Forest City, Iowa, Jan. 16 – People with disabilities (PwDs) are twice as likely to be victims of violent crimes as compared to the general population. When asked about how he would deal with this issue, presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson talked about America losing its faith and values and people becoming selfish.
“You see people not caring about the welfare of others, particularly people who might be disabled, and willing to take advantage of them,” Carson replied at Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa. “We have a problem in this country with our heart. And we’ve become so mean and so self-centered.”
Carson blamed this on the lack of leadership that “emphasizes values.”
In the most recent statistics available – released in 2015 with data from 2013 – the rate of violent crime against PwDs was more than twice the rate for people without disabilities, while PwDs aged 12-15 and 35-49 were three times more likely to be victims of violent crimes. Some of these crimes are committed by family members.
The presidential hopeful said a return to values would change these statistics. Stating that America’s strength lies in “her faith and her family,” Carson said those values have been under attack in America for the last 40-50 years.
“Those are the things that I, as president, will work very hard to reestablish once again.”
Previously Carson had called for privately funded organizations to help people with disabilities.
“Most of our social problems can be taken care of by business, industry, academia, Wall Street, churches and community groups,” Carson said in early August following the first primary debate of the season. “The government can serve as a very good facilitator for these things. That will work much better than the government trying to solve all these other problems. That was never what our government was designed for.”
Be First to Comment