Russo = Savage on Autism? You’re Out of Your Mind, Lesser Klonsky
Fred Klonsky, not to be confused with that darling of the Communist Party, his brother Mike [or lookalikes Dennis Farina or Wario] gives the eyebrow-raiser of the day.
Everyone knows by now about Michael Savage’s comments on autism. Savage, apparently, has a partner in crime over at Scholastic.
Fred Klonsky thinks that Alexander Russo is one of those mean-spirited autism deniers because he said:
“How do you diagnose a case of autism? Good question. I (and most teachers) have no idea.”
Then Russo linked to a brief post in Slate about…. you guessed it: diagnosing autism.
Case closed, a sensible person might say. There’s no reason to expect an education journalist or a public school teacher to have any experience diagnosing autism. Do some, like F. Klonsky attests, encounter autism more regularly than others, and have a better understanding of what they’re observing? Yes, I suppose, but I wouldn’t expect it [and to be honest, I'd rather have a professional making diagnoses].
If you aren’t satisfied by Russo’s tiny blog bit - the one where he said he didn’t know about diagnosing autism, then linked to information about diagnosing autism - and you have a penchant for unhinged lunacy, you can read F. Klonsky’s analysis of Russo’s real intentions:
“Russo’s implication is clear. Is there really such a thing as autism? That’s not the point of the Slate article, by the way. It points out that diagnosing autism is most often done by using a check list of symptoms. It describes it as a spectrum disorder, in that is has a range of symptoms and degrees of severity.
That fact that Russo has no idea how to diagnose the disorder is hardly evidence of anything other than his own ignorance. That most teachers don’t know how to diagnose autism is not supported by facts nor is it hardly relevant since regular classroom teachers are not asked to diagnose anything, let alone autism. Teachers are asked to report behaviors. Doctors diagnose.
But Russo appears to line up with the crazy Savage in this nasty little couple of sentences. Shameful.”
Klonsky’s rabid argument makes no sense, and Wario The Younger doesn’t do readers the courtesy of linking to Russo’s original post. You might think there’s more in the original - there isn’t. One line, one link, that apparently suggests Russo has discredited claims of autism and considers it a “make pretend condition” [yes, it was awkward to type that phrase as an adult].
In that most charming form - that sinister wit and pseudo-strength that the Klonsky boys seem to think they have - F. Klonsky winds up his masterpiece:
“Notice I didn’t call Russo an “asshole.” Just ignorant.”
Fred, I’ll call you both - and I’ll throw “illiterate” in to boot, since nothing in your post suggests that you were able to comprehend Russo’s 17 words.
Maybe Mr. Klonsky found simply assuming that Mr. Russo wrote exactly what he meant too easy or too boring. Why take something at face value when you can harness your biases and preconceived notions to plumb for the mysterious hidden message? Extra points if you can extrapolate 17 words into two pages’ worth of “analysis”.
Julia,
Hear, hear!
You’ve hit the nail right on the head. Very post-modern approach by F. Klonsky here, so much so that I thought his post was a joke at first.
Why all the heat? Sounds like you and F.Klonsky agree on the important issues. Maybe he overreacted to Russo’s brief, but loaded statement. But why all the name calling and commie baiting? It adds nothing to this important topic. Basically, you and he (and Alexander Russo?)are saying the same thing. He’s saying it from a teacher of autistic children’s position, you and Russo from that of blogger. Me from that of a parent. Autism is a real and diagnosable problem. Schools, many of which are being overloaded with autistic kids and their teachers, have little of the badly needed resources to deal with the problem. We don’t need people like Savage, or others trying to use our kids in their political faction fights.
Agreed?
BG,
The problem is in inventing a position for Russo and then railing against that invention. There’s no merit in that.
Matthew,
I read yout post above and have only one question. Maybe you can answer it and settle the argument you caused between my brother and me. Which one of us were you saying, looks like Dennis Farina and which one of us looks to you like Warrio? I say, I’m the one that looks like Warrio-not so much like Farina. Thanks in advance for your help on this one.
BTW, I like your spiky hair. You look just like this kid I knew in high school.
Mike
Komrade Klonsky,
Zing!
In truth, I’m glad that we’re all having fun with this, although I still find nothing in Fred’s argument compelling. I don’t see any reason not to take A. Russo’s one line literally.
The syntax re: Wario and Farina was intentionally vague - I wanted to express a push and pull between the two figures without actually using the phrase “love child.”
As for my hair, I’d love to be able to rock the Unitas cut, but it isn’t thick enough to keep a good, clean Okie-From-Muskogee flat top. I find that a tiny bit of wax does the trick in the front and perks up otherwise floppy hair.
Some classics never die.