Denis Leary is a total POS

[formerlurker]

Denis Leary Slams Autism As A Joke
NY Post   |   October 15, 2008 06:43 AM

 
DENIS Leary should brace himself for hate mail from the parents of kids diagnosed with autism.

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."

The Autism Society of America responded: "For Mr. Leary to suggest that families or doctors conspire to falsely diagnose autism is ridiculous . . . [His] remarks reflect the same misconceptions of autism being caused by bad or unemotional parenting that were held over 50 years ago."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/15/denis-leary-slams-autism_n_134749.html


To say I am pissed is a gross understatement.   He can kiss my ass. 


 

[DumbAss Tanker]

He's a complete flaming asshole, I haven't been able to stomach him for years.  I forget what stupid shit he got off onto that put me off him originally, it was something different but equally ignorant.

[Woody]

That's pretty rude and extreme.  As a recent parent, I keep an eye on the "autism epidemic" because that scares the crap out of me.  But Denis Leary has always sought controversy; I haven't listened to him in a while, but I like his earlier stuff, and downright admired him for his early MTV appearance when he said, "I've got three words for Al Sharpton: Martin Luther King."  To say that on MTV in the late 80s was pretty brave...

For a look at the other side of the coin, I don't think he's referring to the truly autistic.  I don't know what the cause of the growth in autism is, but I think he's referring to the borderline cases (Asperger's Syndrome, etc) who were raised on TV and the Internet in an otherwise empty house by parents who've replaced parenting with things.  "Daddy's got to go screw his secretary at a conference, and Mommy needs her 'me time' with the masseur, so here's a new video game!"  

It's like the antisocial side of ADHD...  Schools are pressured to "do something" when the parents aren't, well, parenting.    "I can't be a bad parent; there must be something wrong with my kid!"  

[djones520]

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXTN3h-b9nU[/youtube]

Well...  I think this song sums it up pretty well.

[NHSparky]

It like he was told at his own roast--the only reason he's famous is because there's no cure for cancer.

And yes, I do believe he stole most of his shit from Bill Hicks, hence the slam.

[formerlurker]

That's pretty rude and extreme.  As a recent parent, I keep an eye on the "autism epidemic" because that scares the crap out of me.  But Denis Leary has always sought controversy; I haven't listened to him in a while, but I like his earlier stuff, and downright admired him for his early MTV appearance when he said, "I've got three words for Al Sharpton: Martin Luther King."  To say that on MTV in the late 80s was pretty brave...

For a look at the other side of the coin, I don't think he's referring to the truly autistic.  I don't know what the cause of the growth in autism is, but I think he's referring to the borderline cases (Asperger's Syndrome, etc) who were raised on TV and the Internet in an otherwise empty house by parents who've replaced parenting with things.  "Daddy's got to go screw his secretary at a conference, and Mommy needs her 'me time' with the masseur, so here's a new video game!"  

It's like the antisocial side of ADHD...  Schools are pressured to "do something" when the parents aren't, well, parenting.    "I can't be a bad parent; there must be something wrong with my kid!"  

Aspie children are not borderline autism, they have high functioning autism.    You can't fake it, and no - video games, and latch-key parenting doesn't cause it (I wish it did because that would make it pretty easy to cure). 

I won't touch the schools being "forced to do something" comment right now because I am too ticked off over Leary's comments to get up on my soapbox right now. 

His comments were made for attention to sell his stupid book.    They are extremely hurtful to children with autism -- but since when did that matter right?

[DixieBelle]

there is some validity to what he's saying in regards to parents and the medical/psychological/educational community labeling kids or seeking a scapegoat for what's lacking in the home. I don't think he's talking about geniune cases of autism. But he went overboard generalizing....

It's a real shame he's such an asshole. He is making a terrible mistake in framing the issue this way. Unfortunately, it is about selling his book and publicity. Any shred of truth was just torched with his insane rant.

