extreme rant about work, society, etc
May. 27th, 2010 06:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pofflewompgrrr
been posting on Guardian comment pages as am spending time in bed being a bit poorly for a rest:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/27/iain-duncan-smith-welfare-dependency?showallcomments=true#end-of-comments
I be "berries."
But I assume none of you will want to read all that, so suffice it to say that for once most of the comments are pretty decent and most people on it are sticking up for people on benefits. I have argued with a dickfaced poo who claimed that £25000 a year is piffling and that it goes in taxes to the "workshy," only to have it turn out he or she has no maths ability whatsoever: I pointed out that £25000 a year leaves £368 a week after taxes, and he/she replied that the £368 a week is halved by taxes to pay for the "workshy." So clearly most confused.
To be honest, I wouldn't get out of bed at shittyclocky in the morning for a paltry £368 a week, but that's because I value life and time over money. The things that would make my life better would be unattainable for an extra £130 odd a week, and prevented altogether by the fact that my entire waking life would be spent enduring hell to earn that piddling amount. Obviously if I were someone who were not in intense emotional pain every waking moment, suffering depression and despair, someone who had friends and family and happiness to make the work worthwhile, someone who had the energy and drive to cope with debilitating amounts of work and stress, or someone who was too thick and petty to care anyway...well, that would be different.
It isn't the money, it's the need to have a basic bearability of life. If I could work in a nature reserve outdoors watching birds all day, I'd be ok with £10000 a year, as it would be just enough to scrape by on (well, not living here as it would not pay rent and bills! but living in the country it might be enough to live on) and my life would be enhanced by nature, fresh air, exercise, peace and quiet, and so forth.
Another rant in me is that I am SICK OF BEING MADE TO FEEL I SHOULD FEEL INDEBTED TO SOCIETY FOR ALLOWING ME TO LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Perhaps if someone were born disabled, or had a freak accident such as being struck by lightning leaving them unable to move limbs, then ok, they could be expected to think phew what a relief I live in a society prepared to pay to keep me alive rather than leave me to die on an exposed mountain (or in the Thames, or wherever the London equivalent of an exposed mountain is. Hampstead Heath. Fuck knows.) Personally I think it should be considered society's duty, not something to feel grateful for.
But in my case, for fuck's sake: I would not be in this situation of "society" had not fucking well put me here!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No, I do not have "clinical depression" or any other illness or disability. I have Being Freaked Out Terrified Horrified and in Despair because of the way society has treated me.
I live in a society that demands protection by law for parents who wish to hurt their children.
I live in a society in which teachers thought it acceptable to tell me I was lying or only had myself to blame if I was unhappy at home.
I live in a society in which university is an elitist clique-ridden careerist networking binge rather than a place of reflection and contemplation and serious enquiry.
I live in a society where men have spat at me in the street because they did not find me sexually attractive.
I live in a society where appearance and glib self-marketing technique counts above willingness or integrity in competition for jobs.
I live in a society where, most importantly, the most common reaction to bereavement is "move on" "get a life" "stop trying to get attention" "don't try those tears on me!"
A society in which life is deemed so utterly unimportant that the individual is reduced to his or her economic worth so that immediately after my brother's death I was told by almost everyone I knew that I was a pathetic disgrace because I was not looking for a job.
If it were not for these extreme flaws in society I would be the happy, motivated, passionate young girl there were glimpses of in my childhood before (by the age of about 12) I was too run down with despair to manage much more.
So for fuck's sake. Next time someone tells me I should feel grateful that I am extremely bedgrudgingly allowed to live by this fucked up, sick and twisted society...well, I wouldn't have the words to explain it to them, so I will just spit in their faces.
(I have done this to someone before and it is immense fun because they're so shocked they don't retaliate - I'd recommend it to anyone who has a bad temper too!) (Although beware: it only works on middle class people, who are easily shocked because of their petty, cusioned lives (most of them, not all of course). If you tried it on a lower class person you would probably end up dead, unless they had a sexist thing about not hitting women, in which case you might be ok.) (Unless you're a man.)
been posting on Guardian comment pages as am spending time in bed being a bit poorly for a rest:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/27/iain-duncan-smith-welfare-dependency?showallcomments=true#end-of-comments
I be "berries."
But I assume none of you will want to read all that, so suffice it to say that for once most of the comments are pretty decent and most people on it are sticking up for people on benefits. I have argued with a dickfaced poo who claimed that £25000 a year is piffling and that it goes in taxes to the "workshy," only to have it turn out he or she has no maths ability whatsoever: I pointed out that £25000 a year leaves £368 a week after taxes, and he/she replied that the £368 a week is halved by taxes to pay for the "workshy." So clearly most confused.
