Denis Leary Does a Michael Savage
October 15, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
From the New York Post:
In his new book, “Why We Suck: A Feel-Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid,” the joke-slinging “Rescue Me” star writes about the brain disorder:
“There is a huge boom in autism right now because inattentive mothers and competitive dads want an explanation for why their dumb-ass kids can’t compete academically, so they throw money into the happy laps of shrinks . . . to get back diagnoses that help explain away the deficiencies of their junior morons. I don’t give a [bleep] what these crackerjack whack jobs tell you – yer kid is NOT autistic. He’s just stupid. Or lazy. Or both.”
I know Leary’s a comedian but some things just aren’t funny.
Dennis Leary stole most of his shtick (his angry persona) and…this has been documented…many of his jokes from the late comedian Bill Hicks.
So it’s interesting that he’s stealing yet again, (inexplicably) from Savage.
Leary is solidifying his reputation as an unimaginative hack.
Lovely. Here we go again.
Let him go up in flames!
Sigh..
My son IS competitive academically, and he’s never been to a “shrink.” So much for that.
The must be a cure for behavior like Leary and Savage display.
We can’t just write off our comedians and radio hosts with a diagnosis of mean, nasty, jerk. This requires funding, research, and above all education into the cause of mean-nasty-jerk disorder so we can effectively prevent this infecting future generations.
MNJ Disorder, hmmm, what’s the right treatment for that……
It seems like a complex puzzle to me.
Must be the taurine in those energy drinks Savage promotes.
I didn’t think that anyone could have topped M. Savage for offensiveness on the topic, but I think Denis Leary just hit the jackpot.
For comparison, recall Michael Richard’s rant on a racial group–he was pilloried from coast to coast and had to go on an apology tour with Jerry Seinfeld at his side. Yet when it has to do with disabilities, the thought is “hey, lighten up, get a sense of humor”, which I believe is a reaction based on defending the undefendable. There’s no laughing “with” here, only laughing “at”.
People with disabilities and esp. developmental disabilities, are the current discriminated out group.
I’m thinking MNJ syndrome should be included in one of those DSM books. I’m officially diagnosing that guy from my computer chair with absolutely no formal medical training. Go me! :p
I will second that Mrs C!
The must be a cure for behavior like Leary and Savage display
Not buying the book, sponsored products or otherwise subsidizing these guys might be a good start.
I’ve been reading about his uninformed, disgusting rant on other (non-Autism) message boards and I can’t believe the replies — while most people think he was “slightly” out of line, they agree with the premise of overdiagnoses and “whining” mothers. (aka Jenny McCarthy)
One comment that I found particularly disturbing was:
“Autism is the new ADD”
Sadly, as more people try their damndest to bring attention to Autism Awareness/Acceptance, I see that most people are backing down with their “concern” over it.
Autism Awareness is slowly becoming Autism Unawareness.
P.S. I support a full boycott of anything Leary has done or ever done. I sincerely hope this “rant” kills his copy-cat, anti-comedic career.
We’re caught between people like Leary and McCarthy. Neither has a clue what they’re talking about and their ill informed remarks poison (heh) the atmosphere towards autistics and those of us who call for their support and acceptance. People recognise that there’s something not right about what they’re told about autism. Instead of going after woo peddling charlatans they turn on autistics and their families.
The book does not go on sale until next month–still time for advocacy!
Yet another has-been wanting to raise controversy to make money. Frankly, I’m a little scared of comedians. They seem to have no life of their own, since usually they just point out their points of view about the lifes of others. Now THAT’s pathetic…
From the publisher’s author biography for Leary’s book over at Viking/Penguin,
“hilarious take on the world, to attack…basically everyone who takes themselves too seriously.
“…with a reserve of compassion for the underdog and the overlooked, …Leary’s book will find wide appeal among people…[who want to] find a guide who matches their view of what’s wrong in America…”
Oh, I see, he wasn’t being an insensitive jerk exploiting those with disabilities to sell a book and make himself money, he’s an irreverant social commentator! How could I have missed that compassion?
From the Vanity Fair interview of Leary,
Q: Another chapter is titled “Autism Shamautism.”
Leary: Which is my favorite chapter.
Q: I see vigilante autism woman Jenny McCarthy picketing your book tour.
Leary: Great. That would be really good for me. It will help sell more books.
More irreverent compassion and a snapshot of how well JMc has represented the autism community. Great…just great.
