Radio talk show hosts–the ones with million-dollar contracts and nationwide audiences–aren’t paid to be polite conversationalists. Shock and confrontation is entertaining, and that’s why I wasn’t terribly surprised when radio host Michael Savage said this about autism:
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.
And then:
Stop
acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don’t sit there
crying and screaming, idiot.
I doubt Savage gives much thought to autism when he’s not on the air. Of course, that’s little consolation to parents of kids with autism, who were understandably upset by these statements. Some advertisers pulled their sponsorships of Savage’s show, but I’m not sure that’s going to dissuade him from mocking some other disability or religion or sexual orientation next week.
