Sent via email on Tuesday.
Dear Mr. Savage:
Media reports have disclosed the comments you made last week regarding your belief that, amongst other things, autism is not a real medical condition, but a “fraud.” A story carried by the AP [Monday] night seemed to indicate that you were backing off a bit from your position, claiming “hyperbole,” but that you were basically “standing by” your overall message.
I would like to tell you that I believe that you should be fired for these remarks.
I am the uncle of a niece with autism. I have known my neighbor’s son all of his life: he was diagnosed with autism when he was three. I am a public school teacher who works with mainstreamed autistic kids every day. My education and experiences tell me that autism is a real medical condition. Informed people already know this is the case. If you knew more about the subject, you would know that what you said last week was a lie. The belief that bad parenting is the cause of autistic symptoms was dispelled as mythology decades ago.
Your mean-spirited and ill-informed remarks have caused real hurt to autistic children and their families. As someone who has a great influence on American public opinion (sad to say), you have given your listeners a pack of bogus information and passed it along as fact. This redoubles the impact of the damage you have done, because your listeners will take what you say at face value, perhaps repeat it, and will not seek out the truth.
It’s bad enough that over the years, you have used your radio soapbox to insult gay and lesbian Americans, Muslims, and others whom you hate. Most of those folks are adults, however, and will figure out how to deal with the hurt you’ve caused them. But when you attack defenseless children, kids whose lives are already a daily struggle for respect and acceptance, you go too far.
I have contacted your bosses at Talk Radio Network, and I am compiling a list of sponsors who support your radio show. I’m hoping that, unless you retract your statements and provide equal time for a real expert on the subject to come on your show and tell your audience the truth, like-minded folks will get together with me and try to get you off the air, once and for all.
If you think this is politically-correct extortion, that’s okay. It’s also what I believe is the right thing to do. It’s one thing to be ignorant, because you don’t know any better. You do know better, and yet you choose to be stupid, and to spread your stupidity in a way that hurts kids. That’s disgraceful. Have you no shame?
We’ll find out.
Namaste.
QuakerDave
Filed under: Activism, Autism, Bootlicking Corporate Media, General outrage, Human rights, Ranting & raving, Shameless agitating, Testimony of equality, Tolerance & diversity
This surprises me not in the least.
you are a better person than i am dave. i will just tell mr. savage to go “cheney” himself!
Michael Savage represents a very marginalized viewpoint: Americans know that autism is not caused by “cold” or “distant” mothers. It is sad that such a outmoded idea is peddled as “the truth.”
The existence of Savage in the media is a symptom of our lost democracy and a very real despotic tendency that has taken hold of this country since the Nixon era.
I hope that Savage (his real name is Michael Weiner, nothing very “savage” about that) does get fired. He is a mentally unstable maniac who, somehow, is allowed to spew his ignorance across the American airwaves.
There is an on-line petition to have him fired:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/486739008?z00m=15830668&s_kwcid=michael%20savage|1477600410
The number at the end of the link above is supposed to be part of the link.
It worked. Signed.
Michael “savage” weiner is sleazy. His son even defaced his own political campaign billboard to make it seem like anti-semites defaced it. It turned out he did it himslef for media buzz! The apple doesnt fall far from the tree!