Friday, April 06, 2007

everything is illuminated: the autism epidemic

Last night I calmly asked Google, so why are all these autism-related tv programs airing on ABC?

Answer: April is National Autism Awareness Month, a festive season whereby nonautistic people and other nonexperts discuss autism on network television.

So I've been going home immediately after work to catch up on the scoop. Here's a sample of what I learned about autism from Oprah and The View:

1. With genetic counseling, doctors will eventually attain 100 percent prevention of autism. That's right! 50 years from now, my birth could have been prevented.

2. Autism is characterized by having adorable big brown eyes, but pacing and pulling on your hair to utter devastation of remaining family. Those parents are goddamn heros for still loving their kids.

3. It is unknown (and uninteresting) whether autistic individuals may survive to age 21. There are no autistic adults.

4. Mainstream kids may be frightened of the autistic kids in their classroom and may need to do special workbook exercises to cope with the presence of these ... monsters. Oh the humanity!

Rosie's autism couch talk on The View (6.4.2007) culminates in a slightly-less-offensive interview w/ TG:

Rosie: So is there a gene that doctors can -- treat -- with gene therapy?

TG: Look. If there were no autism -- gene -- , then there would be no cameras and technical equipment to film this program. Those genes play a tremendous role in advancing in technology and the sciences --

Rosie: --- blah blah blah.

So this got me thinking: Many of my people are highly influential engineers of networks, CGI, cameras and ... the epistemological framework of genetic science.

So why are we allowing crap like this to air?

2 comments:

neal said...

NT short hand for Hilary Anne Ward equals dresser!

Its what I've been telling you all along.

Anonymous said...

Your portrayal of Rosie the Shrieking Liberal Pig is eerily accurate, esp. where she says "blah blah blah".

And I am a liberal!