-end of line- an answer to the BBc relating to the removal of Disability Living Allowance.

By alphadog1

Mon, 10 Jun 2013
  • 895 reads
7 comments
 

I have temporal lobe epilepsy. There are many reasons why I have this condition. It is partly my fault, as in my youth I chose self medication over mental health treatment for the sexual and physical abuse I experienced at school. Also I have in my youth used my condition to skive off of work. I am ashamed of this, but I was a lot younger and far less stable than I am now.
At the moment this condition is controlled by medication. The medication I take is called Keppra. It is vital as without it, I will have generalized seizures of the temporal lope.
A generalized seizure is defined as when the body becomes fixed and ridged; the individual loses consciousness and -in my case- there is a loss of bodily functions. It can last for a minute or longer, I have had a seizure that lasted nearly half an hour and this nearly killed me. Usually it also means a short stay in an accident and emergency ward and or time for bed rest.
It also means I suffer from anxiety, short term memory loss, -due to the seizures I suffered prior to medication- panic attacks, as the world I seem to be in seems at times fluid and unreal, depression, as I feel unable to cope in environments I don't feel secure in, and -more importantly- it relates to indirect discrimination of employers whom will not employ a disabled individual over an able bodied individual.
Over ten years ago, I was assessed for D.L.A in Brighton.
Both my father and I were introduced to four Doctors: two men and two women, who asked a lot of very painful questions relating to my disability, how it affected my life and the effect it had on those around me. During this interview I stated that I could catch a bus, catch a train, understand a timetable, walk well and communicate my needs accurately. It was also during this interview that I got the impression that the doctors were prepared to offer me more money if I was dishonest and over-emphasized part of my condition. However I was honest. This honesty led me to be awarded what is now £20 pounds a week, or £80 P.C.M for transport for life.
There is no "cure" for my condition, it can only be controlled and that means medication forever. It also means discrimination against certain forms of work (prior to my condition I was a factory worker, and then a nursing auxiliary but both jobs were unsuitable.) Since becoming unemployed, and unemployable, I have matured as an individual. I found a lovely wife, and I have helped to bring into the world three beautiful girls. I have chosen to spend my time in improving my job prospects by getting an education denied me by the state through the Open University.
Since this Government have been in office, I have faced abuse from people locally, because they define me as "lazy and workshy";I have lost all benefit payments, apart from D.L.A and now live in fear of losing this, because if I do, I will not be able to have the money I need, to catch the bus, to get to Worthing to sign on to the Job program, that will never pay enough. Moreover it will remove the entitlement for being able to receive a free bus pass, so if I ever managed to get employment I couldn't get to the job that does not pay enough to feed our children.
I am one year away from finishing a BAhons degree in English, so I can attempt to do a masters in Screenwriting. (my dream career.)
The changes this government have made are wrong and unsustainable, because no employer will hire a disabled individual over an able bodied person. In doing so they have sentenced people to death. Until they can see the damage they are doing, I pray constantly that they are held accountable for their actions.
-end of line-

Certificate 15
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Comments

Submitted by Linda Wigzell Cress on
A poignant and punchy piece. What this government appears to be doing to vulnerable people is nothing short of criminal abuse. Linda

Linda

Submitted by alphadog1 on
Thank you. And I tend to agree with you, what is happening is criminal, and it is a form of abuse. The argument that is being stated by the government is misplaced; as many individuals whom are assessed for D.L.A have to go through a very rigorous interview. The same is said of the old and now gone incapacity benefit. They were not given on a whim. But handed out because individuals had problem's, and the state has a duty of care for its citizens. The real issue is an economic one, and that is not being addressed honestly. We are living in a world on the brink of globalization. The nation state is dwindling, and this creates a vacuum. This is why corporations such as Google and others are doing well, and why countries whom have a huge amount of human resources: such as China and India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are doing relatively better than first world nations. For though the majority of the individuals whom live in these countries are poor, the nations themselves are becoming increasingly wealthy. While we buy the products that cost a packet here they make for next to nothing there. Our own nation (the UK) is not because of the growing elderly population and the economic path that it chose to follow. The growth of the asset economy built out of the debt and mortgage market and the free market economy led to the end of the UK relying on a manufacturing base. This led to a lot of people being placed in a position of not being able to find the work that they could do; which in turn led to the growth of the benefit culture. Now this culture is now being criticized by the very people who instigated it over thirty years ago, yet they will not admit that their economic plan was a failure, instead they prop it up with bonds and more paper money that will lose its value before too long. But there is a solution. The great depression of the last century forced governments to reconsider their approach to economics, Franklin Roosevelt's "new deal" was a government assisted program to get the nation back into work. Many right wing thinkers despise the plan, they say it had little or no impact. However, the approach before the plan was instigated, an economic plan based on an austerity approach, led to the growth of "Hooverville's" shanty towns within cities, filled with the unemployed. Roosevelt's plan worked in as much as it gave hope and managed to get some people into a work program, that gave value.This is what work gives people. If the corporations chose to, they could work alongside governments to employ individuals and get them into a place where they felt needed. Its called third position economics. Its a fascist idea, but, as with the private/public partnerships of the N.H.S showed, it worked. I have been unemployed -and unemployable- for over ten years now. I'd rather be working, or studying, as it gives me a sense of self worth. Not at home, and moaning on facebook. :) x

 

Submitted by Esther on
I to am furious that those who face so much in life but still assert themselves and take their place in this judgemental world are treated in such a vile way. I would say this to you; and anyone else reading this. Any party of any colour who has hatched up and drawn together such an attack on disabled people are not worth voting for; they might be bright but they have lost their compassion just to draw votes. Keep fighting and don't give in and why not ask for a review of your case. Is there a CAB or a law for all place in your area.

