CHAIN EMAIL SENT TO ME AND MY REPLIES

(Apparently, I never saw this first email and was unaware it was Jeff Griess under the name Derreck)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I will be sending you an email about a very damaging message about Autism that was made by radio talk show host, Michael Savage.

The message will be under the name of Derrick Jeffries. I just want you to know that this is my pen name that I use for Autism advocacy. Please accept it as being from me. I consider this matter very important and I would appreciate your consideration of supporting my effort. I am not the only one involved in opposing the Savage statement.

Thank you,

Jeff Griess

Dear friend,

I am contacting you regarding recent comments about children diagnosed with Autism made by Michael Savage on his talk radio show that is aired on Talk Radio Network.

I am the parent of a 12 year old son who is medically and educationally diagnosed with Autism. I also have an older sister who is diagnosed with Autism. I am offended and concerned about Mr. Savage’s comments and their potential impact upon my family and other families dealing with Autism. Here is what Michael Savage said.

‘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.... 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, idiot.' Autism—everybody has an illness. 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.’

These are the words of a man who has no experience with, or knowledge about Autism. He does not spend his nights with a child who repeatedly wakes up throughout the night. He does not understand the difficulty of maintaining a special diet to prevent his child from having constant diarrhea and infections with high fevers and heroin like effects from certain food proteins. He cannot comprehend the challenges of coping with sensory issues, spatial issues, safety issues, medical issues, educational issues, behavioral issues, fixation issues, etc, etc, etc. These are not problems that a child chooses to have, or that are caused by poor parenting or the absence of one parent. Autism is a neuro-biological condition with roots in genetics that we are still discovering.

Michael Savage has always been known for controversy, but this time he has gone way over the line of what should be tolerated or ignored. His message damages the forward progress of the last 50+ years. When my sister was diagnosed with Autism there was another Michael Savage claiming that Autism was caused by mothers being emotionally distant or cold toward their children. Dr.Bruno Bettelheim, and his contemporaries, brought much grief upon my mother and others like her who were doing the best they could to care for children with severe challenges that often included self-injurious behaviors and other behaviors that were so difficult and unpleasant that most people would not even be able to imagine living with them.

His words will only add to the difficulty that parents face when seeking to obtain appropriate educational services for our children. Many teachers already harbor thoughts that are not unlike Mr. Savage’s. Some of them and their assistants have resorted to placing our children in locked isolation closets or they engage in the use of dangerous restraint procedures because they lack training in how to calm or re-direct a child with Autism. Most people would be shocked to learn how frequently this is happening here in the United States. Individualized Education Programs (IEP) are mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ensure that a child’s individual educational needs are met. However, many parents of children with Autism have found it necessary to bring lawyers or assistants with them to IEP meetings to prevent school districts from depriving their children of services that are essential. School staff members often see our children as a problem to be dealt with rather than as an educational opportunity.

Beyond the educational issues are the looks, stares, glares, and comments of people who do not understand Autism who we encounter when we take our children out into a public place. Mr. Savage’s message has surely reached the minds of many of these individuals making it even more unpleasant for us to engage in routine activities.

Mr. Savage has described the following verbal method of teaching/correcting a child with Autism, '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.’

Savage’s method will not work for several reasons. Some children with Autism are so impacted by challenges that they may not even comprehend these words. Others, who are higher functioning, may not have a typical empathetic bond that exists between a parent and a child. They may also lack what is often referred to as Theory of Mind (TOM) which would allow them to have a basis for understanding another person’s intentions, desires, beliefs, etc. Without these typical mental and emotional tools Mr. Savage’s methods are meaningless to our children. Even for a typical child, Mr. Savage’s method would be demeaning.

Most parents of children with Autism have tried many methods to reach our children, and have found that typical methods rarely work and usually make matters far worse than before. If Mr. Savage had a child with Autism he would probably understand this. What do work are adaptive strategies that help make a child’s world more predictable and less invasive from a sensory perspective. Methods that identify, and compensate for developmental losses and impairments also make learning possible. Where Mr. Savage, through ignorance, attempts to make the child somehow change to comply with our world, in reality we need to change our methods of communication while making the child’s world more structured, predictable and functional.

