Later my 12 year-old answered the phone to someone who has been ringing me since 2001. The caller gives me only her first name. Was a time her son would get on the other extension and they would harangue me doubly. An elderly lady who goes on and on without taking a breath about walking a mile in her shoes, unfairness, rich capitalists,etc etc. Yesterday she knowingly visited it on my daughter. That makes me very, very angry.
Then this message was put on an older post (alerted through e-mail). Probably a further response after searching my name:
The minimum Wage for a 40 hour week is too low.The person on this could also get accommadation benefit and working for families etc if they are elligible.You didnt mention this.Have you ever lived on this amount Lindsay?Where would you live?Would you want to live in a bad,crime ridden neighbourhood with children in your care?How would you like to live with a drug dealer across the road?A convicted paedophile next door who has just got out after 18 months in jail for raping his step children.His wife likes to invite the young children of the street in for biscuits and lollies?I bet you would not.That is the choice some have.Money can help you live in a better area and your children are then able to attend a better school.Life is nice in Eastbourne.Life is nice when you have a nice husband who cares about his family.Life is nice when nothing bad has happened to you or your family.I dont believe in long term welfare for single parents but I do believe in appropriate help to enable people to become independent.But I also dont think children should have to live in crime ridden neighbourhoods.
In essence I agree with this comment. Children having to live in crime ridden neighbourhoods and attend schools with children who are learning their criminal parents ways, but little else, too quickly is appalling. Yes, wages are too low and taxes are too high. More wealth redistribution through the labour market instead of via the government would improve that.
And I agree that I am lucky I live where I live and am married to who I am married to. But is that a reason not to speak out about the problems that the commentor accurately describes? I go into these neighbourhoods so I know they exist. And to a large extent they exist because of long-term welfare.
So detractor and I are actually on the same page. He or she just doesn't think I have any business writing to the newspaper expressing my views publicly. Perhaps he or she would prefer I buried my head in the sand I am lucky to have at the bottom of the street and forget about what life is like for some children. Adopt the ' I'm alright Jack' approach to life? Yes?
12 comments:
Regardless of the argument,It never ceases to amaze me, how so many people express righteous indignation and take one to task for ones opinions and then skulk behind the veil of anonymity.
Dirk
Hang in there, Lindsay.
Here in the topsy-turvy Land of the Long White Lie, honesty has become a crime punishable by social ostracism.
Our people have been reduced to craven, if unwitting, liars thanks to the triumphant march through the culture of socialism,
tribalism, eco-exaggerationism, teacher unionism and feminazism.
To reverse the polarity, the truthful have no choice but to speak out strongly, as you do.
That you have worked hard and married someone similarly diligent is a burden you will just have to live with :-)
Have you considered putting a donate button on your blog?
On days when your head feels like exploding, it would be a small recompense for doing the research that our useless academics and politicians should be doing.
Luck don't come into it!
Smart choices do.
It's proof your message is getting through.
Even me, a far less prolific writer of letter than you, have taken similar calls on more than one occasion.
Keep up your excellent work!
I agree in life that luck does not come into it.Have you never made a wrong choice?As for the working hard and being honest.I would be the hardest most honest worker i know but not the smartest which is what counts in the end.
And as for being 'Annonymous'Dirk who?
You should be angry at the people who who feel justified in not working when they can and at people who don't care about themselves or anyone else.
People abuse the support systems in place, and they commit crimes even when they are receiving welfare payments. So much for gratitude to the society that has put in place policies to protect them. I doubt that you are not smart from your comment. I wonder if you are arguing only because of your ideology.
Gloria
my comment was in response to anon 9.47. Gloira.
Anonymous 9:47pm I'm talking about people who choose not to identiy themselves when taking others to task for expressing public opinion. As is the case of the woman Lindsay mentions in her post who uses tongue and telephone as her instruments of choice.
Dirk
Sorry Dirk I thought you meant me.Yes I do not approve of people who use the phone to abuse anyone.It is cowardly in the extreme.
Last Anon, I recall from previous comments that Dirk has gone to court to witness for someone you might similarly champion. Honest but not so smart.
Lindsay you not only have a great sense of humour your memory is ok too.
My experiences with the court system have left me feeling dubious about the "Justice" we recieve there.
For speaking the truth as I knew it has seen the police treat me like the enemy. I thank the universe for giving me my sense of humour to help me deal with it.
Dirk
Post a Comment