Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Pure Ignorance!

I pulled this from the internet on an Autism blog by Lisa Jo Rudy. I'm not sure if some of you have already heard these ridiculous comments made by Denis Leary or not. It's been all over the internet and on the entertainment TV circuit. It's amazing that in this time, someone can still be so ignorant. He's right up there with DJ Michael Savage.

A few months ago, shock jock radio host Michael Savage received an extraordinary amount of publicity by calling out autism dads:

"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.' "True, Savage lost some advertisers, but as the credit card ads say - "ads? $5,000. publicity all over the net and on primetime TV? priceless!"

Now, Denis Leary is tapping the same keg - and while I had hoped to avoid blogging on the subject, I was surprised this morning by seeing mention of Leary's ridiculous rants front and center on - AOL! AOL is nothing if not mainstream, so it seems that Mr. Leary has already succeeded in making a nickel off the backs of frustrated autism parents. Here's what he has to say (through the eyes of the Huffington Post):

In his new book, "Why We Suck: A Feel-Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid," the joke-slinging "Rescue Me" star writes about the brain disorder: "There is a huge boom in autism right now because inattentive mothers and competitive dads want an explanation for why their dumb-ass kids can't compete academically, so they throw money into the happy laps of shrinks . . . to get back diagnoses that help explain away the deficiencies of their junior morons. I don't give a [bleep] what these crackerjack whack jobs tell you - yer kid is NOT autistic. He's just stupid. Or lazy. Or both."

Autism Speaks has already run a response, which seems to me to be measured and appropriate:

We are deeply disappointed that television personality Denis Leary would misuse his celebrity, compromise his reputation, and exploit the real challenges of individuals with autism in making his recent extremely disrespectful and hurtful comments. His words reflect a complete ignorance of and lack of sensitivity to the true plight of families facing autism. Autism is not a joke. It is very real, especially to the families and caregivers whose lives are forever changed when their loved one receives an autism diagnosis. Autism is recognized globally as an urgent healthcare crisis. Unfortunately, in a country built on the tenets of freedom of speech, sometimes people with access to the media are able to spread harmful mistruths. ...Of course, this measured response isn't what Leary's looking for. By directly insulting US, the autism moms and dads, and suggesting that our kids are, in fact, lazy and stupid, he's appealing to our lowest instincts. What he wants is a good, solid, knock down drag out fight. Preferably in front of plenty of TV cameras, face to face with Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey - so the story will be presented front and center on every TV station in America.
What worries me is this: Denis Leary may get precisely what he wants.


Just wanted to share this story to let all of you know how ignorant people can be. It's amazing!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, pure ignorance!

Never mind the jerks who just spew their derogatory opinions without checking facts or having an experience close to their own homes & hearts.

And you know what they say about opinions...they're like a-holes, everybody has one.

Hold your heads up! ~Dar

Anonymous said...

Yes, I did read his comments on the internet,"pure rubbish" is not worth mentioning. With that said, don't think for a second I wouldn't put my foot up his %#@ if I had the chance.
Nonna

Anonymous said...

It's unfortunate that there are so many ignorant people in this world. All you can do is to continue to educate people, and to hell with those people that can't get their heads out of their rear ends!

Be proud of yourselves for sharing your personal story with Carson and bringing awareness to many people, including myself. I've learned alot from reading your blog over the last several months, and I'm sure their are others that you have touched. You have done alot for Carson, and can see him continue to improve as the days go on. Keep up the fight!

Amy

Our Journey To Eden said...

I can't even think of the right words to respond to this. I just pray that their lives are NEVER touched by autism. God forbid any autistic child ever have that kind of person in their life.

They probably also believed that cigarettes didn't cause cancer and that mental illness can be cured with vitamins.

Who are these idiots????