While it is highly likely that there are some cases in which Autism is incorrectly diagnosed, or where medications are inappropriately prescribed, it is not the place of someone such as Mr. Savage to make a broad and baseless statement that has this type of negative impact. He is not an authority on these matters and has obviously not even taken the time to have the most basic of understandings.

Raising a child with Autism has many rewards, but the purpose of this message is to reveal that Michael Savage does not have a clue about what he is talking about. He has focused his message of abrasive hatred upon a group of children who have no ability to defend themselves. What he did not count on was the fact that as parents we will defend our children.

I am now asking for your assistance in helping to limit the spread of damage that Mr. Savage has unwisely initiated.

Please join with me in an email and letter writing campaign to counter Michael Savage’s message.

Please send a message to Talk Radio Network, telling them that Michael Savage’s rant against children with Autism was unacceptable, hateful and damaging to children and families with Autism. Their contact information is as follows:

Talk Radio Network
P.O. Box 3755
Central Point, OR 97502
Phone: 541-664-8827
Fax: 541-664-6250
Email: http://www.talkradionetwork.com/contactus

Michael Savage’s contact information is as follows:

The Savage Nation
The Paul Revere Society
150 Shoreline Hwy, Bldg E
Mill Valley, CA 94941
Fax: 415-339-9383
Email: michaelsavage@paulreveresociety.com

Please also send a message to your local affiliate radio station that hosts the Michael Savage/Savage Nation radio program. I would suggest doing an internet search using the name of your city and the name Michael Savage.

In Portland the local affiliate is KXL. Their contact info is as follows:

KXL/Rose City Radio Corporation
0234 SW Bancroft Street
Portland, OR 97239
Phone: 503-243-7595
General Manager: Tim McNamara Email: tim.mcnamara@kxl.com
Program Director: James Derby Email: james.derby@kxl.com

The following is a list of Savage sponsors with their contact information. Please ask them to withdraw their sponsorship/support of the Michael Savage Radio Program, explaining to them that his comments regarding Autism are unacceptable and intolerable:

ABC, Inc.:
VP Advertising/Sales Mike Shaw
Phone: 212 456-7272
mike.shaw@abc.com
VP Public Relations Kevin Brockman
Phone: 818 460-7756
Fax: 212-456-1424

Acura:
Vice President
Jeff Conrad
jeff_conrad@ahm.honda.com

American Express:
Leslie Berland
212.640.5142
Leslie.A.Berland@aexp.com
American Express
P.O. Box 981540
El Paso, TX 79998-1540

Boca Java:
Stefanie Hochstadter
shochstadter@bocajava.com
1-888-262-2528
Boca Java
730 South Powerline Rd.
Suite D
Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Campbells:
Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Place
Camden, NJ 08103-1701
Phone: 800-257-8443
Phone: 800-871-0988

Citrix:
851 West Cypress Creek Road
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309, United States
Americas PR
Jason Wyse
Americas Senior PR Manager
Phone: (786) 449-3740
Email: jason.wyse@citrix.com
Eric Armstrong
Director, Corporate Communications
Phone: (954) 267-2977
Email: eric.armstrong@citrix.com

Dish Network:
CEO Charlie Ergen: (303) 723-1010
CEO assistant: (303) 723-1005
EchoStar Satellite L.L.C.
Attn: Corporate Communications
9601 S. Meridian Blvd.
Englewood, CO 80112
press@echostar.com

Ebay:
Alan Marks
Senior Vice President Corporate Communications
Telephone: 1-408-376-7400
Fax: 1-408-369-4855
Email: info@ebay.com