Jason, over at the “Life of Jason blog”, tried an experiment in what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, asking the question–would Denis Leary find this funny?
Denis Leary Tries To Profit From His Ignorance
Angela’s right. Book comes out Nov. 18.
Denis Leary Tries To Profit From His Ignorance
What a jerk
So this is getting interesting—–he’ll turn J McCarthy into a saintly autism mom………..
Frustrating. I’d like to boycott him, but I have always disliked him. Hard to boycott a store you never shop.
Perhaps I’ll just pretend I used to like him
It would make sense, since I’m apparently so “stupid”
I did a mini post on this as well and linked to you. I hate that people profit from this sort of talk and they call it humor. It is just plain cruel.
Denis Leary tries to do damage control (and get more book sales).
This guy is a skumbag and a fraud. Anything to make a buck. The funny thing yet to be seen is that Autism receives huge support from many organization, unions, etc. in his home state. Curious to see what The Teamsters feel about this. Have a feeling he won’t be welcomed in Boston anymore. Hope his show goes up in “flames.”
Ignore him. The flurry of excitement and righteous indignation is exactly what he wants. Publicity, any publicity, is meat and drink to Leary and his ilk.
Another book best digested as excerpts on the web and that’s more than enough.
“The bulk of the chapter [autism shmautism] deals with grown men who are either self-diagnosing themselves with low-level offshoots of the disease or wishing they could as a way to explain their failed careers and troublesome progeny.”
That’s an explanation and apology?
Sounds like M. Savage–“I was taken out of context!”. It was meant with good intention.
Buy the book to get the whole story?
I don’t think so.
(Somehow there’s a part of me that suspects that he or the publicist couldn’t find another mitigating quote from the chapter that wouldn’t be putting more gasoline on the fire, otherwise one would have expected them to so in aid of damage control. The attention may be the point.
I like humorous essays–I suggest David Sedaris or Garrison Keillor.
He has no clue what the hell he is talking about. Screw him he’s just another asshole with an opinion based on nothing. We can only hope he will develop a neurological disease such as parkinson’s or dimensia and we can all laugh at him.
Develop? I think that train has sailed!!!!
Left a voicemail at Penguin in NYC. Felt sad for the recipient.I was cordial and empathetic for her,soon-to-be,long,long days at work. While on hold a recorded message”your call may be monitored for quality assurance” came on.They should try that in the editing process.Penguins don’t like the heat!!!Unless it means$$$$$$.
vitun ääliö….
we see him here in finland…
(vitun ääliö = fucking idiot)
I agree one hundred and fifteen percent. I have never seen an autistic kid that didn’t have complete bed-wetting lettuces for “pair-rents”
well Dean, apparently it must be whom you associate with because if you would just take a good look around, your uneducated mind would soon learn that autism affects every kind of family from all backrounds regardless of what kind of parents they have.
One suggestion… wait until Dennis Leary’s book goes out of print (I doubt this will be a best seller) and then sue him for fraud. He claims to be “Dr. Dennis Leary” and is using that to sell advice. Last time I check, that constitutes fraud. Maybe even practising without a license? Anyone out there up on the law? (Note: don’t sue now, you’ll only drive up the sales).
I don’t necessarily approve of the language he used, but maybe he’s sick of seeing everything called autism. So am I. People can’t even take extreme interest in one specific non-social topic anymore without being labeled “autistic.” What’s wrong with wanting to hang out with people who are older or younger? Young people have traditionally learned how to socialize from older people. Adolescents used to want to BE adults rather than rebelling against adult culture. Have you read some of that “autism spectrum” stuff? It makes childhood existence sound so complicated. I feel sorry for those dealing with the difficulties of actual autism, but I also feel sorry for the youths who are being told that they have a genetic social inferiority. They could miss out on a lot by believing that. Denis Leary did clarify his statement later. His feelings are similar to mine and I also think that many parents try to use labels to try to escape the heartache of believing that their children would choose to do something that bothers them (the parents) a lot.
Dean: “I have never seen an autistic kid that didn’t have complete bed-wetting lettuces for ‘pair-rents‘”.
And I never encountered anyone like Dean who didn’t have useless shits for parents.
Touché?
Arsehole.
@Jennifer, I would say that most people who seek a label of autism, Asperger’s, autism spectrum disorder for a child are doing it for very real reasons, and in recognition of the neurological challenges their child faces. Not quite sure what “autism spectrum stuff” you are referring to; certainly we try to do our best to help our son through the complications.