I get it. Shock jocks are meant to shock people with seemingly outrageous comments, but how far can they go before they push the wrong button?
Michael Savage, who hosts a nationally syndicated talk show, made some stunning, offensive comments about autistic children. He effectively said that autism is not an epidemic and that they really are "brats who haven't been told to cut it out".
What?
Autism may not be universally understood, but it is a serious condition that millions of children around the world are forced to deal with, since there is no cure. Autistic children have it hard enough, having to deal with various social situations that make them uncomfortable. Now, here is this guy pretty much calling them fakers who want attention? What makes Michael Savage the authority on autism, especially since has no clear understanding of the condition?
Then, after inciting a media maelstrom that even had a local news anchor here in New York with an autistic child personally speak out, the bastard doesn't even apologize or acknowledge that what he said could've been hurtful. He goes as far as claiming that his comments were taken "out of context". Doesn't seem that way to me.
As with most offensive commentators, people are now calling for his firing from radio. Will his affiliates bow to pressure like CBS did with Don Imus? I hope so. See, as far as I'm concerned (and I am black), Don Imus should not have been suspended at all. So, if he was, then its almost mandatory that this guy is taken off the air.
I'm usually against things like this, but for the first time really, someone really took things way too far.
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