Education Law

Savagely Indifferent to the Truth

By Charles Fox

Other commentators are firing back with well deserved criticism of of Michael Savage's hurtful drivel that spews forth from him on the subject of autism, and for that matter on other subjects of genuine public concern.  Autism News,  a blog that is intended to introduce scientific fact to journalism on autism, had the following to say:

"Either Savage skipped class the days his professors talked about ?medicine?, or he?s an entertainer who doesn?t care who he hurts. I vote for the latter. Chances are, Savage knows that autism is a real disorder, with a strong genetic component, and that changes in diagnostic criteria have led to a spike in diagnoses over the last 20 years. But how boring is that? How many of his eight million listeners would sit through 15 minutes of their hero going all Dr. Phil, telling us that autistic children need understanding and accommodation? So much more entertaining to joke about smacking the handicapped."

We have to hit back with plain fact to counter this propaganda and bombast for the sake of ratings. Unfortunately the damage in this instance is already done but change comes incremently. Changes are coming as we are coming to the post-Bush era where facts and reason will hopefully once again become the accepted means of discourse for most Americans.

Full post as published by Special Education Law Blog on July 20, 2008 (boomark / email).