General Motors:
Andrea Canabal
General Motors, Northeast Communications,
Work: +1-914-244-6059,
Cellular: +1-914-391-6898,
andrea.canabal@gm.com
Stockholder line: 313-667-1500

Gallo Winery:
John Segale
Gallo Winery Spokesperson
Work: 916-960-5341
Cell: 916-600-1081

Prudential:
Bob DeFillippo
Phone: 973-802-4149
bob.defillippo@prudential.com

Nestlé Purina PetCare:
Email: kschopp@purina.com
Phone: 314-982-2577
Fax: 314-982-2752

Simon & Shuster:
Michael Selleck
(800) 223-2336
info@simonsays.com

Staples, Inc:
Paul Capelli, 508-253-8530
paul.capelli@staples.com

Subway:
SUBWAY® Public Relations
(203) 877-4281
Les Winograd Ext. 1683
winograd_l@subway.com
Kevin Kane Ext.1329
kane_k@subway.com

Volkswagen:
Keyes, Steve
Director, Press and Public Relations
Phone: 703 364 7650
Fax: 703 364 7071
Email: steve.keyes@vw.com

Sears (Reportedly cancelled sponsorship of Savage)
Sears Public Relations And Communications
(847) 286-8371
Website Contact: searsmedia.com/tools/inquires/feedback.htm

Radioshack (Reportedly cancelled sponsorship of Savage)
Media Relations
Riverfront Campus
Mail Stop #CF7-130_300
RadioShack Circle
Fort Worth, TX 76102-1964
Phone: (817) 415-3300
Fax: (817) 415-2585
E-mail: media.relations@RadioShack.com

AFLAC (Reportedly cancelled sponsorship of Savage)
1-800-99-AFLAC (1-800-992-3522)
Laura Kane, 2nd Vice President External Relations Aflac Incorporated
1-706-596-3493
Mechell Clark, Media Relations Manager, 1-706-243-8004
Email: news@aflac.com

Budweiser (Reportedly cancelled sponsorship of Savage)
Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
One Busch Place
St. Louis, MO 63118
Website contact: http://www.anheuser-busch.com/ContactAgeVerification.html (Click “yes” to verify that you are at least 21 years of age, and your browser will be directed to another page where you need to click a button on the left side for email)
1 800 DIAL BUD (1 800 342 5283)

You may also want to discover sponsors in your local area and contact them directly.

Alternately, you can cut and paste the following list of email addresses into your email program “send to” line and you can send a blanket message to the many of Savage’s national sponsors.

mike.shaw@abc.com; jeff_conrad@ahm.honda.com; Leslie.A.Berland@aexp.com; shochstadter@bocajava.com; jason.wyse@citrix.com; eric.armstrong@citrix.com; press@echostar.com; info@ebay.com; andrea.canabal@gm.com; bob.defillippo@prudential.com; kschopp@purina.com; info@simonsays.com; steve.keyes@vw.com; paul.capelli@staples.com; winograd_l@subway.com; kane_k@subway.com

Please forward this message to as many people as possible.

Respectfully,

Derrick Jeffries

Portland, OR

(ME)
Who cares, Mr. Savage can say what he wishes to.

Josh,


So can I. That doesn't mean it's always appropriate or will go unchallenged, or that it will not have consequences. Free speech is not free. Especially when it has a detrimental affect upon those who are defenseless.

Josh, your words surprise me here. Your father responded very respectfully and with balance and wisdom. I have always admired his patience and deliberateness of speech. You may do well to consider his example.

Derrick / AKA Jeff Griess

Hi Josh,

When you write "your email came across as arrogant and condescending" are you referring to the one I wrote to you, or the original message I sent out?

The one I sent to you was intended to carry a tone of an older adult admonishing a younger adult. I did not add words of warmth to it because I had interpreted your words as being flippant and I was concerned and shocked by that. My message may have seemed "arrogant and condescending" because of the lack of warm or fuzzy wording, but I assure you that was not the intent.

