RFK Jr. Took His Grandkids for a Dip in a Sewage-Contaminated Creek For Mother’s Day: ‘The National Park Service bans swimming in Rock Creek due to “high levels of bacteria”’

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/rfk-jr-rock-creek

35 comments

  1. As per [original article](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/rfk-jr-rock-creek) 📰:

    – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a lot of curious ideas about how to Make America Healthy Again. Time to add taking illicit swims in bacteria-infested creeks to the list.

    On Sunday, the Department of Health and Human Services secretary posted shirtless photos of himself swimming in Washington D.C.’s Rock Creek with his grandkids for Mother’s Day. It’s a cute enough scene, except, of course for the fact that swimming is banned in Rock Creek because, according to the National Park Service, “Rock Creek has high levels of bacteria and other infectious pathogens that make swimming, wading, and other contact with the water a hazard to human (and pet) health.”

    Oh, that.

    It’s unclear whether Kennedy was aware he was violating park policy or whether he was aware of why that policy exists. HHS didn’t respond to Vanity Fair’s request for comment.

    But Rock Creek’s water quality issues are hardly a secret. One 2021 report found “high E. coli values, indicating sewage pollution,” likely resulting from “antiquated sewers that have long since passed their useful life.” Earlier this month, DC Water announced it would undertake an emergency repair of a major sewer line, putting Rock Creek at even further risk of contamination, after finding a 200-foot-long crack in a section of piping that dates back to the 1800s.

    Of course, if there were absolutely anyone who seemed like they might take the risk of knowingly swimming in sewer water, it’d be hard to come up with a more likely candidate than Kennedy. This is a man who swears by raw milk, who has questioned whether germs cause disease, and who (deep breath for this one) has speculated that he may have been exposed to the parasitic worm that ate part of his brain when he stuck his hand in the bloody mouth of a dead bear before driving with the carcass to Manhattan and abandoning it in Central Park (exhale).

    What, you thought a little poop water would stop this guy from enjoying Mother’s Day?

  2. I ride through the park along the river daily on the way to work. After a rain, you can smell the pollution off the river.

    It’s common sense around here not to swim in rock creek. Many people don’t even let their dogs wade in the creek.

    This was not a smart thing to do and I am completely unsurprised.

  3. This literally makes me nauseous. Where the fuck were their parents? This is child endangerment.

  5. This doesn’t even make the top 100 list of “RFK Jr. does crazy thing” stories.

  6. National Parks Service bans swimming in Rock Creek due to high levels of RFK.

  7. Think of the poor bacteria ,having to be infected with Bobby brainworm 

  9. Someone took that George Carlin bit about swimming in a contaminated Hudson River a little too close to heart lmafo I’m living in MadTV.

  11. Dude probably has to dip himself in sewage to regenerate his powers

  12. Is this how the zombie virus starts? By swimming in Rock Creek?

  13. And folks say heroin enthusiasts with brain worms make bad decisions.

  14. Besides the horrible example being set by a Health and Human Services secretary, If he wants to go swimming in sewage-contaminated (water), that’s one thing. But, to allow his grandchildren to do it? Beyond irresponsible and dangerous! What a jack-ass!!!

  15. Those poor grandkids don’t deserve worm brains from that water. 🙁

  17. One really shitty part of this is when he gets sick from doing crap like this he’ll get medical help for free but still spew out BS after he’s healed up. Meanwhile people who can’t get access to clean drinking water who get sick will probably end up bankrupt to get better.

  18. I don’t want anyone to get sick, but if his grandkids *do* get sick, he should be charged with Child Endangerment.

  19. Please bacteria do the job the worm couldn’t do.

  21. I don’t condone bringing his grandchildren with him, but I encourage him to continue swimming in as many sewage-filled creeks, rivers, bogs and marshes as possible.

  23. When I was a little boy in New York City in the 1940s, we swam in the Hudson River, and it was filled with raw sewage. OK? We swam in raw sewage — you know, to cool off. And at that time, the big fear was polio. Thousands of kids died from polio every year. But you know something? In my neighborhood, no one ever got polio. No one. Ever. You know why? ‘Cause we swam in raw sewage. – George Carlin

  24. My buddys wife went for a dip with her childhood friend when they were younger, and her mother is an RN, she whooped their asses afterwards and told them that if they feel any burning while peeing to let her know asap and she would get them an antibiotic. They both had a burning sensation a day later and got the antibiotics.

  25. It’s kind of a big jump to go from saying people need natural immunity to swimming in shit. I didn’t know people don’t believe cholera is a thing. Of course, it’s not really a thing in a country with modern sewage treatment and plumbing because of the not eating shit part.

    Man doesn’t believe in western medicine. Hell , he doesn’t believe in medicine.

    These positions never again need to be in the hands of a president or anybody for that matter that is not a well regarded expert in a pertinent field is all I can say.

  27. He is a serial contrarian and a know-it-all who is also a conspiracy theorist. The guy shouldn’t be within 100 miles of public health.

  30. To play devil’s advocate, no one ever accused RFK of being a good mother.

  31. …What is with anti vaxxers and their commitment to getting their family members killed?

  32. If he’s willing to serve Trump, swimming in shit is part of the deal.

  33. You know what sucks the most? This probably isn’t going to affect him at all and he’ll think that even more sensible health precautions are bullshit. Because somehow evil dipshits like him are never really affected by the choices they make, at least not in a way that doesn’t become everyone else’s problem too.

  35. This is a guy who doesn’t believe germs are real.

    I hope his grandchildren don’t get sick but if they do, everyone needs to know why.

Comments are closed.