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A Savage Betrayal Of Humanity: Radio Host Michael Savage Says Autistic Kids Aren't Sick..."Just Brats"
by Steve and Ryan Young
I've written for years about the problems I've had with talk radio, and did so, for the most part with tongue tucked firmly in cheek. I've even had my own show in L.A. so In some way, I've been a part of the problem I write about. I do get ticked off, but rarely does anything said on talk radio ever cause me to lose my sense of humor. Until this past Wednesday.
On his syndicated talk radio show, The Savage Nation, Michael Savage (real name: Michael Weiner), the third most listened to talk show host behind Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, and a bomb thrower like no other, called the disorder known as Autism, "a fraud" and "a racket."
He went further.
"I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. 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, idiot."There's so much I wanted to say, not only to pound some actual knowledge into whatever Savage uses for a brain, but also to defend those families who have been besieged by the heartbreak and hardship of living with someone, especially their children, with Autism.
I wondered how Savage might feel if it were his child who was constantly being met with disapproving stares from strangers who recommend that "if your child can't behave maybe you shouldn't take him out in public." And how he might feel if the knew that it is going to happen every single day.
But as I began to write a note to Savage, I realized that it would be more appropriate to have someone who knows full well the devastation felt of not only hearing the diagnosis of your child as autistic, but having to live through the day to day sadness, frustration and pain you feel when it hits you that your child may never have what most would consider a typical life. For that I turned to my son Ryan...
Mr. Savage,My eight year old daughter Rebecca has a diagnosis of Autism.
Autism is a brain development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication, and causes restricted and repetitive behavior. That diagnosis in itself may help define a set of Rebecca's symptoms, but it far from defines who she is any more than insensitive or mean-spirited totally describes you.Rebecca can be sweet, funny, happy, sad, angry, silly, frustrating, irritating, gentle, kind or any number of other adjectives you'd use to describe a typical eight year old, though brat is not one that her doctors have used to describe her. That usually only comes from those ignorant of her condition.
When Rebecca is having a meltdown or dealing with any other upsetting moment in a public place, we are almost always met with judgmental glares from onlookers who are thinking, boy, if that was my child... or who might even say, "If you can't control that child, keep her home!" G-d forbid these people ask if there anything they can do to help you. It's something every parent of an autistic child has had to deal with most every day.
If you don't understand Autism, its very easy to say or think such things. I probably did too before my wife and I had Rebecca, but I never went on a radio show, where millions of people believe I am some sort of authority, to label innocent children as a moron or idiot. That you supposedly hold master's degrees in medical botany and medical anthropology makes your actions even more shameful.
Imagine, Mr Savage, if you lacked the ability to express your feelings, thoughts or needs. Imagine if this were your child. Would you want your child smeared for something they had no control over? Many children with autism lack the capacity to verbalize their feelings instead act them out. This is not how they act like a putz. This is how they communicate.
Being her father, I see Rebecca's many challenges, stressors and unexpected events that challenge her ability to get through each and every day. As parents, her stressful and frustrating moments become OUR stressful and frustrating moments. What loving parent doesn't cheer when their child succeeds or aches when their child is hurt, frustrated or upset?
Because the world challenges Rebecca so incessantly it would be easy to want to keep her home, insulated from the world, protecting her against the whirlwind of circumstances that at once can delight her one moment or upset and anger her the next. But ours is a life built on "that which does not kill you, can only make you stronger." With each challenge Rebecca meets head on, she can learn and grow, hopefully adapting to the world, one step at a time. With each fall that she rises from she learns to walk a little stronger; gains confidence, and actually learns to become the best Rebecca she can be.
What no parent of a special needs child wants is to be pre-judged or isolated and kept in the shadows so that people like you don't have to look at a child with a disability. We want and need support of those around us and hope upon hope that our child be treated with compassion and understanding.
This week, you Mr. Savage, have made that a little harder.
Sincerely,
Rebecca's Proud Dad, Ryan
For more information on Autism, go to: Autism Speaks at www.autismspeaks.org
Ryan Young is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York. His dad is author of "Great Failures of the Extremely Successful...Mistakes, Adversity, Failure and Other Steppingstones to Success" and blogs at steveyoungonpolitics.com
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Mr. Weiner, along with others of that ilk, appear to have learned their 'craft' early on by passing wind in church. They then developed an addiction to the reactions of those around them whenever they did similar things. As they grew, they learned to generate the same reactions through speech rather than action.
I'm not sure who is to blame. The talk show hosts, their listeners, their sponsors and their call-in enablers probably share responsibility.
Right wingnut thugs are simply vermin that infest everywhere they exist with their toxic droppings.
Clearly, you don't understand "compassionate conservatism".
