As well as informing people of how my Aspergers has impacted
and continues to impact upon my life, I want to use this to comment upon issues
that either affect me directly or interest me. I am currently studying
sociology at Huddersfield University and sociology has opened my mind to the
world around me and how I look and think about society. All opinions and views
on my blog are entirely my own and are nothing to do with any person or institution
whatsoever.
I am writing this blog on Thursday 3rd November
at 5.35pm about a Panorama programme on at 8.30pm about benefit claimants
defrauding the system and living a life of luxury. The reason for me writing it
now before the programme is that I don’t want to end up ranting and raving, and
would like to try and give a balanced view on a very emotive subject. This link
will allow you to read about the programme on the BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_9630000/9630233.stm
The programme is concerned about people receiving disability
benefits whilst living a life of luxury and even working. Now I am all for
rooting out anybody who defrauds the country of valuable finances, but my
concern with this programme and other media stories is how people on benefits
are being portrayed at the moment. As I see it, the current government has very
cleverly turned around the public’s opinion of who is causing the country the
most problems financially from the bankers and banks whose reckless handling of
money caused the current problems and are still living a life of luxury funded
indirectly by the taxpayer, to people at the bottom of society on benefits who
are now, it seems bringing the country to its knees, defrauding the benefits
system and not doing anything of any benefit for the country.
What is worrying for someone life myself who is receiving
disability benefits and trying to turn my life around, is that I will get
tarred with the same brush. People will look at me and assume that I am also a
feckless scrounger of society and by returning to education I am merely trying
to avoid working, when nothing could be further from the truth.
Within my voluntary activities involving various autistic
groups, I come into contact with people on the spectrum, carers and parents for
whom benefits are a lifeline, not to a life of luxury, but to a basic standard
of living which gives them the ability to try and exist at the same standard as
most people do. Without these benefits many people would live a sub-standard
life and would struggle to maintain a decent lifestyle relative to others.
Are people with physical and mental health difficulties to
be expected to perform on the same level as atypical people? Is it a case of
stop moaning and get on with life, because we are all in the same boat? Or by
receiving benefits are people actually able to contribute more to society and
the economy, but this is lost in the media frenzy that is currently sweeping
the country, needing a scapegoat to blame for the financial black hole we have,
that is due to a minority gambling with the majority’s money, using systems
beyond the comprehension of most of society whatever the level of education, to
fund their own lifestyle of luxury without any moral thought or reflection on
the possible damage they could do.
It would be possible to look at conservative ideologies, but
I feel that I have said enough already. It is clear that the current benefits
system is not fit for purpose and changes need to be made, but it must also be wrong
to blame a part of society for a
financial meltdown that was not of their causing, and to continually highlight
a minority that are spoiling it for the majority who are trying their best to
survive day to day. Or is this merely a society we are creating where the most vulnerable
in society are made to be scapegoats because they are an easy target and by
pushing them further down they will eventually give in, shut up and live a poor
Victorian existence, day to day, hand to mouth hoping for the best but knowing
that the best will never come.
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