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It is difficult to quantify the damage being done to the ordinary people of this country by this millionaire regime sitting in the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption. Is it the damage done by their smashing of the education system, is it facing the choice of eating or heating, is it the brutal attack on the disabled by ATOS, is it the working for nothing slave labour workfare scheme, is it the inhuman zero hours contracts, is it the bedroom tax, is it the lack of support when things don't work out in your life. Probably most of all it is the illusion they peddle, that this is a fair society, and if you work hard you'll do just fine. We tend to think that people could be hit by one of the problems mentioned above. However the brutal truth is that you can be savaged by some or all of these injustices, as you struggle through this greed driven system of exploitation, capitalism has no compassion. The damage is not a one-of blow, it is a cumulative assault on the person, that can and does damage them for the rest of their lives. Bullying, harassing, and degrading people is spouted as criminal, but our millionaire cabal, under the stamp of legitimacy granted to them by "the state", can do it daily and on a widespread basis, with impunity. Only the people can call them to justice, and surely our patience is running thin.
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The following letter was offered to
Glasgow Against ATOS. It speaks volumes on what is wrong in this type of society. Bright intelligent, hard working people being destroyed, as their potential is trodden in the mire of an unjust and brutal system. We can surely do better than this for all our people.
Someone has very bravely
asked us to share this honest letter to their MP. ***Warning: could
trigger; report of suicide attempts.
Dear MP,
I meet you
back in 2007 at ***** school while you where presenting to the sixth
form year. I was one the only one in that group to say I was interested
in politics. You probably don’t remember me but I do remember you. I
found your presentation very interesting and actually a lot better than the Lib Dem local MP presentation. You actually inspired my keen interest in politics.
Since then I was presented with an Anti-bullying Diana award by Ed
Balls, meet Gordon Brown and even had meetings (although short) with Ed
Balls. I was also a founding member of the Young Anti-bullying Alliance.
Then once I turned 20 I became an advisor to the group passing on my
knowledge and skills to the younger members as well as being emotional
support and encouragement. In 2011, when Tories and Lib Dem came to
power, the Young anti-bullying alliance was disbanded due to decrees in
funding for both the princess Diana memorial awards and the
anti-bullying alliance. That was a sad day for all our members and it
was heart breaking to say goodbye to the young people I had been
mentoring, which also included young people from mencap.
2011
was an eventful year for me as I also finished my psychology degree, and
I have to say I was very fond of the psychology of politics and
terrorism module. I learnt a lot and I was hooked on every word during
the lectures. Despite being severely dyslexic I made it through my three
year degree and had a great sense of achievement at the end of it.
All of us left university with great ideas of what we could do with our
lives, ambitions and lustre to work up the ladder in a career we would
enjoy and keep us interested. Ah that almost childish enjoyment of being
21 again and gently nudged into the world of work. All of us started
applying for work before we left university, looking for the best we
could get and keeping our hopes up. After about three months of looking
none of my friend group had found any work and we were starting to feel
the drain of the “real world”.
I can’t speak for our entire
group from university, but I ended up getting to my 22nd birthday and
crying because I had no job, no money and a lot of debt left over from
university. I finally got a full time job in February, though it was far
from perfect. I worked hard and ended up getting promoted in the
summer.
However I was working 60+ hours to even earn a decent
wage. The hours took a drain on me and I ended up being diagnosed with
depression in November 2012 the second time in my life. I wanted to hold
onto my job but knew that I could not go on without treatment. So I
referred myself to CBT. This only help to a certain extent but due to
family commitments I had to keep working, I soon received a demotion as I
could not keep up with my work load. This caused my first suicide
attempt, which luckily my family intervened and my GP became very
supportive of me. Helping me to take time off work and even stand up for
me when I was given 40+ hours work when I should have been on a phase
back to work.
However my mental health was not improving and
there were problems at home. I had no outlet and no ability to deal with
distressing emotions or incidents in my life. Finally one day I was in a
meeting with my boss, the word safeguarding was mentioned and I cracked
like I have never cracked before. I could not stop crying, I was a
failure and I couldn’t even do my job, my boss was also saying how I
seemed to “space out” at work and I was thinking it was due to alcohol. I
wanted to quit back in November and again during the meeting. However I
was not going to get JSA if I left my job and I had financial
commitments.
April the 5th 2013. MY LIFE ENDED.
Everything I had known up to that day changed, I was rushed to hospital
by my friends as I screamed and cried and tried to wrestle my way out of
the car onto the motorway. I had in an automatic and uncontrollable
moment bought alcohol after I left work, I had my painkillers with me
and the roof of the car park at the back of town just looked as if it
was a good place. I had tried to contact someone I felt I could talk to
before this although I do not recall what time exactly but no answer.
Anyway no longer having the courage to jump I decided to go sit by the
abbey. It was a beautiful place and it relaxed me. I was sobbing on the
bench as people walked past, downing my vodka and pills. I couldn’t go
on living. I was in an unskilled and undervalued job with low pay and my
family was a mess. I could not afford to move out from my parents and
every part of my soul felt drained. There was nothing happy left.
Society had drained me and far too quickly. I still wonder what the
point of life is to this day.
Since then I had spent 48 hours
in an acute unit, 8 weeks in an acute day treatment unit and been on
sickness benefits. I’ve had different diagnosis from reoccurring
depressive disorder to depression and psychosis. I hear voices when I am
distressed and upset. I do things which I cannot control and I feel
like I am now a drain on society. However I decided that I will take the
time I need to recover and plan on in the future becoming a productive
member of society.
Now that you have had my life story I feel I
should explain why I am writing to you. Since your party has been in
government I feel as if not only myself but everyone like me has been
tarred with the same brush. We are called work shy, made to go to
numerous assessments and generally harassed by your party for being
disabled. I may not have a leg missing or some major physical
disability, but that is not the defining point for being classed as
disabled or unable to work.
I ask of you to help stand up for
people who do not have a voice. Such as me, I am only able to write to
you, I cannot travel to London and protest because I cannot stand in a
crowd without having panic attacks or a “psychotic episode.” I am scared
to stand up for myself as I fear backlash from the public. I hide the
fact I have mental health problems as your party continues to persuade
the public of how we are lazy, workshy and undeserving of help.
I understand that the economy does not permit the government the luxury
of just handing out a cushioned lifestyle to people who cannot work and
you are even trying to help people who may be able to return to work,
one day reach that goal. However I believe that your party is attempting
to, if not already, trying to breech the human rights of the disabled.
Remember that a society is judged on how it treats it poor and vulnerable.
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Visit ann arky's home at
www.radicalglasgow.me.uk