Savage attack on autistic families

Political shock jock Michael Savage is not going to be getting a Christmas card from me, that's for sure.

While I understand that Savage earns his bread and butter with scathing commentary on politicians and entertainers, I am really sickened by his latest target. Autistic kids, who he feels are all "brats" who have not been told to "quit acting like idiots." He also claimed autism was a "fraud." I find myself feeling ashamed of him. Its a bit like watching the biggest kid in the school pick on the smallest kindergartener. The big man with a radio show picking on the non-verbal children. I find myself recoiling in disgust. Targeting adults, especially those in powerful positions, and even more especially those who abuse that trust...I can live with that. But targeting children? Disabled children, many of whom have no voice with which to defend themselves? Unconcionable.

SAVAGE: Now, you want me to tell you my opinion on autism, since I’m not talking about autism? A fraud, a racket. For a long while, we were hearing that every minority child had asthma. Why did they sudden ⎯ why was there an asthma epidemic amongst minority children? Because I’ll tell you why: The children got extra welfare if they were disabled, and they got extra help in school. It was a money racket. Everyone went in and was told [fake cough], “When the nurse looks at you, you go [fake cough], ‘I don’t know, the dust got me.’ ” See, everyone had asthma from the minority community. That was number one.
Now, the illness du jour is autism. You know what autism is? 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.”
Autism ⎯ everybody has an illness. If I behaved like a fool, my father called me a fool. And he said to me, “Don’t behave like a fool.” The worst thing he said ⎯ “Don't behave like a fool. Don’t be anybody’s dummy. Don’t sound like an idiot. Don’t act like a girl. Don’t cry.” That’s what I was raised with. That's what you should raise your children with. Stop with the sensitivity training. You’re turning your son into a girl, and you’re turning your nation into a nation of losers and beaten men. That’s why we have the politicians we have.

Huh, so is he saying McKay perpetrated this fraud? Goodness, I am glad to know this. He is not only not disabled, he is a genius. He had this all figured out by about 20 months. Now THAT is cunning. We'd all best be on our guard. He's poised to be a supervillian for sure.

Or is he implying that Darwin and I choose to fake the autism to cover our bad parenting or for money? Well, autism has certainly lined our pockets. Our insurance company won't touch anything to do with autism. We get no government money. We DO pay quite a lot for meager therapies however. Yes, autism is a cash cow that everyone can't wait to get in on.

Maybe we do it because we LIKE the stares in the supermarket when McKay starts flapping? We like the stress of wondering where McKay has wandered off to? We like dealing with all the unsolicited parenting advice? Maybe we are all waiting with baited breath for OUR turn to be kicked off of a plane, have OUR child voted out of their classroom, or dragged from a restaurant by the police? (For the record, all of those have happened to autistic families in the last few months.) Maybe it is because we all love wondering what the future holds for our child, and worrying about it when we consider most of the options.

It's so upsetting that even after countless advocates have tried to edcuated the aparantly uninformed Mr. Savage, he continues to stand by his statements. How sad to reduce a whole group of children to the catagory "Brats." In reality, these are some of the most inspiring kids anyone can meet. Due to differences in their brain make-up, even things like lights, sounds, and movements can be overwheling and painful. Language doesn't come naturally, nor does understanding and decoding social cues. So these kids are behind the eight ball to even begin to interact, but many, like Michael and McKay, struggle everyday to do so, even though most people expect Michael and McKay to make all the concessions. There are some who will come halfway and a very few who go even further and reach their hand out. But Michael and McKay keep trying, even when it is painful, confusing, or upsetting.

But now, thanks to the efforts of Michael Savage, it is just that much harder on families who are already overburdened with difficulties. There WILL be people who will latch on to this idea. Like the notion of "refrigerator mothers" of the past causing the autism of their children, it is now the "passive parent" who allows their child to be a "brat." I guess we ought to keep the autistic kids locked away in the house and never allow them in public.

I am eagerly awaiting his follow-ups to this piece. May I suggest, "Indviduals with Parkinson's: Sit still, dummy", or maybe, "Children with Downs: Wipe that look off your face and stop acting like an idiot." Yep, I think Mr. Savage has a surefire way to deal with disabilities. Let's abuse them and berate them, and magically disabilities will disappear. How sad that he can't embrace the differences and see what these "out-of-the-box thinkers" bring to the table. Someone really ought to have smacked Einstein and Thomas Edison and made them act more normal. Obviously, Bill Gates (a suspected Aspie) is an idiot. History is replete with exceptional individuals suspected of being on the autistic spectrum. We should have locked them all away with a good slap.

One thing we truly believe and often tell curious children who ask about McKay is that Jesus sent McKay here to teach people how to be nice. Sadly, Michael Savage has not gotten the memo on that lesson.