Submitted by Canonette on
Thank you for sharing your story. I wish more people would. This government has started to vilify disabled people, it seems to be a slippery slope towards outright persecution. I hope the stress of your situation doesn't prevent you finishing your degree. All the best.

 

Submitted by alphadog1 on
Thank you. And I tend to agree with you, what is happening is criminal, and it is a form of abuse. The argument that is being stated by the government is misplaced; as many individuals whom are assessed for D.L.A have to go through a very rigorous interview. The same is said of the old and now gone incapacity benefit. They were not given on a whim. But handed out because individuals had problem's, and the state has a duty of care for its citizens. The real issue is an economic one, and that is not being addressed honestly. We are living in a world on the brink of globalization. The nation state is dwindling, and this creates a vacuum. This is why corporations such as Google and others are doing well, and why countries whom have a huge amount of human resources: such as China and India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are doing relatively better than first world nations. For though the majority of the individuals whom live in these countries are poor, the nations themselves are becoming increasingly wealthy. While we buy the products that cost a packet here they make for next to nothing there. Our own nation (the UK) is not because of the growing elderly population and the economic path that it chose to follow. The growth of the asset economy built out of the debt and mortgage market and the free market economy led to the end of the UK relying on a manufacturing base. This led to a lot of people being placed in a position of not being able to find the work that they could do; which in turn led to the growth of the benefit culture. Now this culture is now being criticized by the very people who instigated it over thirty years ago, yet they will not admit that their economic plan was a failure, instead they prop it up with bonds and more paper money that will lose its value before too long. But there is a solution. The great depression of the last century forced governments to reconsider their approach to economics, Franklin Roosevelt's "new deal" was a government assisted program to get the nation back into work. Many right wing thinkers despise the plan, they say it had little or no impact. However, the approach before the plan was instigated, an economic plan based on an austerity approach, led to the growth of "Hooverville's" shanty towns within cities, filled with the unemployed. Roosevelt's plan worked in as much as it gave hope and managed to get some people into a work program, that gave value.This is what work gives people. If the corporations chose to, they could work alongside governments to employ individuals and get them into a place where they felt needed. Its called third position economics. Its a fascist idea, but, as with the private/public partnerships of the N.H.S showed, it worked. I have been unemployed -and unemployable- for over ten years now. I'd rather be working, or studying, as it gives me a sense of self worth. Not at home, and moaning on facebook. :) x

 

Submitted by The Walrus on
This government is picking on the moist vulnerable people, Alphadog - I'm going through a similar dissection, and what tipped me over the edge during my latest bout of depression was the fact that I wouldn't be able to pay the bills even if I found minimum wage work, especially as many employers are using zero hours contracts so they can lay you off when you're not needed. The next thing, I fear, will be compulsory euthanasia for non producers.

Submitted by alphadog1 on
I agree Walrus, (huge hugs) I know I am not alone in this, but I am annoyed that instead of being honest about the problem, they are being disingenuous and treating the disabled as an expensive indulgence, mostly criminal and ripping the Govt off. How can that be possible, as to get these "benefits" (which is the wrong word in-itself, as all the state attempted to do was make individuals keep in line with inflation.) there is a rigorous interview. How are a lot of us going to get work, when the system is geared against us? We are not the fault of an economic policy that was geared at making a few people rich. But we have as much right to life as anybody else. Yet, according to their policies we are to blame, we are not cost effective enough? Moreover, there is the real question of discrimination, by the Government discriminating against disabled individuals, they are not making it easier for the employers who indirectly discriminate anyway as they choose an able bodied person, over a long term disabled individual. The fact is this (I will not use the term elected, as its disingenuous to the electoral process) Un-elected government have imposed sanctions on the poorest and the most vulnerable of our society, simply because they can't get into the field of work. My reply is: "Tell me what it is I can do, and I'll do it, as long as it pays enough to put food on the table and pay the bills." and I don't think your far off with the compulsory euthanasia either. Already the prisons will be turned into factory's. And many people I know seem to be applauding this: where will this lead? into individuals breaking the law to go into prison to get work to feel valued. Its totally insane. But, it's cheap labour. It dos not end there: consider G4s, they now run ambulance services, and some police work as well as security firms in prisons, take this further and you end up with a privately run security firm, under direct control of the government, not as it is now, the other way around. Add to that the secret courts and changes to the way newspapers are allowed to publish stories. We are not far off a dictatorship. First it was the mentally ill, then the disabled, then it was the religious... We are living in what the Chinese call "interesting times" Stay strong, Walrus; You are a fantastic writer, and have really spoken to me in the past. and if you feel low, mail me. We are in this together.