During Congressman Charlie Rangel’s reelection kickoff yesterday, Mr. Rangel was asked about one of his main primary opponents, State Senator Adriano Espaillat, and remarked, ”I do know that there are a lot of people who hear voices to tell them to do things, but they really need hearing aids.” And outspoken State Senator Ruben Diaz, in one of his regular “What You Should Know” statements, questioned Mr. Rangel’s remark today and suggested it was insensitive to people who do truly hear voices, even though Mr. Diaz himself is supporting Mr. Rangel’s reelection. “There are credible explanations for why people hear voices. One explanation is mental illness, and the other is that the voices are part of a religious experience,” Mr. Diaz wrote, going on to explain clinical schizophrenia before transitioning to his background as a Pentecostal minister. “In the religion that I practice and preach, which is followed by millions of Americans, we religious people constantly claim that the Lord speaks to us and tells us what to do, where to go, and what to say. Our religion is one where we follow our Lord’s voice. (Even to us, when we claim to hear the voice of God telling us what to do, people still call us religious kooks.)” The subject line of Mr. Diaz’s statement? “Does Adriano Espaillat Need a Hearing Aid?” Read the full piece below: Does Adriano Espaillat Need a Hearing Aid? You should know that during a press conference conducted by Congressman Charlie Rangel to address the topic of his future Democratic Primary challenge – without mentioning names – Charlie Rangel remarked: “I do know, that there are a lot of people that hear voices that tell them to do things, [and] they really need hearing aids.” Huh? Did Charlie Rangel mean that this is because the people to whom he was referring to, are going deaf? Did he mean that they don’t understand the right way of doing things? Or did he mean that they are misrepresenting what they hear? Only Charlie Rangel knows what he meant by those words. You should know that there are a few candidates challenging Charlie Rangel in the Democratic Primary, and among them is Senator Adriano Espaillat. It stands to reason that Charlie Rangel is suggesting that the other candidates, namely Adriano Espaillat, is listening to voices. There are credible explanations for why people hear voices. One explanation is mental illness, and the other is that the voices are part of a religious experience. A clinical diagnosis would say that people who hear voices have minds that are not functioning well. It would say that they suffer from schizophrenia with symptoms that include paranoia and claim that there are voices telling them what to do. Frequently, people clinically diagnosed with suffering from schizophrenia because they listen to voices and do harmful things commit suicide. Without proper treatment, they are in great need of clinical intervention and hospitalization in mental health institutions. The second explanation of hearing voices unheard by others is spiritually inspired religious experiences. In the religion that I practice and preach, which is followed by millions of Americans, we religious people constantly claim that the Lord speaks to us and tells us what to do, where to go, and what to say. Our religion is one where we follow our Lord’s voice. (Even to us, when we claim to hear the voice of God telling us what to do, people still call us religious kooks.) I am Senator Rev. Ruben Diaz and this is what you should know.