James Charles ([info]queerasjimmy) wrote,
  • Music: The Everly Brothers: All I Have to Do Is Dream

Disavowing Disability

     Are you a healthy young adult who can work an eight-hour day? Do you have few other responsibilities you'd have to tend to if you weren't at a job all day? Are you smart and able to effectively communicate in the English language? Then call us now and collect YOUR disability!
     Sick, sick people. Are you serious? I have grown so jaded of this country's lousy compensatory systems for lazy people who need anything BUT assistance. You say you're disabled, eh? That's what that piece of paper says too, I bet. That's what you wave in front of the nurse, that's what you make sure you have when you visit the office that cuts your check. It's the Golden Ticket and you've found it; now you get to see the inside of the Disability Factory, where all the money is sucked away from programs that need it, printed onto little checks made of 24K gold, and mailed to you, the lucky recipient. Except you're not lucky. Anyone can get that check, it seems. Scratch that, if you NEED it, chances are you're going to have to prove it. How fair is that? It seems like everyone else who collects it stubbed their toe out front and figured, "Hey, while I'm here..."
     You broke your wrist. How sad. Take five years off from work, courtesy of the federal and state taxpayers. Does your knee hurt? Oh let me get that for you for the next, say, ten years. Your lower back is in pain? That sounds like a lifetime of compensation for you!
     You want to know what disability is? You were in a car accident and became a quadriplegic. Do you know what that is? That's when your arms and legs don't hurt because they're PARALYZED...FOREVER. Becoming blind, that's a disability. It's kind of hard to adjust to not being able to see after you have been seeing. Being mentally retarded is a disability for self-explanatory reasons. "My wrist hurts" is not a disability. "I can't stand up for long periods of time" is not a disability. Your wrist hurts? USE THE OTHER HAND. I'm pretty sure a right handed person can talk on the phone with their left. If you can, you can have a job! I'm pretty sure some jobs involve sitting most of the time. That's what I'm doing right now, and my back is fine. Nausea, burning, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea? Swallow a cap of pink bismuth and you're good to go...to work, that is.
     How pathetic are you of a person to sit at home for four years because you broke your wrist? I know you don't care, but I have to ask the question anyway. It's like a formality. That way, I have a record of how shitty your character is. "But sir, construction work was my livelihood, now that I can't lift, I'm dead inside." Too bad you weren't dead outside, then we could save that money and give it to someone who deserves it. Funny how you can't work and yet you have four kids...two of whom were born AFTER you started collecting disability. Yes, that smug smile on your face says it all. Shithead. My livelihood is eradicating people like you, but since I don't want to go to jail, I had to find something else to do. You should too. Be a telemarketer, a greeter, fold clothes, be a movie extra, lean signs against your body while cars drive by and honk at you. Homeless people do it. Homeless people work more than you do and get paid nothing. They're slaves. They should be freed and let to live in your house. I don't care if you don't agree, you pay for it using my tax money. Ergo, I own your house. Sorry, that's the way it is. At least it should be.
     If you use the system and benefit from it beyond your hour of need, you should have to work for the greater good of the country, hour for hour, for free, until your debt to society is repaid. Think of all the work we could accomplish by holding people accountable for their actions.

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  • 2 comments

Anonymous

June 25 2008, 22:39:11 UTC 3 years ago

Disability and the system

Guy with one of your verified disabilities here; I’m visually impaired or, blind of that explains it better for you. So, I guess I get a pass under your system but yet I haven’t received a dime of public assistance for the better part of my adult life. I suppose you’ll conclude that lends support to your arguments here; guy with a serious disability can work so why can’t everyone else!

Its all too easy to adopt a philosophy like what you support here and yet its also dangerous. There are people out there with legitimate conditions that severely limit their ability to work in the field they may have been in for several years. Joe blow might have worked construction for 20 years, had an on-the-job injury or an actual illness and may not be able to work in that occupation now. Your solution, go fold laundry or answer phones. Its not that easy. I work with people on a daily basis who are in this exact situation and, you should know, its not as simple as dropping a shovel or the controls of the fork lift and picking up the phone and being a world class customer service representative that a fortune 500 company would want to hire. It takes retraining and learning new skills before you just jump in to a new career.

Hopefully you’re working now and paying in to the Social Security Disability Insurance program so that, God forbid, if you wake up one day with a screwed up back or a broken wrist that makes it impossible for you to work, that you have something to support you while you hopefully take your own advice here and get a new career. Disability can effect anyone at any time; its an equal opportunity classification with no regard to race, color, gender or wealth. We’re the nations largest minority group, 51 million strong. So, if you need that benefit you’re paying for now, don’t expect it to just drop in your lap. You’ll probably fight for a few years to be awarded benefits while you loose your savings, that 401K you should be contributing to, your car, your property and perhaps even your family. Sound good? That’s the reality for the vast majority of people trying to get what you think is some big bonus prize for being a slacker. If you want something valid to complain about with the disability system in America, try fixing the system and pushing for better programs that can help people get trained and go back to work in a new career that puts food on the table and can support a family.

[info]queerasjimmy

June 26 2008, 04:09:19 UTC 3 years ago

Re: Disability and the system

I think you slightly misunderstood my argument about working after your livelihood has been taken away from you. I never said that you would be world class anything really, but you can do something.

Additionally, I was not referring to those people who are in serious need of disability. I was referring to those people whom I described in the entry as having children while receiving disability, who do nothing all day because of disability.

As far as your relearning skills, I agree with you that it is important for people to learn skills, especially after losing a job they might have had for years. However, being a customer service rep does NOT require any special skills other than the ability to communicate effectively in the English language. It was also meant as an example as one of many career opportunities which are afforded those with limited abilities be they from disability or lack of special skills.

Now, I'm for subsidized assistance for people who work as best they can but are not making as much as they were in a special skill, but I think it is important to do as much as you can before sapping the system. Sure, you might not have your livelihood, but using the excuse that "I never was trained for telemarketing, so I am going to instead sit at home and fuck and get paid for it" isn't flying with me either.

As far as pushing for better programs, trust me, if I were king of the world it would be a much fairer place. Those who abuse the system would be forced into labor camps or killed, because I truly hate them. With them out of the way, the rest of you who actually deserve some compensation would be able to get at it with a minimum of bullshit and a maximum of assistance. Unfortunately, I share the podium with at least 50% of people with an IQ below 100, and as such, must to some degree settle for mediocre programs befitting such genius.
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