Michael Savage

[DustinJolley]

In my opinion, this guy just makes Conservatives look bad.

 

[tshadowchaser]

Having worked with more than a few kids and adults with Autism, I can say that it is way beyond someone just being a brat. Understanding and guidance are what is needed not being “slapped” by cruel words

 

[DustinJolley]

Nobody could say that better. I wish that Austism was just an act, but it isn't "Dr." Savage doesn't seem to understand that.

 

[DavidCC]

We all agree

no we don't

 

[jkembry]

Overall...I kind of feel sad about the whole comment. Evidently he hasn't take the time to meet with some of these 'brats' to get to know them....perhaps if he did, he would think differently.

 

[shesulsa]

Michael Savage's controversial remarks about autistic children have gotten him booted off Cleveland's airwaves.


WHK AM/1420, the only Cleveland-area station carrying Savage's radio talk show, is break ing its contract with Savage's syndicator, Talk Radio Net work, said Mark Jaycox, who manages the Cleveland stations under the Salem Com munications corporate um brella. WHK is owned by Cali fornia-based Sa lem Communi cations.


"This guy's a knucklehead, and I want to get rid of him," Jaycox said.

Source Article

A group of seven Mississippi talk radio stations owned by Telesouth Communications has dropped Michael Savage’s nationally syndicated radio program over comments the host made last week suggesting that nearly every child with autism was “a brat” of inattentive parents. “Michael Savage’s comments about autistic children were beyond inexcusable and are unacceptable,” the station group said in a statement posted Tuesday on its Web site, supertalkms.com.

Source Article

And another example of Savage's REAL opinion of autism:


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So while he still points to defrauding the government by using false diagnosis, he repeatedly states what he really thinks of the autism epidemic and what autism is.

 

[Kacey]

Attention all users

The two threads dealing with this topic have been merged into one thread, so that all interested in discussing it can see everyone's opinions.

Karen Cohn
MT Senior Moderator

 

[DustinJolley]

Savage doesn't only make Conservatives look bad, but he also looks all Americans look like stupid fools.

 

[Kacey]

From ABC News:

Several big advertisers have pulled their commercials from the syndicated "Savage Nation" radio show, and now, thousands of parents and protesters are urging Savage to step down, calling his words "hate speech."
...
"We are here to call for the firing of Michael Savage. For his truly hurtful, outrageous and inaccurate statements," said one protester.
And the backlash didn't stop there. Sponsors of Savage's radio show, such as AFLAC Insurance and Home Depot, have pulled their advertisements. Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus gave $25 million for the creation of Autism Speaks, in 2005, and sits on the group's board of directors.

 

[DavidCC]

Savage doesn't only make Conservatives look bad, but he also looks all Americans look like stupid fools.

I don't think conservatives nor Americans in general need any help with that.

But in whose eyes do you mean? I think there are people in other countries who think we look pretty stupid for bankrupting our nation to support dead beats and drug addicts and illegal aliens. Do you care about THEIR opinion too?

While Savage may have hurt some people's feelings, he has drawn a lot attention to the "cause" of autism - you can't buy this kind of publicity. People who 2 weeks ago had never heard the phrase "autism spectrum" are now all up in arms over how autistics are treated. Isn't that in the long run a good thing, despite the fact that some parents felt bad?

Who wants to bet that the bank accounts of autisim organizations around the country are gowing like they've never seen before?? they should be thanking him, they are benefitting from his remarks in very direct ways. Savage is suffering for what he said, autism groups are benefitting from it. He did them a favor. Who was really, concretely DAMAGED by what he said (having you feelings hurt is not being damaged)(losing revenue is).

Sometimes people amaze me with their lack of insight and real-world analysis.

Savage is a professional a-hole, he did his job and the autism community is benefitting from it.

 

[Marginal]

Savage is a professional a-hole, he did his job and the autism community is benefitting from it.

He's practically Jesus. You're right.

 

[Ninjamom]

....While Savage may have hurt some people's feelings, he has drawn a lot attention to the "cause" of autism

.... he has drawn attention.... you mean by claiming it's a fraud and 99% of the cases are deadbeats trying to get government money? Oh, yeah, implying that government funding for research and treatment of autism is a waste and that no special classes, teacher training, or accomodation etc. is needed, that helps autistic kids a lot.

Sometimes people amaze me with their lack of insight and real-world analysis.

The implicit irony requires no further comment.

 

[Tames D]

DavidCC,

Let's try an experiment. Let's badmouth your organization and declare it a fraud. I wonder how much you'd benefit?

 

[DavidCC]

DavidCC,

Let's try an experiment. Let's badmouth your organization and declare it a fraud. I wonder how much you'd benefit?

try doing some research over at *********, you are way late LOL. of course we just left that organization last week, so, too late twice.

but, ignoring you irrelevant comparison ...

do you agree that he has casued a lot of attention to be paid to autism and the organizations that support the families of autistic people?

Do you agree that they are benefitting from all this attention in the media and in the general public?

Have you heard ANY public official trying to wean autisim support organizations off the public teat in response to Savage?

Have you heard any donors come out in support of Savage and stop contributing to the cause of autism research and support?

How exactly has he damaged the autisim support industry?

Like I said, feelings were hurt - but try to look beyond that just for a second. He has single-handedly created a HUGE storm of media attention and public support.

 

[Kacey]

Like I said, feelings were hurt - but try to look beyond that just for a second. He has single-handedly created a HUGE storm of media attention and public support.

Yes, he has created a huge storm of media attention...and he has also reinforced every single person who thinks that autism is the result of poor parenting, and can be fixed easily, quickly, and above all, cheaply. If only that were true - but it's not.

