Organizers of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea are being chastised for displaying signs that barred people with mental illness from attending certain events. The Paralympics are gearing up to open on Friday, prompting one MP to call these signs "outrageous," as reported by the Mirror.
At Gangneung Olympic Park, where the speed skating and curling events took place, signs were posted listing who and what was not permitted to access and enter the venue. This list included storage for restricted items, people that do not follow security policy, the drunk, and the mentally ill.
A spokesman told the Mirror, "Korea is not as advanced as Britain when it comes to disability and we hope staging the Paralympic Winter Games here will act as a catalyst to changing this." The International Paralympic Committee has urged for the message to be covered. PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic organizers have apologized for causing offense with this message.
Norman Lamb, a British Liberal Democrat politician, said, "It’s a powerful reminder that in many parts of the world the stigma against people with mental ill health is as strong as ever."
This is not the first time the 2018 Winter Olympic organizers have unintentionally caused offense. In January, volunteers were given a handbook informing them that, "A female disabled is also a female human being." The patronizing tone did not go over well, and the organizers were again forced to issue an apology.
