Why What Savages Say Matters

[Guest guest]

It has been a rough few weeks for the autism community. While we

should be home, nurturing our kids and ourselves back to health, we

are, instead forced to defend our decisions and our precious

childrens' honor.

Actress, Peet, up on her Hollywood high horse, stated that

parents who do not vaccinate their children are " parasites " .

Although she did a pathetic apology, the damage is done.

Then...just a few days later, syndicated radio host Savage

spewed unthinkable names upon our children, and that's putting it

mildly.

I'm asking the autism AND lyme community to stand together for these

tiniest victims of chronic illness, our blessed children. Please

read the following article for instructions.

Sincerely,

Tami Duncan

Executive Director

www.liafoundation.org

Why What " Savages " Say Matters

by Kristie Burchit

I went with my husband on a once every six months or so date last

night. We went to see the movie Dark Knight. We love to watch the

previews but one of the previews struck a cord with me and brought me

to tears a bit. It was a preview for a movie called Blindness based

on a book by Saramago. The premise of the storyline is that

certain random people are struck with blindness and because it cannot

be understood these individuals are quarantined in a mental

institution and for fear of their disease of unknown origin that is

contagious they are left abandoned to defend themselves.

This struck a cord for me as a parent because I realize that in these

times we are slowly as a society becoming desensitized to the need

for understanding when we have a generation of children afflicted, in

growing numbers, with another illness of unknown origin: autism.

There are countless examples I can give of how select members of

society have begun to treat families with autism with disdain,

ignorant and uneducated comments, and downright hatred including acts

of inhumanity. Some of the these include a teacher who wanted to vote

a child with autism out of a class, a child asked to leave church, a

toddler asked to leave a plane, and another told to leave a

restaurant because they were making too much noise by a patron.

When we allow these voices of inhumanity to remain uninterrupted in

this country against our families and our children, others begin to

slowly and methodically believe what they say. At first a person not

familiar with autism but perhaps believing it not right to talk about

a person in a negative fashion might be stunned to hear words

like " brat " about a child with autism. But maybe they tune in again

and hear " 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, you idiot. "

Maybe that person wonders if there is any truth to those words.

They wonder if more kids with autism perhaps are father less or have

a dad not included in their life. Maybe, they wonder, they could be

faking it? Maybe they do need to toughen up? This is called slowly

and methodically desensitizing a nation. I assure you it's happening

right now.

So getting back to that preview for the movie Blindness and

connecting it to autism, I realize there are two words that come to

mind: fear and unknown. That is the connection. Blindness in this

movie, like autism happens of unknown origin. We are not even close

to understanding why our numbers in autism have increased so

dramatically and continue to increase. For this reason fear begins to

abound in society. Fear of a disease of unknown origin and fear of

it's complete dominance and effect on everyone and everything. Fear

creates scapegoats like our children with autism blamed for the ills

of society. This extends to chaos and further acts of inhumanity.

Ultimately if it gets the best of us it will lead to a breakdown in

society.

I believe we are in dark times and I worry about the future for my

five year old son Aidan. But I truly believe as a parent, a

caregiver, a friend to children with autism we have a responsibility

to educate society YES but also to SILENCE the SAVAGES of the world.

I believe all of us are working pretty dang hard to understand what

is yet unknown in autism. Of course we are not there yet. However

when others are desensitized by a message of inhumanity and hate, it

is our responsibility to our children and our family to shut it down!

If we don't do it now we need not be surprised in the coming years if

that fate of those in the movie Blindness is the fate of our children

as well. I plead with you fellow parents, fellow citizens to take

action now. Take a stand against inhumanity. Take a stand against

hate. Take a stand for the future of our children.

LIAF wants to encourage parents, friends, family, acquaintances and

anyone you can think of, to take action on this issue. We as parents,

caretakers and friends to children with autism need to be emailing

Talk Radio Network and Clear Channel network and asking for Savage to

be fired. Also add if he is not immediately fired, you and everyone

you know will be contacting advertisers to pull support from TRN and

Clear Channel. Savage's tactics are all about 'shock' and getting

more listeners.

Tactics to Avoid: By calling in to the Savage show or by writing

Savage requesting an apology you are adding fuel to his 'shock jock'

fire! By taking time to try and educate the ignorant Savage you are

adding fuel to his 'shock jock fire!' Writing local radio stations

does little because they don't make any decisions on programming.

Please these tactics are a waste of your time and energy.

Tactics we Recommend: Go to the top. Ask for the firing of Savage AKA

human rights violator. Threaten their advertising dollars. If

emailing the below supplies no reply then start finding out who the

advertisers are on the Savage show and contact them. Tell advertisers

to demand Savage be fired or you and your friends will not support or

buy what they sell. Threaten the money trail. That is the way to make

a change here. Make sure you aren't listening to ANY network that

plays Savage on their station and make sure your families and friends

do the same. Everything else is small potatoes.

Email addresses are here:

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