A Famous Radio talk show host recently decided he'd take out his "suppressed" [?} or is it "depressed" feeling in a direction that is not only unwarranted, but unjust. Many are calling for his head; well, that may not be a bad idea, it's not my place to distribute the "gas chamber," "electric chair," or "Cross of the Romans," to anyone; there's someone else, I believe, who deals w/ the area of life and death, and he's not me.But back to this "Savage" man: he should be fired immediately by any and all stations that have anything to do w/ him. If they don't fire him, we should just ignore, not only his program, but the stations that allow him to speak. I think there is a place in our society for such people: Insane Asylums. While "Savage" may be savage indeed (!), his statement on percentages is a bit off. He claims that 99% of children w/ autism are brats; whatever, MIKE, my position is that 110% of his being is a brat, that is, a selfish-(and mindless) fool. Please, in the name of anything that is holy, ignore this man and see the folly of his way demonstrated when he acts as follows: as a "brat," as a "moron," as a "putz," as klutz (I made that one up!).Below is a cut and paste job that I performed on an article from 'aol' (?). Please read and respond, not to me, but to this man.From the mouth of a "Cars" character I like 360% and E. Harris, the great Lightning McQueen: "Kachow!!!"LGMIIIRadio talk show host Michael Savage, who described 99 percent of children with autism as brats, said Monday he was trying to "boldly awaken" parents to his view that many people are being wrongly diagnosed.
99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out," Savage said on his radio program last Wednesday.
Savage offered
no apology in a message posted Monday on his Web site. He said greedy doctors and drug companies were creating a "national panic" by overdiagnosing autism, a mental disorder that inhibits a person's ability to communicate.
On his radio show last week, he said: "What do you mean
they scream and
they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, `Don't act like
a moron. You'll get
nowhere in life. Stop acting like a
putz. Straighten up. Act like
a man. Don't sit there
crying and screaming,
you idiot.'"
The government estimates about 1 in 150 children have some form of autism. But
many experts believe these unsociable behaviors were just about as common 30 or 40 years ago and that the increase is mostly caused by a surge in special education services and a corresponding shift in diagnoses.
[Some woman named] Fournier called Savage's comments "way, way, way over the line and cruel."
"I'm hoping to make him
see the reality of what these kids are facing," she said. "
You can't fix it by telling a kid to shut up. It's like telling a kid with cancer to stop being sick."
Evelyn Ain, whose 8-year-old son has been diagnosed with autism, said she had never heard of Savage and couldn't believe what she had heard when she first listened to the remarks. She organized a demonstration Monday outside New York's WOR-AM, which broadcasts Savage.
"That isn't just freedom of speech, it is hateful speech when you say 99 percent of children with autism are brats," she said. "I'll tell you, I wish I had a brat."
Savage, with more than 8 million listeners a week, is talk radio's
third most popular personality behind
Rush Limbaugh and
Sean Hannity, according to Talkers magazine. He's made a living off
bold, outrageous statements: His brief
MSNBC show was canceled after he told a caller he should "get
AIDS and die, you pig."
Peter Bell, executive vice president of national advocacy group Autism Speaks, said Savage's remarks, effectively blaming parents, reflect an outdated point of view.
"He's an entertainer, he does these things
for attention," Bell said. "I think we should, to
the best we can, ignore it."