Dear Mr. Scarborough and MSNBC:

I can tell by the smirk on your face and the way your arms are folded that you're clearly an expert on autism. NOT.

When I heard about the tragedy in Colorado last week I was at once horrified and filled with sorrow. My heart could barely contain the grief I felt on behalf of the victims and their families.

This senseless act of violence at the hands of James Holmes – a man who can only be described as severely disturbed or evil or both – has undoubtedly turned our nation on it’s axis and we have much healing to do as a society. Friday proved to be a day filled with many tears and even more questions as we collectively tried to come together to make sense of this frightening ordeal and the enormity of the pain it had and continues to cause.

I knew then that it would be a long time before many of us felt safe in seemingly benign public places , such as movie theaters, again.

I also knew it was a just a matter of time before some schmuck made the claim that Holmes was autistic.

Turns out, that schmuck is YOU.

“As soon as I hear about this shooting, I knew who it was. I knew it was a young, white male, probably from an affluent neighborhood, disconnected from society — it happens time and time again. Most of it has to do with mental health; you have these people that are somewhere, I believe, on the autism scale…I don’t know if that’s the case here, but it happens more often than not. People that can walk around in society, they can function on college campuses — they can even excel on college campuses — but are socially disconnected.”

Listen up Bucko; I have four words for you: Shut the hell up.

Your blatant fear mongering about autism is the last thing our special needs community needs. Not only do you lack proof that Holmes is even on the spectrum, you also claim that others who are driven to violence must have autism as well.

What a disgusting misuse of your platform, sir.

Also, it’s a SPECTRUM. Not a SCALE.

Also, happens “more often than not?”

Statistics, please, Mr. Scarborough.

Rather than focusing on the tragedy itself, you attempt to diagnose the perpetrator of this vicious  crime with a disorder you obviously know nothing about, spewing lies in an effort to break the code behind Holme’s motivations for the purpose of offering the American public a half-assed explanation for what YOU think went wrong.

But in the process, Mr. Scarborough, you further ostracize and villainize an entire population that is already often times misunderstood and misrepresented by the media and jackasses like yourself, Sir.

Now, I’d like to turn your attention to the DSM IV for a moment, if you will. You’ll see that there are a myriad of symptoms listed that indicate whether or not an individual qualifies as having an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Desire to Murder Innocent People, sir, is not among them.

So, in conclusion, first say you’re sorry.

Then, Mr. Scarborough, by all means, SUCK IT.

 

*Agree with me? Then sign this petition started by Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg. We can’t afford to let statements like this go unnoticed by our community and create more confusion about autism and the amazing people who are diagnosed with it.

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7 Replies to “Dear Mr. Scarborough and MSNBC”

  1. Well done Jo!

    I’ve spent a lot of time on this issue today, so here I thought I might make a slightly different point. I’d like to highlight one thing that stands out in this discussion;

    This guy has a family member with autism/Asperger’s syndrome and yet he still refers to the spectrum as a scale.

    To me, that means, this is a dad who is disinterested in his son’s condition and hasn’t spent nearly enough time talking to professionals. He needs to go home and be the dad that his family needs.

  2. Thank you for making people aware of this guys statements. I find them pompous and absurd, and I think that Scarborough must be a pretty ignorant reporter. Perhaps he would do better if assigned to the weather channel!

  3. He’s an ass, through and through. Even has a kid on the spectrum and still calls it a “scale.” Clearly he needs a handbook.

  4. Gavin- you make such an excellent point. As a father of a son on the spectrum, I would expect more. Much more. To come out and make such a blanket statement about our community is heinous to say the least.

  5. Check out the backpedel….

    “During a debate regarding the recent Colorado shootings, I suggested that the Aurora tragedy should make Americans focus more on mental health in this country. I also stated that my own experiences raising a son with Aspergers made me keenly aware of how important strong support systems are to those who might otherwise be isolated.

    The growing Autism epidemic is a tremendous burden for children, parents and loved ones to endure. My call for increased funding and awareness for Autism and other mental health conditions was meant to support the efforts of those who work every day to improve the lives of Americans impacted. Those suggesting that I was linking all violent behavior to Autism missed my larger point and overlooked the fact that I have a wonderful, loving son with Aspergers. Perhaps I could have made my point more eloquently.

    I look forward to continuing my work with wonderful organizations like Autism Speaks to provide badly needed support to millions of Americans who struggle with Autism every day”.

    I found this quote buried. Wish he would say this on air.

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