Hmmmmmmm I'm confused today, those who know me will say that's nothing new for me but this is worse I promise.
I know we arent allowed to be homophobic, racist or ageist, and these are good things however it appears to be we can still be disabledist (ok I know not a real word but I'm claiming it as a "me" word) it seems people are allowed to belittle and humiliate disabled people. WHY????
Because its the last taboo, always something that will happen to someone else. Well I'm living proof that it can and does happen to anyone. I never thought I would be as bad as I am, in fact I never thought I would be anything other than able bodied.
So with that in mind why am I surprised when I read the comments posted on the Daily Mail??
The plain misinformation spouted there is alarming to me.
It seems we who claim (and rightly claim) DLA are liars and frauds. No we are disabled that's what the D in DLA stands for.
DLA = Disability Living Allowance.
Not - I think I shall fake an addiction allowance, or I shall go tell my GP I have a bad back and no testing will be done allowance, or as many seem to think some sort of out of work benefit.
DLA is paid to those who are in work as well as those who cannot work, its paid to recognise people need a bit more help than able bodied people. Its there to help with mobility aids, or carers, or whatever extra help a disabled person needs to make their life a little more tolerable.
In my case it helps pay for the extra clothing I need and when I have to go out (for instance to hospital or doctor appointments) pays for my taxis there and back and I can state it does not pay for holidays and days spent in the pub.
It is not easy to get DLA, you are made first of all to fill out a large form, often needing the help of professionals. Stating things such as how you bathe, use the bathroom, get dressed, shop for groceries, cook, feed yourself, how you take your medications - the dosages, the side effects and all manner of other questions which intrude on how you live your life.
Then you get doctors reports.
Then you get checked out, this may be just a phone call or it may be a medical. I was lucky I didn't have to go through the indignity of ATOS calling me a liar for DLA my doctors were believed, but its coming soon when PIP starts.
Then and only then after you have satisfied all the required tests and your doctors have sent back all reports backing your claim, you might get some DLA.
So you see its not easy to fake and pass all the tests, and to make sure everyone IS treated as a fake until the reports and corroboration is approved by the DWP. I may not agree that people should be treated as a fraud but it seems that's what helps keep the fraud rate for DLA at around 0.5%. Lower than any other DWP benefit and certainly much lower than the fraud rate of MPs expenses claims.
I see misinformed people claiming they know fraudsters who have numerous holidays a year, or they have a new car every 3 years.
Well I don't know about the cars since I don't drive nor does my husband, but I suspect, it may be that a newer car is less likely to break down, or need repairs, so may be a condition of getting the mobility car. I am happy to be corrected on that point as I say I don't know for sure because I don't have a car.
As for the holidays well how do they know the person isn't saving hard and doing without other help to have the weekend away twice a year?? Maybe they are saving up their Child Benefit, after all that's is supposed to pay for the needs of the children and not supposed to be used to pay bills. Maybe they have a friend or relative who owns a caravan at a holiday park, maybe they have a friend or relative who is putting them up for a week to give them a change of scenery.
I also noticed a comment by someone saying they know someone who uses a "sympathy stick" (their words for a walking stick not mine) and claims they see the person walking unaided, well I can categorically state I see more elderly people faking when it comes to walking aids than any working age person. Walk down my local high street on a weekday, and see it for yourself. The pensioners practically running down the road in case they miss a bargain at the market, in most cases they walk faster and easier than me, and I don't have any walking aids provided by the NHS. Then I see people claiming they are frail and need to push in front of everyone waiting on a bus, but they are quite capable of carrying a large shopping bag full to over flowing with groceries. What about the pensioners who demanded I move from the disabled seat on the bus, when I was still able to use public transport?? They look as able as I do.
Now here comes the fancy bit so pay attention . . . . . . JUST BECAUSE I CAN'T SEE A DISABILITY DOESN'T MEAN IT'S NOT THERE.
I don't call the DWP fraud line and tell them about the people I have seen racing about with heavy shopping bags, why, because I don't know for a fact that's it's not a great day for them. I don't know they aren't normally housebound, and that's why they are racing so they can be home before the pain medications wear off.
So my advice to the Daily Mail readers - walk a mile in someone else's shoes before you cry fraud.
Maybe the person is a fake maybe not, if you seriously think someone is committing benefit fraud call the claim line it's found on the DWP website, and let them earn their wages, instead of whinging and using the "I know someone is a fake because they have a holiday / I know they are a fake because they can walk unaided when I see them once a week" lines.
Maybe pay as much attention to your own life before you point the finger of fraud. I often wonder how the supposed taxpayers can be sat on websites such as the Daily Mail one, spouting off about all the frauds they know if they are working the 40 or more hours per week they claim to be doing. Maybe I should call them on their stealing from the company they work for. That's what being paid for working and fannying about online not for work is you know, theft.
So who really is the fraud???
Plenty people don't LOOK disabled, I don't, but I am. Come visit me for a day see how able I am to do the things you can. Have your eyes opened to how much I rely on other people for basic things such as bathing, eating and drinking, dressing, walking and most importantly taking my medication. Come see my finances, see how "rich" I am, see how much of a fraud I am.
Sadly I doubt it will change any, even one, of the Daily Mail readers minds.
Years ago I heard someone say "a lie gets half way round the world before the truth has its shoes on" and it's true and it seems that if a lie is repeated often enough then it gets stuck in the subconscious of the public. So the Daily Mail and other so called newspapers of its ilk repeat the lie that DLA claimants are frauds and the public start feeling resentful of disabled people, that leads to hate crimes towards disabled people.
Don't forget it's alright to hate us, remember its alright to call us frauds, the papers say so. It doesn't seem to matter that you actually don't know the millions of people who are disabled, you "know" someone who is a junkie who has a mansion, 3 holiday homes, brand new cars and not forgetting the obligatory 50 inch plasma T.V.!!!
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