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Ron Jackson's Perspective
The Sunday Journal
Kankakee, Illinois
July 27, 2008
Shock jock should
take dad's advice |
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No reason to slam autistic kids, parents
Wow! I can actually say I knew of Michael Savage when he was a “nobody” in the
talk radio business. Now listen at him. All grown-up from guest
hosting on a San Francisco early morning show to being the
third-most-listened-to radio jock in America. With an estimated
400-plus stations carrying his Savage Nation Show and 8-10 million
faithful listeners, Savage is a very influential mouth.
If you like hearing people who pull your emotional strings,
make your jaw drop, or have you wondering how they get away with
saying things in public, he is your kind of guy. Even if you don’t
agree with him, you can still be captivated by the brashness and
confident air about him. Oh, besides being opinionated, he is very
educated.
He holds several degrees, including a Ph.D. from University of
California Berkley. So, why would anyone so smart say something
like, “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.”
Apparently, Michael didn’t follow his dad’s advice about not
sounding like an idiot.
Knowing his reputation for hard-hitting attacks on almost
individual, group, or policy, I was surprised and shocked by his
latest target. Gays, blacks, whites, politicians, and other
celebrity types are all fair game. He has hit them all with his
unparalleled venom. But this time, he attacked children and their
parents. Not just any children, but autistic children.
The Autism Society of America defines autism as, “a complex
developmental disability that typically appears during the first
three years of life and affects a person’s ability to communicate
and interact with others.” Autism affects one in 150 children in
the United States.
It’s the disability the parents of the other 149 kids don’t
talk much about.
The Autism Society lists the following signs of autism in
children that can be treated: Lack of or delay in spoken language;
repetitive use of language and/or motor mannerisms; little or no eye
contact; lack of interest in peer relationships; lack of spontaneous
or make-believe play; persistent fixation on parts of objects. I
don’t know if I could recognize these symptoms in a child, but I
know quite a few men with these characteristics.
As an advocate for free speech, no one should be censored, but
common decency and an advanced education should be a guideline when
it comes to publicly humiliating defenseless children. Just as
there is no known cause of autism, there was no cause for Savage to
have picked on this group.
I would never join the boycott to have Savage’s right to earn a
living revoked. I wouldn’t ask his sponsors to withdraw their
support. It would be a nice shock, though, if he asked his millions
of fans to each donate one dollar to autism research and education.
I wish Savage continued success. However, if the Kilbride
Family Classic 5K Run and 2K Walk for Autism were to hold its next
event on Michael Savage’s front lawn, I would gladly join them. |
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