How people perceive disability benefits

We live in an age where people are not encouraged to stop and think things through let alone think for themselves. It’s easy to believe what someone else says without question and go with the flow; that’s how urban myths come into being.

Newspapers don’t care about the truth, they care about sales figures and if campaigns sell papers that’s what they’ll do, the title might be shop a pedophile or scrounger or illegal immigrant, it doesn’t matter to them. If innocent people get hurt along the way that’s just unfortunate but justified by the increase in the sales.

Politicians are equally disinterested, everything is expedient for them. The sound-bite was a god-send, you don’t have to say anything clever anymore, just sound like you’re saying something clever. It’s votes that keep politicians in their seats, not telling the truth, in fact that could just lead to an early exit, from the party most definitely!

Unfortunately there also exists a group of people who are also looking for an easy ride and if playing the disability card is seen as lucrative then that’s what they’ll do. I suppose that we all know, or at least know of, someone who claims to be disabled when in fact they are probably just overweight. You can see them tootling along in their electric scooters. There aothers of course, some more subtle too, but they merge in with the real disabled people. That’s the sad truth. Like the politicians and the newspaper editors they don’t care as long as they are getting their cut. It doesn’t matter that someone with a slow debilitating condition is getting demonised because of their action, as long as they can continue to claim a disability benefit without actually being a genuine case they will continue never mind the damage it might do to others in the long run.

And there’s the rub. The system is flawed, it always has been. However, rather than mend something broken the politicians want to bolt something extra on top, to make life that little bit more difficult by failing to fix what so many people know is wrong. It’s far easier to blame those claiming disability benefits – all the claimants – than to do the real work at the beginning of the claim and assess people fairly, probably because they’ve cut so many civil service jobs that they don’t have enough staff left to do a proper job anymore. If they can’t do the job properly at the beginning when a claim is first made how are they going to do it properly further down the line at a review stage?

The British public generally don’t like the disabled. They prefer them to be stiff upper lipped about their problems, suffering little angels who just get on with it in the background and don’t intrude too much into daily life. I sometimes get the impression that they would be happy for us to be neither seen nor heard. Unfortunately many disabled people, probably for their own personal reason, oblige them. Then again, if a disabled person starts complaining how often are they painted as bitter and twisted like Richard III?

That’s the problem with the disabled, they’re not photogenic, they’re not media friendly, they’re termed with a negative and they always seem to have something to compain about (with me it’s my Myotonia Congenita and Spina Bifida Occulta)! I remember a boss from a few years ago once telling me that he had a problem working with disabled people, I agreed with him, he did have a problem. Unfortunately experience has taught me that he was far from alone.

Is it ever going to be possible to present the disabled in a positive light?

I wonder how many para-olympians receive disability benefits?

(Rant over!) :evil:

i am in agreement with you both, it is a double edged sword. DLA is provided as a way of helping to support the disabled in our community but, ignorrant people dont see it that way.
i wish i could go back to work and not feel so under a microscope all the time.
people always stare when i pull up in the disabled parking and whip out a blue badge, its as though you should only park there if you are over 60 and smoke like a chimney. or as michael mcintyre put it “roll out of the car door on the floor and crawl into the shops on your hands and knees” lol (might try that one day for a laugh, i get ssooo bored)
sorry but i get it so often it sometimes drives me up the wall. i am going to get a banner printed on my motability vehicle saying ” this driver sufferers with muscular dystrophy, please give way”. wonder what sort of responses that will evoke? hmmm ??

@j4m3s wrote:

i am going to get a banner printed on my motability vehicle saying ” this driver sufferers with muscular dystrophy, please give way”. wonder what sort of responses that will evoke? hmmm ??

Well, seeing as it is spelt correctly, not a lot

One day at a supermarket car park when a passenger in the neighbouring car had intently watched me slowly walk to my car, lift the carriers which were obviously very lightly packed onto the back seat, take the trolley back to the store, and incredibly slowly walk back to the car, as I was about to park my butt on the seat, they wound down their window and remarked “These spaces are for the disabled you know” ….. now I am easily miffed by blatant stupidity, I smiled and in my ultra-polite voice replied “I do aplogise, I didn’t get cured when I hit puberty” and continued on my way.

Another time when a old wrinkly suitably miffed me I remarked “Disability is not a geriatric right”

I don’t suppose the media will be launching a campaign against the cashpoint cripples who park in disabled bays just because its’ close to the ATM?

That would be something I’d support! :twisted:

Oh I’m not surprised, so much in life is provided as a courtesy, we have very few rights.

@amgmod wrote:

@j4m3s wrote:

i am going to get a banner printed on my motability vehicle saying ” this driver sufferers with muscular dystrophy, please give way”. wonder what sort of responses that will evoke? hmmm ??

Well, seeing as it is spelt correctly, not a lot

One day at a supermarket car park when a passenger in the neighbouring car had intently watched me slowly walk to my car, lift the carriers which were obviously very lightly packed onto the back seat, take the trolley back to the store, and incredibly slowly walk back to the car, as I was about to park my butt on the seat, they wound down their window and remarked “These spaces are for the disabled you know” ….. now I am easily miffed by blatant stupidity, I smiled and in my ultra-polite voice replied “I do aplogise, I didn’t get cured when I hit puberty” and continued on my way.

Another time when a old wrinkly suitably miffed me I remarked “Disability is not a geriatric right”

lol im a bit like that myself. i will only respond if needs be.

Tyger Tyger – that is a true classic.

As a wheelie, I have noticed that the true able bodied only notice the six inches above and below their eye line, hence why I get clumpd in the face with back-packs and oversized handbags and in crowds hurried individuals seem to fall over me as they manoeuvre into what they see as a hole in the crowd but which is actually occupied by me!

@valerie wrote:

I’m thinking of getting a hooter for my chair LOL

Air-horns!!

I still wobble about with an elbow crutch and i am forever being barged into in shopping centres etc by people who refuse to walk around me. Common sense would tell them that i will struggle to change direction quickly but when did common sense apply to most out there?
Since i had my driving licence taken off me i have been reliant on buses and the oldies get really upset if they come on the bus and see me sat in one of the single seats! Not my fault i need the room as i can’t keep my legs shut! (no comment).
I am actually looking forward to my progression to a motability scooter as i imagine it will be alot less hard work that trying to balance and walk in my feeble Long John Silver impersonation. I have thought about getting a parrot and an eye patch just for a laugh but it would probably get me sectioned into the bargain!
Btw, are there any cool scooters out there that i should consider? I already use a designer crutch and i don’t want to go about in a granny mobile.

Ranald