[lastparker]

Perhaps he confused ADD/ADHD with Autism.  I DO think the ADD label is pinned on kids excessively, and by the very type of parents he characterizes.

I have deep suspicions that my good friends' oldest child has Aspergers.  But the father is such a macho a-hole (just like Leary described) that I was afraid he may never be properly diagnosed.  But the school has convinced the mom to take him to a child psychiatrist, so now I'm more hopeful.  I'm NOT going to be the one to tell them!  First of all, what do I know?  I came to this "diagnosis" by googling his odd behaviors.  Second, they'd hate me forever.

Everyone who interacts with this family sees that the boy has issues, but both parents are in total denial.

[MrsSmith]

I spent years trying to make a couple of my kids do "ok" in school.  We did homework literally from 3:30 to 10:30 every school night.

Way too late, someone told me how I could get real testing done.  I took the younger of the 2 in, and found out she has both Attention Deficit and Dyslexia.

One of the things I would get angriest about was my kids' planners.  I mean seriously, how  hard can it be to just copy down the stupid assignments from the board every day!  How was I supposed to force them to do their work with absolutely no clue what the assignments were??  Turns out, with dyslexia, that "simple" task is nearly impossible.

I've never dealt with Aspergers, but did have a Sunday School class with a child that had fairly severe autism.

I have no doubt that both teachers and parents throw labels on kids to make up for lack of work or discipline, but all too often, it's way too real.

[formerlurker]

Denis:

Since you make your living off the backs of Firefighters, many of whom like myself have a child with autism which you have now chosen
to make fun of, how about you be a man and come to Long Island and see my son's school. Observe first hand my fat, lazy, stupid child
suffering from autism. I bet you wouldn't last 10 seconds with my  son or on the fire floor. You wish you could walk in my shoes. I
am a founding parent of the ELIJA School for children with autism spectrum disorders in Levittown, NY and a 20 year NYPD/FDNY veteran.

There are many firefighters struggling with autism and all your foundation does is buy tools for the city, just more shit for them to
carry. You do nothing for Firefighter's real problems. So come on out, get your head out your ass and pry open that fat wallet of yours
that was filled thanks to the real characters of the FDNY.


We are a struggling school and your "humor" doesn't help our cause. The only people who can make fun of autism are those whose lives are consumed by it. Between autism and fires, you got nothing. Last year we made $25K on our Guns and Hoses Comedy Event. This year we need to make $50K to survive. See what you can do brother.


Timothy P. Dwyer
Retired FDNY


P.S. Enclosed please find the DVD of Rescue Me, the complete first season. It was going to be part of a fundraising basket, but is now
useless to us. Consider it a donation to your foundation. Go buy some more toys for the city. They lose more money in a day that what
it costs us to run our school for a year. Thanks man.

http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/10/real-firefighte.html

[Chris_]

I think he conflated Autism with ADD.  The latter is complete crap (for the most part).  Had I been a kid today they would have drugged my ass into comotosity.

The forrmer is a pretty specific, if broad range, medical diagnosis.  From a true medical condition analysis perspective, it is like dyslexia.  For a long time, dyslexics were called "lazy" and "troublemakers." 
 
Of course, autism is a much more severe condition, but I wanted to note the more clinical definitions.  ADD is a psychological analysis and is frequently used for parents to just drug their kids into submission.

[thundley4]

ADD is a psychological analysis and is frequently used for parents to just drug their kids into submission.

Often at the behest/request of school admin/teachers. I'm another one that most likely would have been drugged into submission if ADD/ADHD had been around back then.

[NHSparky]

I think he conflated Autism with ADD.  The latter is complete crap (for the most part).  Had I been a kid today they would have drugged my ass into comotosity.

The forrmer is a pretty specific, if broad range, medical diagnosis.  From a true medical condition analysis perspective, it is like dyslexia.  For a long time, dyslexics were called "lazy" and "troublemakers." 
 
