Sue Marsh from Diary of a Benefit Scrounger, reports on a concerted effort in the right-wing press to prevent any real debate over benefits.
Sue Marsh blogs at Diary of a Benefit Scrounger
Today, the Daily Express and Daily Mail are full of cheating, scrounging sick people.
The Express screams: “Blitz on Britain’s benefits madness”, contrasting those on “sickness handouts” with “hard working taxpayers”.
According to the the Express, Tory MP Philip Davies joined the outcry, saying:
“People are sick to the back teeth of being taken for a ride by people sponging and scrounging and abusing the system.”
While the Mail screams:
“Scandal of 80,000 on sickness benefits for minor ailments… including diarrhoea.”
To accompany the claim that “drug addicts” have been allowed to claim, they included a picture of someone snorting white powder through a rolled up note.
The papers go on to list “blisters”, “headaches”, “depression”, and “problems with scholastic skills” as evidence that there are hundreds of thousands of people living the good life at “taxpayers” expense who have nothing really wrong with them.
For a moment, let’s forget the fact that only the first ailment a person lists on their claim form is taken into account in these figures. Let’s ignore the fact that someone with “nail disorders” might also have cancer or kidney failure. Let’s ignore the fact that someone classified under “drug abuse” might also suffer from schizophrenia or multiple sclerosis..
I have “diarrhoea” but why? Well, because of the 32 growths I’ve had to have removed from my guts and the seven major operations to remove rotten lengths of bowel, leaving me with half as much intestine as your average ill-informed hack.
My friend has “blisters.” She suffers from the rare skin disease Epidermolysis Bullosa. Her skin blisters and comes away at the lightest touch, leaving her scarred and in constant, terrible pain.
“Headaches?” Cluster headaches (also referred to as “suicide headaches”) are thought to be one of the worst pains known to man, not something to be confused with a hangover.
I could go on, but I’m sure you’re beginning to see why these horrible articles, fuelled by “statements” today from Chris Grayling, minister for Work and Pensions and our very own prime minister, only serve to turn a sensitive, delicate subject into a form of attack. They aim to pitch one condition against another whilst asking more fortunate citizens to view those who are unwell with mistrust and contempt.
Perhaps there is a legitimate debate to be had over which conditions “hard working tax-payers” are willing to support. There is certainly some validity in the claim that many sick or disabled people would love help and support to find a job.
However, surely none of us agree that this is the way in which to conduct that debate? Surely allowing our politicians and our media to whip up hate and prejudice against a particular group of society is something we should all be ashamed of?
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148 Responses to “Right-wing hate campaign clouds debate on benefits”
Mason Dixon, Autistic
“You are still doing it. Please tell me where I mentioned anything about the reasons people eat too much.”
You didn’t and I never said you did; my point was the opposite, that you ignore the reasons and openly stated you didn’t want to hear about them. Helps if you actually read what people write rather than parse text and fill in the blanks with your imagination.
At no point here have I stated however that lifestyle choices are comparable with genetic conditions. That is entirely your invention projected onto me. You accuse others of exactly your own faults.
joe kane
#50
“Since you consider my responses barely coherent please feel free to ignore them – I won’t be offended….”
– Now you’re merely repeating what I say about you back to me. The mark of a troll.
I’ll say it again, I care about the victims of right-wing propaganda spread by abusive anti-social internet trolls. What your feelings are are of no consequence.
What the Labour Government did or didn’t do is of no consequence in this thread about the ConDem Government’s policies of blaming the increasing social problems it is creating on the victims of its unnecessary welfare spending cuts.
Economic inequality in the West has been on the increase ever since Thatcherite-Reagan neoliberalism was introduced.
To claim this government “will” decrease poverty with its continuation of the exact same neoliberal economic policies which has only increased poverty and inequality and produced vast public and personal debt balloons is arrant nonsense and right-wing propaganda.
You claimed ‘addiction’ had nothing to do with this discussion about Tories claiming drug addicts are sponging off the taxpayers – now you are claiming the tax system will decrease poverty and increase employment. What changes to the tax system has to do with ConDem Government propaganda designed to justify its welfare spending cuts aimed at sick, ill and disabled people I’ve no idea.
Anon E Mouse
joe kane – This government has already taken more people out of poverty with it’s tax changes than the party I supported my whole life pre Gordon Brown did in 13 years.
You can rant and rave about about markets and waffle on about Reagan blah blah. You can even use sixth form student terms like ConDems (please) but the facts speak for themselves and minimum wage workers like myself have more of our money than we did under Labour.
Anon E Mouse
Mason Dixon, Autistic – Comment 21 you said: “Like those with Prader-Willi Syndrome?” with reference to my obesity comment.
Your remark was a crude attempt to try to undermine my perfectably reasonable remark about obesity caused not by a genetic disorder but by overeating. That’s why I mentioned the fat, croquet playing Lord Prescott and the number of pies he eats.
There is a saying about being in hole and stopping digging Mason Dixon, Autistic. It’s probably time for you to stop now and move along. There’s nothing to see here and a PWS sufferer would not like you to compare their condition with a person eating the pies….
BenM
Oh dear.
Anon E Mouse doesn’t do stats.
That clanging sound is Mouse’s credibility being chucked in the trash can.