Savage stupidity

If I wrote about every time some idiot right-wing shock jock went on some outlandish attention-whoring tirade, my fingers would probably fall right off my hand.

I don't typically pay much heed to the likes of Michael Savage (a.k.a. Michael Weiner), the vicious radio nut job out of San Francisco who stirred up a hornets' nest not by attacking the usual targets, like liberals, gays, etc, but rather by lashing out at autistic children. Personally, I am all for the idea of corralling all extreme right-wing lunatics into insignificant AM echo chambers that few people listen to and that fade out under bridges. Out of sight, out of mind. Therefore, I could typically care less about these goons' latest pathetic attempts to get people to pay attention. I often prefer not to take the bait.

Nonetheless, I found it quite interesting that after all of Savage's ridiculous rants, it took the trashing of mentally challenged children for the shit to really hit the fan.

Typically, when these nutjobs start flapping their gums, attempting to be outrageous in what seems like their own version of the hoary old "Aristocrats joke," my first reaction is to go, 'yeah, whatever.' After all, it's all just words and rhetoric. Ignore these assclowns, and they eventually will go away if nobody pays any attention (or money).

In addition, I am a firm believer in karma, or, those who choose to live by the sword shall die by it. It happened to Opie and Anthony, and most famously to Don Imus. Shock jockery can make for a very lucrative career, but not a very secure one. In addition, these personalities have to continue to find new ways to shock people, as they get desensitized to the same ol, same ol.

So, back to Savage. You've probably heard the story. Not content to verbally assault the usual suspects, and to prove he is the nastiest, most racist, and most hate-filled tub o' facist shit on the planet, he violated a serious taboo - by attacking disadvantaged children.

Savage claimed that autism is a "fraud, a racket." He then claimed that the parents of minority children falsified cases of asthma to collect more welfare money and get extra help in school.

He continued, "Now, the illness du jour is autism. You know what autism is? I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is."

"...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, idiot...

"...If I behaved like a fool, my father called me a fool. And he said to me, "Don't behave like a fool." The worst thing he said -- "Don't behave like a fool. Don't be anybody's dummy. Don't sound like an idiot. Don't act like a girl. Don't cry." That's what I was raised with. That's what you should raise your children with. Stop with the sensitivity training. You're turning your son into a girl, and you're turning your nation into a nation of losers and beaten men. That's why we have the politicians we have.

Uhh, Weiner. Stop behaving like a fool.

Of course, many of us are desensitized to the rantings of this pathetic, bad rug-wearing snake oil salesman. So much that he gets talked about even less these days than other irrelevant rabble-rousers like Ann Coulter.

And some indications are that people are starting to tire of this sad act. Autism activists protested outside the studios of his New York affiliate, WOR. WOR's management even issued the typical statement distancing themselves from the scathing remarks. Savage, in response, didn't even offer up an apology, he even defended his remarks.

Today, another shoe has dropped. The seven-station Super Talk Mississippi radio network has canceled The Savage Nation. Essentially, he lost all but one of his affiliates in a single state!

Advertisers are jumping ship as well, starting with Aflac.

Savage's syndicator, Talk Radio Network, has been mum on all of this so far. Kind of ironic, since Don Imus got thrown under the bus by CBS for much less.

Sadly, no one had really held Savage accountable for all the other outrageous, hateful rhetoric spewed by he has said over the years. One wonders if right-wingers are recoiling after all of this, since it is they who revel in claiming that fiery ideologues such as Jesse Jackson and Randi Rhodes speak for all of the left, or that Rev. Jeremiah Wright is Barack Obama's mouthpiece. Obviously, if they believe that, they obviously must have to agree that Michael Savage speaks for conservatives. Hey, if the shoe fits.

But this is all about Michael Weiner, a nasty hate-filled man who makes millions of dollars by being a facist asshole on our nation's airwaves. The ultimate karma is that this sad sack is forced to live with himself, stewing in his own hate and misery. And since he decided long ago that he could gleam a few quick bucks by exploiting the ugliest side of humanity, that is the price he must pay.

Savage, stop acting like a fool.

More:

Gawker writes about "Michael Savage's Homo Hippie Past"