The message I sent out about Michael Savage was basically a battle cry to bring some people together for a common cause. I knew from the moment that I sent it that some people would not agree with it, others would be neutral on it, and still yet others would join in. I did not attempt to contact Mr. Savage in a manner designed to reason with him, because I judged based upon reactions other people had received and from past experience that such methods had no hope and were a waste of time. Mr. Savage is a highly educated person compared to me, a person with only a high school education. He is also extremely wealthy compared to me, a person who barely manages to stay afloat in my current situation. I do not think there was anything within that message that should be viewed as "arrogant and condescending." I did, however, do my best to sound convincing.
I am not an expert on ADD/ADHD, but to the best of my knowledge it does not have nearly as severe of debilitating symptoms as Autism. Please understand that I am in a situation right now where I cannot leave my son alone for one minute without being concerned about his safety. He has no fear of things that can be seriously harmful or deadly to him. He also has no ability to care for his own self. My sister is 51 years old and has resided in California Mental Institutions for over 40 years. My parents had to make a very difficult situation because they felt that they could not keep her safe while also caring for another young child (me) at the same time. Her symptoms were far more serious than Jeffrey's, and she has no ability to communicate via speech. Some of her early symptoms included, swallowing sharp objects, putting her hands through glass windows, constantly scratching herself until she bled, bolting and running away, sometimes while stripping her clothes off. Her life has been a very difficult one, and I hope that our Lord will give her the greatest of comforts and joys in Heaven.

Parents and advocates of people with Autism/Autistic people have worked dilligently for many years to bring us to this point where services are beginning to become more reasonable and accessible for our children. Without those services most of us cannot afford the types of educational supports that our children require. While it may seem like Mr. Savage is just engaging in his usual diatribe that borders the very edge of what is considered acceptable, many of us who deal with Autism on a day to day basis believe that his words have a damaging effect upon our progress. They also contribute to attitudes that we sometimes encounter when we take our children out in public, or when we attempt to communicate with a school staff member etc. I am confident that parents of some children with ADD/ADHD will be able to relate to this, but with Autism the needs are much more pervasive and severe. We do not feel that we can afford to just sit back and allow Mr. Savage to create the same public perception of Autism as what exists with ADD/ADHD. I do not think he was the originator of the public doubts that exist regarding ADD/ADHD, but I know that he is a contributor and perpetuator of such thoughts. With Autism he is opening up a Pandora's Box that I believe has significant risks for my son and others like him. This is why many parents of children with Autism, along with many others are attempting to close the box before things get ugly. His response is to refer to us as Stalanists. To him, it is always okay to attack someone else, but when they strike back he resorts to his standard methods of name calling. He's a school yard bully in an old man's body.

Josh, I probably won't be able to receive email for a few days. Please remember that I think very highly of you. I was only concerned about an attitude that I thought I sensed in your first response to me. It is okay for us to disagree with each other. What is more important is the manner in which we disagree. Mr. Savage is one who sets himself up as an elitist who does not engage in healthy dialog. While he has found this to be very lucrative, his methods may only contribute to driving wedges of greater seperation between people who already disagree, rather than building bridges through intelligent and open dialog.

I hope that we can communicate in a manner that allows for bridge building.

Jeff

Media Matters was the group who started up this whole "Michael Savage hates autistic kids" controversy. Media Matters is supposedly a "watchdog organization," except their watchdoggery only ever consists of ripping quotes, out of context, from any and all conservative sources (especially radio) and then confabulating a scenario in which the conservative personality in question hates some defenseless group of victims that the public at large will sympathize with. The express purpose of this strategy is to whip people into an anti-conservative frenzy at every opportunity.

Media Matters can suck it.

Yeah, I think you don't need to write too much more to him. I think you did well to stand up for yourself and a gracious bow out of the argument is probably a good idea. I could tell a huge difference in his tone between the two emails, so I think your response did its job. I doubt you really care too much to argue with "Derrick" about Michael Savage's take on autism, because (lets be real) no one really cares.