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Another Scrounger…..!!…
About a week ago I was crossing a road using my walking stick. Suddenly there was a car moving toward me at quite a speed and either due to his speed or me being slightly slower than I used to be he had to very marginally slow himself. He then deliberately steered in my direction to shoo me off the road as it were (not to hit me). I heard the words “Bloody Scrounger” as I leapt for the pavement. The old foot drop kicked in and I went sprawling. An unsavoury incident obviously but it was the reaction of the witnesses that shocked me. Just looks of mild amusement and disdain, not one said a thing, offered help or ried to get the car number. I picked myself up and scurried away feeling I was in the wrong. I am sure they were caught up in the moment and just blindly followed the logic, “there is one of them scroungers”.
A bit if Social History for you. After thirty years of doing my Family History last year visiting a 94 year old in the last month of her life I was told the most amazing fact. Suddenly everything in my and my families life fitted together, this was the focal point. It was the day my 34 year old single father came home from work to be told he was in big trouble. Mother and elder sister were waiting for him in the parlour. Big trouble, parlour only for visitors and tellings off. He was told that he had brought shame and disgrace on the family. How could he blacken their name so after all they had done for him. What was this terrible crime. There is no denying it they told him, “because you have been seen”…………you have been seen……………………………………with a cripple !” You have guessed it the cripple was my mother with her Neuromuscular disease. A shocking incident but it is pure social history. People were brought up to believe many things we now know are completely inappropriate. We must not judge them for being part of their time. That is how they thought. They are still my family and my feelings do not change at all towards them because they did not know any different.
My point is this. When I read on this site and others the experiences and feelings of disabled people I get very worried indeed. Have we suddenly taken a step backward to another generation? Is it suddenly alright to see all disabled people as scroungers and some sort of lesser being. I forgive my ancestors, they did not know what they were doing. In this day and age there is no excuse. Demonising one section of society just to save money and because you know they are an easy target is reprehensible. Whipping up hysteria with intemperate language like “muggers” and “lifestyle choices” that they know will be apllied to all the disabled while not saying a thing about the much worse problem of greedy tax avoiders / evaders.
Has the world gone start staring mad?"Even if you are not paranoid, it does not mean they are not out to get you!".
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…@taungfox wrote:
Has the world gone start staring mad?
Earth is the lunatic asylum of the Universe. ::shakeshead::
Society is becoming more intolerant, impatient and easily mis-lead.
I'm always the animal, my body's the cage
I blog about nothingness www.amgroves.com
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…I am sorry to hear about your experience, I imagine that we’ve all had something similar.
The social fallout of what the politicians and media are doing will, unfortunately, last for quite some time. One of the worrying aspects is that it will imprint itself on the most impressionable generation and be carried forward by them and passed on to their children.
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…Hi Taungfox
What happened to you is terrible and it reminded me of an incident I had about a year ago. Not nearly as bad as yours but still emotionally upsetting. I had plucked up the courage to catch the bus to town which considering I cannot walk outside without holding someones arm for support is no mean feat.But I had my walking stick and I had thought through what I needed to do.
So off I went. The bus stop is a minute away and all was OK to start with as I could hold the fence with one had and stick with the other. When I turned the corner it all started to go wrong. There was nothing to hold with my free hand! Suddenly I was really struggling, taking babysteps and seriously thinking of going back home. But gritted teeth and continued. Unfortunately Isaw that there were a few people stood at the bus stop ande they would all be watching me which would make me worse. Anyway got to the lampost so that I could hold on to look before crossing the road. Somehow managed to step off kerb and cross the road and grab hold of the bus stop. I said “made it” in a jokey sort of way and not one of them said anything!! I felt a total freak. They’d all seen me struggle.If only someone had said something back that would have made everything OK. What is the matter with people????? They are just so rude. It’s down to bad manners. A smile and a word costs nothing but means everything.Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…Indeed, I agree Valerie, lack of manners.
taungfox, I don’t know if you saw it but, I visited that government website the treasury put up for suggestions on ways to cut money. I lost count of the offensive posts I reported. Some people think that being disabled & DLA is a life style choice & adopted that attitude because of the poor explanation this government has given for sending us all back to the doctors in 2013 for medicals we’ve all no doubt had already, I know I have. Honestly, some people think we’re a burden. I can only imagine they’re so mouthy on the net because their comments are posted without looking somebody in the eye. I wouldn’t want to start a political debate but, these people in charge are only doing damage to us from what I can see so far. There are cuts in care in the community & anybody living in sheltered accommodation & receiving DLA is going to lose the mobility component, leaving many isolated. That’s as far as I understand it anyway, correct me if I’m wrong. I had a medical in 1998 & have the certificate to say my award is permanent unless my circumstances change & obviously they won’t for the good. This medical is a waste of my time & the doctors & another expense for the taxpayer. I agree there should be welfare reform but, they’re gunning for the wrong benefit
I do not go out walking alone at all through fear of falling down, I don’t think anybody would help me up & I’m quite a lump at 6’2″ & 13stone. Thankfully for me, I hope that will all change next week as my first power chair arrives on Friday afternoon. I always knew this day would come when I got the chair & I’ve always dreaded it but, I’ve been getting used to the idea more & more. Everybody is pointing out that it will allow me to explore where I live & get out. Currently I don’t leave my home unless a friend or family member takes me out in a car & that’s rare.