Wherever the rich cry out about some imagined burden, when the already too wealthy plead for another undeserved and unneeded tax cut, the compassionate conservative hears their heart rending cries and takes action.
When Trent Lott lost his house in Katrina, your President personally consoled him. Did so-called liberals like Oprah or Sean Penn reach out to this man whose family had been devastated in a personal tragedy? I can well imagine their profound pain - huddled into a suite at the Willard and forced to eat caviar off soggy room service toast. The sheer horror of it all. The excellent front porch gone - washed away.
Now when it has to do with the little people (in both senses of the word), tough love is in order.
Let them pull themselves up by their bootstraps. And stop the whining!
Well said. Savage tends to use his air time to "whine" about what appears to have been a truamatic and abusive childhood. He appears to be a profoundly damaged man, damaged by something from his childhood and is filled with rage and hatred. My advice to him: quit whining, get over the abuse you suffered as a child, quit blaming your parents and quit fabricating the abuse story. And why is it ok for you to whine three hours a night every night about the abuse you suffered and not ok for a disabled child to get proper treatment.
I have never listened to this guy, but your comment confirms the suspicion I had as I read his "parental" diatribe that he was repeating a mantra that had at one time been addressed to him. What a shame he chooses to perpetuate that cycle of abuse. It's a good bet the listeners who agree with him are doing the same thing.
...and, Mike, come out of the closet, for heavens sake. You're going to explode! It's not the fifties any more.
Was it his childhood that traumatised him or hanging out in San Fran in the center of everything and tunring out to be a talentless idiot? Are his current diatribes attacking the people he met (like Ginsburg) and could not hope to equal?
An uncle of mine was diagnosed late in life with Aspergers syndrome, a form of high functioning autism. Our family had no idea what was wrong; AS was not described until 1944. His doctor thought the symptoms had been brought on by a severe bout of whooping cough at 3 years of age. While my uncle found socialization difficult, he had a warm heart and sincerely cared about people. This is more than I can say for whoever it is that talks at me on the "Michael Savage Show."
Look, I don't know how much you've listened to Savage discuss autism, but I'd listen to more that the cut-and-paste job that MMFA pulls.
Yes, the guy is a bomb-thrower. But if you look past the more inflammitory statements, what Savage is saying is that he belives many children are overdiagnosed with autism that are actually just acting like normal kids. He's suggesting that the reason there is this sudden epidemic of austism is because doctors too readily proscribe medications and attach labels to kids that don't need it.
You have a sweet daughter--at that age I'm sure she acts up in public, and she has problems verbalizing her thoughts, feelings, etc. she's 8 years old! She's allowed to be like that at her age!
I'm not saying your kid isn't autistic, but I am suggesting that maybe some children are being raised with a label that they don't deserve.
If that's what he meant then that's what he should have said. If he doesn't know how to articulate a viewpoint he shouldn't have such a large megaphone to spout his poorly assembled rhetoric. Instead of pissing people off he might actually get more people to see a different idea. But he doesn't care. That's how he gets attention, by pissing people off. Negative attention is still attention. The "man" (I use the term loosely) has an ego problem.
Read it again--- Savage states that 99% of kids diagnosed with autism are actually just brats with a fancy diagnosis.
99%-- that's not exactly "maybe some children". Savage is a pig, and does not deserve to be defended.
Are you auditioning for a position as a "Right-wing spin Meister"?
It may be a "cut and paste" of what was said, but IT WAS SAID, and on the face of it the comments are outrageous, egregious, and outright offensive.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder is the BIBLE when it comes to mental-health diagnosis in the United States. It is not a perfect document, just as the Mental Health profession is not a perfect science at present, but IT IS an erstwhile effort by a profession that is making a major effort to improve our current knowledge of Mental Disorder.
That said; The criteria, set forth in the DSM, that forms the basis for diagnosis, must be utilized and applied by "HUMANS" with all their imperfections. Do some of them get it wrong? Certainly! Do some perhaps get mislead by BIG PHARMA or other interests? Undoubtedly! Is it likely more than a few percent that end up with a "false positive"?
NOT VERY LIKELY!
The question that you should ask is; "Would I rather accept a small percentage of "incorrect diagnosis in the affirmative, resulting in a child being treated who DOES NOT have the disorder" OR "Would I rather have an equal percentage of children who DO HAVE THE DISORDER being subjected to maltreatment as a result of their behavior"?
Which seems worse to you?
Either you're spinning or over intellectualizing. His inflammitory statements are what they are. There is nothing behind them but bile. He's saying that they children aren't mislabeled - whatever age they are he says they deserve a kick in the behind because they are brats - they are worthy not of our understanding and certainly not medical attention. People throw "bombs" to hurt people - not to shine a light of understanding. He's an elf you need to avoid. He's just flat out nasty and makes a good living convincing people like you that there is some higher purpose behind it. Stop making lame excuses for this dude. Turn the dial or you'll grow up to be like him one day.
