Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, Erie County Office for People with Disabilities Executive Director Frank Cammarata and several local disability organizations have now publicly denounced President Donald Trump’s use of a slur last week.
The “r-word,” as it's referred to by advocates, was once used to segregate and harm disabled people.
In a statement released Wednesday, Poloncarz said, “it’s despicable, it’s low, it’s another sign of his severely atrophied vocabulary,” regarding the president.
“We proudly stand shoulder to shoulder against that type of ignorance and hate and all those who espouse it, today and every day," Poloncarz added.
"We need to make sure that we hold our leaders to account," Cammarata told BTPM NPR by phone. "We want to make sure the influence that they're peddling is a mature influence; that they're not using language like this, that they're not even having thoughts like this.”
Local organizations including the Center for Self Advocacy, the Spina Bifida Association, Unique Theater, People, Inc., the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities and the Self-Advocacy Association of New York State also condemned the president’s language.
