More Atonement for Denis Leary

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Also, from another autism yahoo group, a parent wrote an irate e-mail to the firefighters group to which Leary belongs. I have copied and posted Leary's e-mailed response below:

Thank you for taking the time to read this email..I send it to say two very important things:I am sorry for the trouble this has caused you. I can only imaginehow upsetting reading the remarks excerpted from my upcoming book musthave been for you.What you need to know is that the quote from my book that caused youso much anger and emotion was taken out of context and selectively edited.It was never my intention to exploit the serious subject of autism. It was my intention to expose the adults in this country who seek touse any available medical avenue to justify their own failures. WhatI wrote was not directed towards children who have autism.I do not say in the book - and I have never ever said - that autismdoes not exist. In fact, the chapter dealing with autism in my bookdiscusses the struggle of close friends of mine to raise a child withautism. The New York Post, and all the other newspapers that followed it,chose to ignore this discussion â€" even though it comes right after theparagraph they all quoted. In fact, that paragraph is not aboutparents with children who suffer from autism. It is actually aboutparents who have normal children but are unhappy with their lack ofacademic achievement and/or antisocial behavior and, rather than spendtime paying attention to the kids, decide to trot them from doctor todoctor until they get diagnoses that label their kids as "special."And the bulk of the chapter in which it appears deals with grown menwho are either self-diagnosing themselves with low-level offshoots ofthe disease or wishing they could as a way to explain their personaldisappointments. If you choose to read my book, I think you will get a better sense ofwhat I was aiming to achieve with a satirical take on what I think isright and wrong with current parenting and medical behaviors. Reading an abbreviated paragraph that was deliberately edited toinflame and upset people â€" and then assuming you've gotten an accuratepicture of what I was saying â€" is unfair and ill-advised. Unfortunately, the New York Post achieved its goal. Almost everyonejumped to the same conclusion. A statement I released to the press earlier this week that addressedthese issues was not printed by the vast majority of outlets that ranthe original story - including the New York Post. Several friends of mine currently dealing with autism have called tosupport my point of view. And a number of parents with children whohave autism have emailed me to say that they understand who and whatit is I am discussing in that chapter â€" or, if they haven't read thechapter, that they are at least willing to give me the benefit of thedoubt until they do.All I can ask is that you either read the book or - at the very least- give me the benefit of the doubt until someone you know and trust does.Then if you still wish to attack me - so be it.Thanks again for reading this. I wanted you to hear the whole storydirectly from me, and not just the salacious version put out by agossip column.Again, my sincere apologies for any pain this unfortunate situationmay have caused you.Sincerely,Denis Leary