But, my brother, Andrew, eventually sold me on the idea. Andrew has always walked Gwen for me, once in the morning before his work & once on his way home. I am very, very grateful to him because I couldn’t keep a dog otherwise & Gwenny is quite a big girl & needs her exercise. Anyway, I managed to walk Gwen when she was a puppy, her very first walk after her booster & have never done it since. And upon hearing about the chair & my concerns Andrew simply said this “This chair doesn’t mean you can walk Gwen yourself cos she’s just too strong for that but…it will allow you to go for walks with us bruv. So, you better get a hat, scarf & some gloves cos it’s getting bloody cold out there”. I just smiled & cried my eyes out
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…Sounds like ou have an awesome bro indeed
I'm always the animal, my body's the cage
I blog about nothingness www.amgroves.com
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…Thanks very much for everyone’s support and kind words. Worrying that others are having similar problems.
Sympathies to Val. Welcome to Woogy, just what the site needs, someone who posts a lot and has great pet photos. Good luck with the chair.
Let’s all hope for more understanding in the future but some of the current signs are not good.
Is it just me or were people horrified at the moment the welfare reforms were announced in the Commons. One would have thought it was a very sombre moment announcing measures that would cause harship to many thousands of disabled people. Instead Mr osbourne was smiling and receiving rabid cheering from the benches behind him. Maybe the people who say these attacks on the sick and less well-off are doctrinal have a point. I say it shows no respect for the people affected and harps back to a time when people were looked down on if they were disabled.
Postcript on my father who was chastised for “being seen with a cripple”. Being sensible and not wanting bad feeling he carried on seing my mother in private for three years. when they decided to get married they took the bus to Bridgwater register office returning to their families that night without a word. Only three years later when a child was on the way did he “own up” to having married the cripple. Please can we not go back to this era where people are looked down on because they are disabled. The only saving grace is that I am sure Mr osbourne created thousands of new disabled rights campaigners at a stroke. Some people are calling him Adolf Osbourne or Robin Hood in Reverse Osbourne. This is wrong. We have the moral high ground and are the ones who are being unfairly treated."Even if you are not paranoid, it does not mean they are not out to get you!".
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…I have stopped going to the pub as i am sick to death of people asking me what is wrong with me and finding it necessary to fire questions at me as an absolute right. I am in fact becoming something of a Hermit now and only go outdoors when i have to but will usually find an excuse not to.
In the ideal world i would have a job and friends and maybe a partner but this is not an ideal world, far from it and we have to play the cards we are dealt. My ex couldn’t get shot of me quick enough with my MD problems and i can quite honestly say that if i didn’t have 2 daughters i would find a nice high bridge to jump off.Ranald
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…Hello Listers,
It seems we must try and cheer Ranald up! He is obviously having a bad day.
We all will have bad days and as the most hermity of the hermits I really know where he is coming from. At the time things often seem black with an uncaring world sailing by worrying only about it’s Ipads and Subarus.
Maybe we can all try and focus on the upside of things rather than the negative. I do feel that for every closed door another one opens. We are at least given time and opportunity to devote ourselves to things that are important. I am sure that because of this we are all ascending to higher levels of understanding on a series of issues of common interest. This is maybe why we sometimes see the world as facile and uncaring. Let us keep to this “moral higher ground” and move forward.
I last went in a pub ten years ago, in a restaurant or cinema five years. Difficult at the time, now it seems the perfect decision, I just do not have to worry about those things and the baggage and issues that they bring. Instead I have for instance done my Family History to a level few people will ever get to culminating in the discoveries mentioned in this thread. That is me that is what I do, not defined by some obsure job title that really means nothing and could end at anytime.
Yesterday was my bad day. I fell down the stairs on a double decker bus. My fault entirely, I disobeyed my downstairs only rule just because the bus passes by the S.S. Great Britain. Bad decision and I am so lucky to only suffer a broken finger and bruises. Apparently someone was killed just this way on this same route last year. Lots of hassle obviously, lots of guilt for holding up the other passengers, but today I feel so relieved. That was the big accident that can happen to any of us at anytime. A great learning experience, I wil not make those mistakes again and feel better for it. I hope Ranald can find some solace in the difficult changes he is going through. there will be positive asoects to it all what ever it seems at one moment in time.
