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No Apologies for Radio Savagery Calling Autistic Children Brats, Idiots

Michael Savage, host of the widely syndicated radio program, “The Savage Nation,” is under fire today for saying last week that 99% of the children diagnosed with autism are really just brats without fathers around to tell them not to act like morons and that they’ll “get nowhere in life.”  He further said they should be told to not “sit there crying and screaming, idiot.”

As would be expected, parents and autism advocacy groups around the nation are calling on his radio station to fire him.  WOR (710 AM) broadcasts this very savage show live every week day from 3:00 to 6:00 PM, Pacific Time (6:00 to 9:00 PM, Eastern Time), from Northern California but it is syndicated via Talk Radio Network on more than 350 radio stations nationwide.  During a telephone interview this morning, Savage said he had no intention of apologizing although his 99% figure may be a bit high, a situation he attributed to hyperbole.

Savage said he would devote his entire show today (Monday, July 21) to addressing the issue, inviting parents and other interested callers to phone in to disagree and educate him.  He feels his inflammatory remarks of July 16 have opened the door to discussion of autism, a situation in which he takes pride.  He said he feels there is no definitive definition of the syndrome and that it is overdiagnosed, a default diagnosis meted out when there are no other medical reasons that can be attributed to “a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out.”

Source: NYT

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