 

[DavidCC]

Yes, he has created a huge storm of media attention...and he has also reinforced every single person who thinks that autism is the result of poor parenting, and can be fixed easily, quickly, and above all, cheaply. If only that were true - but it's not.

Do you think that is a large number of people?
Do you really care what those morons think?

 

[DavidCC]

if anyone reading this thread is interested, there is web page available that links to multiple audio clips that expand on Savage's opinions on autism and in general the medication and treatment of children. it also includes a long statement from the parent company that syndicates his broadcast.

If a short clip disseminated by group that has tried to get Savage removed from the air since long before last week is enough for you, and your mind is closed to any other possibilities, then don't go to this page (even though you are the ones who need it most). If you are interested in getting more perspective on the issue, then go to http://www.savageonautism.com/

In the context of his broader concerns, it is clear that Dr. Savage's comments were intended to suggest his opinion that, in the vast majority of cases, most children throwing tantrums, or refusing to communicate, are not autistic. Unfortunately, by condensing his multifaceted concerns into 84 seconds of commentary, the necessary context for his remarks was not apparent, and the few words he used to express his concerns were, in this instance, inartfully phrased.

As a result, Dr. Savage's comments did facially appear to be directed at children who suffer from autism, and clearly could be perceived as such. This has, in turn, caused understandable pain and distress to those who have a child or family member who is challenged by autism. This was not Dr. Savage's intent, and, on behalf of the Network and all persons associated with the Network, we wish to note that our hearts go out to all families who are forced to face the realities of autism every day of their lives, and to sincerely apologize to these families for any increase in these burdens resulting from inartful commentary appearing in the Network's programming.
...
Mark Masters, the Network's CEO, notes that:
"I have known Michael Savage for nine years now. Over those nine years, we have had occasion to disagree on many issues. However, I have always respected Michael as a man of conviction, and I have noticed throughout our relationship that he has always been passionate and intense in his opposition to persons who he perceived to be disrespectful of persons dealing with special challenges.

I once asked him about his passion in this area, and he noted that it was because he had a brother who was disabled, but that he did not want to discuss it. Michael never shared any particulars on this with me until he shared with his audience on Monday that his brother never spoke during his lifetime, was institutionalized at 5 or 6 years old, and died in that institution in his 20's.

My observations of Michael's consistent opposition to what he viewed as abuse or disrespect of persons dealing with special challenges, and of his interest in children, as well as his 1982 book, Healing Children Naturally, are completely inconsistent with Michael attacking children who are truly autistic. In contrast, his belief that misdiagnosing children as autistic will damage those children who are misdiagnosed and stigmatize them for life, his aversion to what he sees as improper medication of young children, and subjecting them to a lifetime of chemical straight jackets, and his recent sharing of his belief that the medical profession failed to properly care for his brother prior to his brother's death, do explain his passion in challenging what he sees as improper efforts by some in the health care industry to brand and treat as autistic persons who are not."
...
The purpose of talk radio is to raise the level of public discourse by introducing commentary on controversial issues. If the Network were to require hosts to refrain from stating views which others disagree with, or discipline hosts for holding unpopular views, its hosts would be intimidated from exercising their freedom of expression. Should this ever become the standard for talk radio, the interchange of ideas and debate which is the lifeblood of talk radio would be destroyed, and the freedom of expression which is a hallmark of American democracy would be eroded.
...
The Network is particularly concerned with respect to efforts to remove Dr. Savage from the airwaves by persons or organizations who disagree with his political views. In the case of the underlying July 16th autism clip comments now in issue, the Network must be cognizant of the fact that the initiation of a campaign to remove Dr. Savage from the air for those comments was instigated by Media Matters, an organization which regularly tapes broadcasts of The Michael Savage Show for the purpose of finding sound bites which could be used in an effort to remove him from the airwaves, for their own political ends.

In this case, the Network does believe that there has been an effort by Media Matters to take advantage of an inartful lapse on the part of Dr. Savage in failing to supply full context, caveats and explanations in the 84 seconds of comments at issue. While the Network and Dr. Savage regret any pain to families of autistic children as a result of inartfully phrased comments intended to enhance the welfare of children, it does appear to the Network that Media Matters and others now seek to cynically exploit this particular sound bite, out of context, to harness the pain of parents with truly autistic children, for their own self-serving agenda, in a broader political effort to remove a voice they politically disagree with from the airwaves.
...
For those who believe that the 84 seconds cited by Media Matters defines Michael Savage's views on autism, the Network recommends going to (or clicking) http://www.savageonautism.com/ to view a representative sampling of Dr. Savage's views, as well as the applicable issues, in true context.

 

[DavidCC]

You don't pop a pill for autism. The connection to big pharma isn't quite there.

I don't see an answer for autism within the next 150 years with the current influence from the WHO and their pharmaceutically-greased palms.

I just happened to run across the comment from a month ago...

Earlier in this thread I suggested that Savage was against the influence of big pharmaceutical companies on the treatment of children, and you (Shesulsa) replied that there was no connction to them in regards to the treatment of autism (1st quote above). Yet in early July you wrote that they were indeed one of the reasons for the lack of progress in the understanding of autism (2nd quote).

How do you reconcile these 2 contradictory statements? Did you change your mind or is your opinion just based on the emotional reaction of the moment?

 

[celtic_crippler]

Observation:
Based on the number of posts and pages this topic has gotten, I'd say Savage accomplished his goal in getting the attention he wanted.

 

[donna]

Do you think that is a large number of people?
Do you really care what those morons think?

Yes I do think it is a large number of people, after being on the recieving end of many hurtful comments over the past 23 years!! often from complete strangers!!
It is not that I care what these ignorant people think but what they do as the result of what they think.