AND YET, like every outrageous offensive remark this miserable excuse of a human being makes, the stations will continue to carry him because there is no such thing as being offensive if you are a neo con or, republican or just outright conservative. ONLY DEMOCRATS can make offensive remarks.
I too called the station that carries him locally even though I would put a bullet through my toe before listening to that piece of human garbage, and complained.
Nothing will happen. The MSM is more interested in whether or not Obama is wearing a flag pin this week or what Brit is wearing or not wearing under her skirt than the slime that comes out of this offensive creature's mouth. They'd give him a pass anyway.
Michael "Savage" Weiner = Just another republican whiner: Look at me I'm important! I'm on the radio!
Anyone who's heard more than 30 seconds of Savage's show has to realize there's something seriously, seriously wrong with him. There's no point taking offense. He's simply not worth the time.
Bingo!!
The one's I worry about are his FANS!
What an ignorant moran. The sad thing is there is not a cure for what ails this idiot!
"What an ignorant moran."
Nice one, Melissa!!! LOL!
I do not listen to his show. I don't even know where to find it if I wanted to, but I can't stand the 30 second sound bites that leak out. Phew!
Mr. Savage has acted more rudely, and in a more public forum than ANY autistic child ever has.
He should be kept at home and away from the public where he can offend no one.
An elegant solution. It's simple, and it's his.
LOL!
And is it any wonder that a Weiner (pronounced with a long "e" in the original German) takes a name like Savage and says stupid c-rap like this? Not to me.
That is indeed the perfect solution-- well said!
From Webster's Dictionary
Savage
1 a: not domesticated or under human control : untamed b: lacking the restraints normal to civilized human beings : fierce, ferocious
2: wild, uncultivated
3 a: boorish, rude
I sure hope that any parents of an autistic child would not give any credence and get hurt by the rantings of this moron. He has offended many and now autistic children have joined a not too exclusive club.
There is a consistent theme among people like Savage, "Everyone needs a stern father to smack some sense into them. That's how I was raised, and look how good I turned out."
I notice that he said "99% of the cases".
Why did he add that caveat? Because when the backlash hits him, he can say, "I wasn't talking about all cases of autism."
He knows that autism is real. But he and his listeners like living in a simple world. If a child is acting oddly in a restaurant, the simple reaction is to be angry at this out-of-control kid.
Having to recognize that the situation might be more complex than their gut instinct, infuriates the Savages. They don't want to have to think about other people's problems. They don't want to have to think at all.
That's what Savage is telling his listeners. They don't have to think about it. Turn off your empathy, there's nothing to see here.
On a personal note; As someone with autism spectrum disorder, I regret to inform Mr. Savage that having my parents tell me to "Straighten up!" didn't seem to be the miracle cure he claims.
But I am glad that my parents didn't do to me whatever Savage's parents did to him to make him turn out this way.
These lovely children go to bed each night with a brain disorder which causes them to be "socially inept". They will wake up in the morning with the same condition; they have no choice.
Mr. Savage and the others who utter this ignorance have no excuse for their social ineptitude.
Every day scientists look for a cure for autism. Sadly, there is no cure for arrogance and ignorance.
There is a cure for ignorance, education. The deafing silence from the msm when the hate fear merchants spread lies and misinformation is a more frightening phenomena then the existence of the slime that spead the misinformation or the misinformed lonely fools that are their audience.
There is a cure for ignorance, it's called education and experience. Being stupid, that's another issue altogether.
What kind of help would you like to be offered from a stranger in a public place when your child is melting down?
I don't stare and wouldn't allow my daughter to do so, but it wouldn't occur to me that help was welcome. We just pretend it isn't happening, and if the parent catches my eye, I smile to let them know not everyone is cursing them under their breath, but I never would've thought any actual help would be received well. That seems so intrusive. So, seriously.
Savage is just saying what most right-wing repugs think. Don't disregard him. Listen to him. He's the one voice of the right-wing hatemongers who is willing to give voice to the hatred he feels for both America and Americans.
Listen to him. He's not alone. Most repugs think the very same thing. That's why they're dangerous. That's why they have to be politically crushed in November -- once and for all.
I used to listen to Savage on late night radio. He is intelligent and consistent. I dont actually know anything about pathologies, so I'll just say that Savage is twisted. And not in a good way. I agree with you completely. People should listen to him. Savage is ugly, but he is authentic.
I don't want to listen to Michael Savage. Not for one minute...n
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