To be honest, I wouldn't get out of bed at shittyclocky in the morning for a paltry £368 a week, but that's because I value life and time over money. The things that would make my life better would be unattainable for an extra £130 odd a week, and prevented altogether by the fact that my entire waking life would be spent enduring hell to earn that piddling amount. Obviously if I were someone who were not in intense emotional pain every waking moment, suffering depression and despair, someone who had friends and family and happiness to make the work worthwhile, someone who had the energy and drive to cope with debilitating amounts of work and stress, or someone who was too thick and petty to care anyway...well, that would be different.
It isn't the money, it's the need to have a basic bearability of life. If I could work in a nature reserve outdoors watching birds all day, I'd be ok with £10000 a year, as it would be just enough to scrape by on (well, not living here as it would not pay rent and bills! but living in the country it might be enough to live on) and my life would be enhanced by nature, fresh air, exercise, peace and quiet, and so forth.
Another rant in me is that I am SICK OF BEING MADE TO FEEL I SHOULD FEEL INDEBTED TO SOCIETY FOR ALLOWING ME TO LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Perhaps if someone were born disabled, or had a freak accident such as being struck by lightning leaving them unable to move limbs, then ok, they could be expected to think phew what a relief I live in a society prepared to pay to keep me alive rather than leave me to die on an exposed mountain (or in the Thames, or wherever the London equivalent of an exposed mountain is. Hampstead Heath. Fuck knows.) Personally I think it should be considered society's duty, not something to feel grateful for.
But in my case, for fuck's sake: I would not be in this situation of "society" had not fucking well put me here!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No, I do not have "clinical depression" or any other illness or disability. I have Being Freaked Out Terrified Horrified and in Despair because of the way society has treated me.
I live in a society that demands protection by law for parents who wish to hurt their children.
I live in a society in which teachers thought it acceptable to tell me I was lying or only had myself to blame if I was unhappy at home.
I live in a society in which university is an elitist clique-ridden careerist networking binge rather than a place of reflection and contemplation and serious enquiry.
I live in a society where men have spat at me in the street because they did not find me sexually attractive.
I live in a society where appearance and glib self-marketing technique counts above willingness or integrity in competition for jobs.
I live in a society where, most importantly, the most common reaction to bereavement is "move on" "get a life" "stop trying to get attention" "don't try those tears on me!"
A society in which life is deemed so utterly unimportant that the individual is reduced to his or her economic worth so that immediately after my brother's death I was told by almost everyone I knew that I was a pathetic disgrace because I was not looking for a job.
If it were not for these extreme flaws in society I would be the happy, motivated, passionate young girl there were glimpses of in my childhood before (by the age of about 12) I was too run down with despair to manage much more.
So for fuck's sake. Next time someone tells me I should feel grateful that I am extremely bedgrudgingly allowed to live by this fucked up, sick and twisted society...well, I wouldn't have the words to explain it to them, so I will just spit in their faces.
(I have done this to someone before and it is immense fun because they're so shocked they don't retaliate - I'd recommend it to anyone who has a bad temper too!) (Although beware: it only works on middle class people, who are easily shocked because of their petty, cusioned lives (most of them, not all of course). If you tried it on a lower class person you would probably end up dead, unless they had a sexist thing about not hitting women, in which case you might be ok.) (Unless you're a man.)
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no subject
Date: 2010-05-27 10:05 pm (UTC)But I mean it in the sense that seeing as I would probably have a nervous breakdown attempting even to get up to get to the job, and considering Ian turning up crazy at my workplace and me stressing all the time and unable to concentrate would make the whole thing absolute hell, the extra £120 a week really isn't much of an incentive!!! The loss of quality of life is too extreme and terrifying!
If I weren't neurotic and depressed and not coping with anything and if I didn't have other stresses, fine. But also there is the fact that I have lost so much of my life already due to pure hell that I would only find it ok working if either the money was enough for me to save up for some sort of happiness in the future or if the job was so happiness-inducing that it was worthwhile - e.g. in a nature reserve (in which case basic living money would be ok as quality of life would be so much more worth it!).
I hate the fact people like IDS and everyone, including even my socialist father, expect people to put up with being indoors all day every day working all waking hours for only enough money to save for a holiday or retirement. Life should be about having outdoors and health and nature and art and beauty or whatever else rocks people's boats!
Notice the way that Griller twat moaned that not much money was left after paying into his pension pot! PENSION! eh?
Anyway, current benefits-version pension is £130 a week, which is ample as long as it is on top of housing benefit. So no private pension needed.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-27 10:42 pm (UTC)Actually the other thing I was talking to someone about earlier was how stupid the working week is, and people moan about 3 day week which would really be better as less work but then everyone who wanted a job could have one (obviously it is wrong to force people to work but lots of people do want them). But people are against it. Why? What is wrong with people?
no subject
Date: 2010-05-27 10:56 pm (UTC)