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This is not a fun article to read. It is even less fun because it is current news and not a report of things back in the 1700's or 1800's, when people who were different often had fewer rights.
Clinically diagnosed and institutionalized mentally and physically disabled people (theoretically) have the same rights as those without such diagnoses and institutionalization.
When we look at our country, we know that the way we treat the least of us is an indication of our national temperament. That we allow such behavior to continue - to the point of death - and the people who cause the harm continue to work in those jobs without punishment, supervision, or repercussions for their dreadful behavior indicates just what bad shape our country is in.
There are far too many people, especially people in positions of power in the fields of politics, government, religion, and business, who are utterly callous and uncaring. I find this particularly disturbing in the fields of religion where people are supposed to be more caring, more giving, more accepting. When preachers and ministers of various religions say things like the poor deserve to be poor, and being poor is God's punishment on them for their (perceived) sins, then something is dreadfully wrong with our society.
There is hope for America, and that hope rests in our hearts.
We need to stop turning a blind eye to the poor, the disabled, the mentally challenged, and the downtrodden and if we're too selfish and self-absorbed to offer them help, we should at least refrain from kicking them or blaming them.
That's a start. One baby step at a time.
Once we've relearned that it is not acceptable to kick the poor, the downtrodden, the disabled, or the mentally challenged, then we can take the next step and stop verbally abusing them. And then the next step of not placing things beyond their reach. And then the next step of actually offering them help. And when we reach this point, maybe society will turn again and we'll genuinely start caring about them and providing the help they need; which isn't always financial - in fact, I think throwing money at the problems is only another way to stomp on the poor, the disabled, the mentally challenged, and the down trodden.
We need to find our societal heart once more, and if religion isn't going to be the heart, we'll just have to start a grass-roots movement for it.
Nice matters.
Love is.
Respect others.
Stop blaming, start caring.
We have the wealth in this country to provide for everyone - not charity (although charity is Good) but honest living wages, maintaining and developing an amazing infrastructure (with the wealthy paying more taxes if they aren't willingly allocating their excess to better pay for their employees and hirelings to cover the cost of the welfare assistance their greed causes), and fund the core services of a civilized society: education, health, fire, and public safety.
It's not right that the least among us suffer not just because of their condition but because we heartlessly blame and abuse them for that condition.
We need to find our hearts.
And then we need to listen to our hearts and follow through with heart-based actions.