Come and Have a Go...

I wonder if the Mail on Sunday includes self harm in their list of self inflicted illnesses that are unworthy of treatment or charity. My arms are erupting. And what about EDs? Do they come into that category too. I said they wouldn't print my post and I was correct. They did, however, print this: 'Wimps should be told to stop acting like little children, grow up and get to work or no money.'- Tony Calladine, UK, 29/6/2008 8:24. Social Darwinism. Charming. What next? Eugenics? Hartheim?

And this: 'It's time to stop the rot! The Benefits system needs a complete overhaul so that the British taxpayer doesn't have to support what has become a lifetstyle of choice for some. They are giving genuine claimants a bad name!'- Sue G, Perth, Australia, 29/6/2008 3:13. And you're giving Mail On Sunday readers a bad name. No, wait, they've already got one.

Oh, and a message to certain rather unpleasant and vindictive people who may be reading this and are considering using this information against me, go right ahead. Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough. Here's a clue: you're not. I can't bring myself to care. I feel detached. From everything. I wonder how far they'll go. I wonder how hard they'll push. Watch this space. Dissociation has its advantages.  As does not being able to keep food down.  Yeah, I know, grrrrrrross!

Marginally Less Parasitical

I thought about jumping from the top storey. I told my doctor about my impulses. Hospital was mentioned but I resisted. In the end I emerged from the doctor's with extra meds. Doctor S has perused The Mail on Sunday article and had been as disturbed by it as I was. 'For what it's worth, I think Daily Mail journalists are only marginally less parasitical than the drug addicts and the alcoholics the newspaper is targeting.' His words, not mine. Make of that what you will.

And The Mail on Sunday...

...excels itself once again. My response: (which won't be printed)

I receive supplementary disability living allowance* for a psychiatric disorder but I'm sure those principled, compassionate journalists at The Mail On Sunday will be pleased to learn that I am saving up for a one way trip to Dignitas. Perhaps they'd like to accompany me there to see a job well done. Thanks for reminding me that I'm not wanted. The Nazis had a policy called Aktion T4. Perhaps that should be the next step. We must deal with these people. (Myself included, of course). Grab your torches and sharpen your pitchforks, people, we're going on a witch hunt. What fun!

DLA was originally introduced by the Tories with the intention of saving money. It was also a key feature of their care in the community policy. ** It was intended to keep people out of long term psychiatric facilities. If the Mail on Sunday have their way and this benefit is withdrawn then its recipients will probably face a life in institutions which, incidentally, will cost far more than the taxpayer is currently paying.

Of course, there is another alternative: government sponsored work placement schemes but these will never be implemented because they too cost far more than DLA.

Meanwhile I cling to this:

The woods are lovely, dark and deep

But I have promises to keep

And miles to go before I sleep

And miles to go before I sleep

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, Robert Frost

*It really helps if, on a whim, the hospital in which you are incarcerated (AKA Section Three) decide to perform an EEG on you which detects 'abnormalities'.  Most people aren't so lucky.

**And, my God, they've got a nerve.