Of course, autism is a much more severe condition, but I wanted to note the more clinical definitions.  ADD is a psychological analysis and is frequently used for parents to just drug their kids into submission.

Even so, you would think that someone in his position would 1--know the difference, 2--speak on it correctly.

[MrsSmith]

Often at the behest/request of school admin/teachers. I'm another one that most likely would have been drugged into submission if ADD/ADHD had been around back then.

I had a public school tell me they'd call Social Services on me if I refused to give Ritalin to my kid.  Thank God, I was able to find an affordable private school for her, as Dyslexia was far more problematic than the attention stuff...and is not helped by Ritalin.

As an aside, while dyslexia is considered a Learning Disability because it causes reading problems, the fact is that it is a gift, not a disability.  Dyslexics literally think in 3D.  When they see a shape, they see it from all sides instantly, not just as it appears in that moment.  This is a wonderful gift for jobs like carpentry or architecture.  

[Chris_]

I had a public school tell me they'd call Social Services on me if I refused to give Ritalin to my kid.  Thank God, I was able to find an affordable private school for her, as Dyslexia was far more problematic than the attention stuff...and is not helped by Ritalin.

"It takes a village" gets its start as mere fascism.

As an aside, while dyslexia is considered a Learning Disability because it causes reading problems, the fact is that it is a gift, not a disability.  Dyslexics literally think in 3D.  When they see a shape, they see it from all sides instantly, not just as it appears in that moment.  This is a wonderful gift for jobs like carpentry or architecture.  

Good point -- it is a "learning disability" only that words don't form up properly.  I think there has been a lot of progress in using spacial relationships to understand words, but I don't have specifics.

I, OTOH am 3D challenged (maybe that is part of my acrophobia).  I had a friend who could design in 3D for 3D printers.  I couldn't even GRASP his designs, much less assemble them in my brain in 3D. Yet, they would come off the printer as the most fantastic things.

I guess that is why I do better with procedural coding and have difficulty with object coding (although I can do the latter).

[Jim]

jeez, thats stupid even for a lib !

[Chris_]

jeez, thats stupid even for a lib !

I am not sure he is a lib, but yes it is pretty misinformed.

[Splashdown]

Why do these people think they're experts? On ANYTHING? 

[NHSparky]

I am not sure he is a lib, but yes it is pretty misinformed.

Actually, he is. 

[Odin's Hand]

I am not sure he is a lib, but yes it is pretty misinformed.

He's a lib. He used to run his big mouth on the talking points right up there with Patrice Neal and Judy Gold on "Tough Crowd" with Colin Quinn.

[thundley4]

He's came out defending his comments, read my book.  It an article from E-Online.

[jtyangel]

You know..shit like this used to bother me, but not anymore. You see, I actually live with an autistic child every single day and he stands in stark contrast to the two neurotypical children i have. I also have a cousin who is autistic--diagnosed in the days prior to the 'explosion' of diagnosis(he is in his early 30's). AUtism is quite real. If I could stop my son from stimming or knew a way to coax he ideas out of his head, I would. It is a frustrating path for both the parent and, no doubt, the child.

Here is my 8 yr old son with me at the autism walk this weekend. Trust me, normal 8 yr old boys don't burrow their heads into their mothers this way to shield themselves from the overwhelming sites and sounds of an event like this. Scared to touch or try anything out of fear the experience will overwhelm his senses.



btw, to get him to smile for pictures we usually tell him to 'show me your teeth'. It doesn't come naturally,...he normally mimics or just follos instructions.

[DumbAss Tanker]

As an aside, while dyslexia is considered a Learning Disability because it causes reading problems, the fact is that it is a gift, not a disability.  Dyslexics literally think in 3D.  When they see a shape, they see it from all sides instantly, not just as it appears in that moment.  This is a wonderful gift for jobs like carpentry or architecture.  

My youngest son has a reading disability that is not exactly dyslexia but that's the easiest way to explain it to people.  But, it is definitely a reading disability as opposed to a learning disability!