
The way to fix the problems caused by these antiquated beliefs is to let go of the beliefs all together.
When a school in North Carolina banned a 9-year-old boy from carrying a My Little Pony backpack, national news channels and social media outlets exploded.
This piece of news is linked to the issue of bullying-prevention in American schools.
Grayson Bruce received national media attention after his school, in an effort to prevent bullying, banned him from wearing his backpack to school.
This piece of news outraged people from all over the country, simply for the fact that Bruce was, in a way, being punished for being himself.
The belief that people have to conform to an oppressive society to keep them from being harassed is not helping the cause.
Children are mean to one another, but it’s not because that’s how things should be. Children are taught to act a certain way and to punish individuality and what others might consider unusual.
The way to stop this will never be by banning someone from living their truth, no matter how much society wants it to be. Which is why, following the general public’s outrage, the school lifted Bruce’s ban.
It is our responsibility, as the generation about to take over, to let go of society’s urban myths.
Teaching the generation that comes after us to rely on facts more than assumptions and to accept people for who they are rather than who we think they should be will make the world a better place for all people to coexist in.
It may be too late for us to learn these things, but we have the power to change it for the generations to come, and it is our job to do it.