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DENIS LEARY - LEARY FORGIVEN BY LEADING AUTISM CAMPAIGN GROUP
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LEARY FORGIVEN BY LEADING AUTISM CAMPAIGN GROUP
LATEST: A planned protest against actor-turned-author DENIS LEARY's new book has been called off by autism activists after accepting the star's apology for scathing remarks he made against children suffering with the disorder.
The Rescue Me star sparked outrage among campaigners for young autism sufferers when an excerpt from his book, Why We Suck: A Feel-Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid, was printed in a U.S. newspaper last month (15Oct08).
In the book, Leary claims some parents use the brain development disorder as an excuse to explain their children's "laziness", and blames the surge in autism on "inattentive mothers and competitive dads".
But Leary defended himself against criticism and claimed his comments had been taken "out of context".
He has since issued two apologies for his remarks, and advocacy group Autism United has now forgiven him for his mistake.
Autism United spokesman and comedian Mark Anthony Ramirez has now cancelled the U.S.-wide boycott of the book, on the condition that Leary either omits the chapter in question, or donate some of the proceeds to charity.
Ramirez, whose own child has been diagnosed with autism, says, "I feel that Denis' apology was enough.
"But his claim that his comments were taken out of context is a veiled attempt to elicit more sales.
"As a parent of a child with autism, I feel he owes the autism community the money he is making for using what has quickly become an epidemic in our country as a cheap ploy to sell his book. He should donate a portion of his sales to assist children with autism."
01 November 2008 14:15
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screen name:
kb2890yahoo 
( 1)
posted on 05/11/2008 01:51
denis is a very intersting stand up and a talented actor, but trust me, he
is not meant to take verbatim. it was all a joke gone bad... had he said all
our lazy *#+ children, he would not have gotton himself into such hot water
with as an important sensitive, obviously protected group in our society like
our children with the plight of autistism! i think it was too sensitive of a
nerve for certain people to forgive and forget. denis should really think
before he publishes....i personally used to be a friend of his, but his
scheduele got busy. i helped him with his idea of rescue me! back when he did
that show looking for a show... do you all remember it? someone there came up
with the idea to use jesus on a show, which he later used on RESCUE ME and
another guy on the show later won a part on rescue me, the guy who now plays
the newly graduated probie? anyway, it was my idea and he began filming pretty
quickly on it...the basic character design, the idea to use ghost that only he
sees, and the name of his show.... and i am proud of how well the show has
turned out, altho i must say that even on RESCUE ME he dabbles in the danger
zone where he need not... that is just his style. love him or leave him, he is
as his famous song depicts.. just an #@$$%)*! kathy barrow
screen name:
AdonyaWong ( 1)
posted on 02/11/2008 08:57
I think the acceptance of his apology was a bit premature.<p>The entire chapter
of <i>Autism Shmautism</i> is available at autismunited.org, and the final
paragraph of the chapter speaks volumes (page 105). <p> Leary speaks of tossing
our children "on a plane to Iraq where you will be dropped out of the sky with
nuthin’ but a parachute and a bag of white rice—no cash, no toys, no more
SpongeBob SquareAss—ya follow?"<p>Don't fret! I'm not angry at Denis. I was
once a fan, so I know his style. I just think this chapter was in very poor
taste.