The funny aspect to my fall is it mirrored a famous film scene. I stumbled slightly and grabbed for the handrail but with my gammy hands there is no grip at all and I slowly slid down the curved hadrail. Just like the famous scene at the end of Dr No this is undoubtedly what saved me from serious injury but it is a lesson learned and chhers me up immensely.
"Even if you are not paranoid, it does not mean they are not out to get you!".
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…Ranald,
Sorry to hear how unhappy you are the moment. I know it’s easy for people to tell you “buck your ideas up” (fist clenching already :twisted: ), but I think it’s more important to let you know that we are here to listen.
Personally I’ve felt the same way a couple of times myself since my diagnosis and the deteriation I’ve gone through in a short space of time, compounded by recently learning my Dad has terminal cancer. I think the trick is to try and think of the positives in your life, in your case it is obviously your daughters, although I accept that at times there don’t always seem to be that many. Sorry for the ramble but it’s hard to know what to say without sounding patronising, something I think we all experience too often.
I think it is important to be able to express how you are really feeling at times, but there is often not many palces you can do that. Hopefully the board will provide an outlet for that, although if people realise they are having to rely on an idiot like me, they may look elsewhere!
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…Thanks for the support guys. I am sorry to hear about your accident taungfox, you are doing well being able to get up the stairs in the first place!
I was a bus driver up until September last year but it was getting ridiculous with regards to my struggling to even get on the damn bus!I would like to work again but i have had zero interest so far…
You were being in no way patronising Paul, i appreciate your kind thoughts, especially you probably don’t feel all that happy yourself. I must remember that i don’t have a monopoly on misery!
I had an interview for a volunteer job with in a charity shop last week but the look of horror on the woman’s face when i wobbled in on elbow crutches said it all. “How will you manage all the stairs?” the lady asked and i said simply that i wouldn’t, so much for my detailed account of my problems in the application form!
At least the Work Focus Interview Mafia are leaving me alone these days, it was a typical example of the “cream and park” system with them on the blower every other day with unsuitable jobs, that was until they realised i wasn’t going to be bullied into making them look relevant.
I would be interested to know how you guys have fared with your respective private providers with regards to WFI and the whole ESA fiasco.
All the best, RanaldRe: Another Scrounger…..!!…I can relate to your desparation & frustration Ranald. I have been there. I got by by focusing on something to keep me going & you’re very lucky to have children. I imagine they inspire you & give you strength & they don’t know it
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…That is great you are getting a powerchair, i believe they are very expensive and i am dreading the day i need to find the cash for one. I hope to be signing up for a motability car early in the new year, i am still waiting on a decision regarding the return of my driving licence which was revoked last October.
As for my two daughters, i only see them every second weekend but i hope that when i am suitably housed in a 2 bedroom flat as opposed to my current rabbit hutch, i might be able to go back to court to force ex to allow me at least 2 days every week, i would actually like 50/50 but that might be beyond attainment.
In my view, i would be much happier in my life if i could get back to work, all this sitting about on my laptop 24/7 is probably the most self destructive and inadviseable course of action to take but i have simply lost hope of getting back into work, i hav only ever done manual or driving types of work and have no transferable skills for the office environment.All the very best, Ranald.
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…That is great you are getting a powerchair, i believe they are very expensive and i am dreading the day i need to find the cash for one
Ranald, when the day comes you need a power chair get your GP to refer you to your wheelchair services clinic. If you qualify (which you should do) they will provide you with one or if you don’t like what they are offering and if they do it you can get a voucher to help you with some of the cost. I’m doing this at the moment.
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…My first chair arrives tomorrow & as Vicki mentioned mine is being supplied by the wheel chair service. I am as much nervous as I am anxious & looking forward to it. I think it will be a long day
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…Ignore what I said about the voucher scheme I found out today that is only for manuel chairs.
My power chair has got to go back to them its not any good for me. It was giving me really bad pain in my back, neck and hips
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…@vicki wrote:
My power chair has got to go back to them its not any good for me. It was giving me really bad pain in my back, neck and hips
That sucks. Will it take long to arrive?
I'm always the animal, my body's the cage
I blog about nothingness www.amgroves.com
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…I’m hoping they will come and collect it next week. Its currrently sitting in my bedroom gathering dust!
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…My chairs arrived. It’s a big heavy piece of kit. I wondered why it took them six weeks to bring it back after being delivered before with no back rest & seat. I thought they was just bits of foam, turns out the seat is £100 & the back rest £400 !!! Chair itself is £4,000 so I’m not allowed to play with it in the rain (and it’s persistent right now) til I got a smock for me & the chair. I’m gonna look good in that… NOT
Re: Another Scrounger…..!!…Chair itself is £4,000 so I’m not allowed to play with it in the rain (and it’s persistent right now) til I got a smock for me & the chair. I’m gonna look good in that… NOT
Is that one of their stipulations on having the chair? If you refuse to wear a smock do they not let you have the chair?
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