Andrew Yang Enrages New Yorkers After Controversial Comments On The 'Mentally Ill'

Andrew Yang's turbulent New York City mayoral campaign has been filled with minor gaffes that have made New Yorker's question his credibility, like mislabeling a grocery store a "bodega" and cracking a joke about how hard it was to raise children in a New York City apartment during the pandemic, but critics have turned a sharper edge on Yang after he made a controversial statement on the mentally ill at the last Democratic Primary mayoral debate before the June 22nd primary election.

Yang was proposing providing psychiatric beds for the city's homeless population at the debate, saying, "Yes, the mentally ill have rights, but you know who else has rights? We do! The people and families of our city. We have the right to walk the street and not fear for our safety because a mentally ill person is going to lash out at us."

Andrew Yang: "Yes, mentally ill people have rights, but you know who else has rights? We do!" pic.twitter.com/l6AJ4xpqWV

— KnowNothing (@KnowNothingTV) June 17, 2021

The comments were harshly criticized by New Yorkers for their lack of empathy towards the homeless and mentally ill. Many noted that the mentally ill were often the target of police brutality and that the language casting the mentally ill as not "us" was harmful.

Andrew Yang elegantly lets us know that he thinks people with mental illness are not the city, not “us” and that “we” the wholesome families rights are being forgotten, while the police who endorsed him murder and kidnap mentally ill people every day.

pic.twitter.com/clASQqLr5U

— raf (@rafaelshimunov) June 17, 2021

Mentally ill people deserve rights, healthcare, and respect. Andrew Yang talking about getting mentally ill people off the streets so that other people don’t have to deal with us is truly appalling and is setting a lot of progress we’ve made back.

— Coll hates golf 🐬🎃🕸👻💀 (@BookSyrup) June 17, 2021

I’m not easily shocked, but I frankly haven’t heard anyone, public officials or private citizen, talk about people with mental illness in the way Andrew Yang did last night for over a decade.

— Gita Jackson: know it all (derogatory) (@xoxogossipgita) June 17, 2021

You know, Andrew Yang's policies may not be the best, but his outlook on the humanity of people who are different than him? Also incredibly terrible https://t.co/5tbSz0GTbk

— G. L. Di Vittorio (@ginadivittorio) June 17, 2021

Yang attempted to contextualize his statement after the debate, tweeting that mental illness is behind "half" of anti-Asian hate crimes.

Agree. Have been an advocate for mental health and will continue. Went to counseling as a young person. Full context here was mental illness is behind half of anti-Asian hate crimes. We need to get them compassionate comprehensive care – and not let them languish on our streets. https://t.co/vYAIwKcpM1

— Andrew Yang🧢🗽🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) June 17, 2021

This hardly quelled Yang's critics, who felt his argument, taken from a Daily News article, was highly flawed.

apparently Yang had justified his comments by claiming that “mental illness” is behind anti-asian hate attacks in the city, you know, instead of racism somehow

— erin taylor (@erinisaway) June 17, 2021

"Mental illness is behind half of anti-Asian hate crimes" based on this incredibly small sample, and the article itself repeatedly stresses that mentally ill people are more likely to be victims pic.twitter.com/f2H6N5yhIP

— HRH (@HRH_Rach) June 17, 2021

Not sure I agree that the other half of all anti-Asian attackers are of sound mind: all racist street attacks are unjustified, full stop.

— Don Hughes 🦌 (@getfiscal) June 17, 2021

The latest poll in the NYC Mayoral Race shows Yang in second place behind Erik Adams, though there are many undecided voters in what has been a volatile race thus far.