people who hate people being on benefits

amihere

What do you do about people who hate you being on benefits?

The news has been pushing an agenda to target people on benefits, i assume they are using the disabled as a scapegoat, but they are saying people on benefits earn too much (much more than they actually do too) and people are blaming them instead of their employers for their low incomes.

As a result i have had multiple people be nasty to me about it. I can ignore most people. one is a family member very close to me, which i am learning to accept, but yesterday i met up with an old friend who was extremely nasty about it. She said i was as bad as other people in the country (whatever that was supposed to mean) and was telling me i can work because i am fine. i didn't want to discuss my situation with her and because of that she said obviously i'm doing something shady because i won't tell her. It took me so long to get out of the house to meet her too, i almost didn't go out because going out is so difficult, she has no idea how crippling it can be and i am not comfortable talking about my situation yet.

That is a long story short.

What do you do about these people who take the media as gospel? I want to be honest but i am starting to think i should just lie to people and say i work.

Do other people have this problem or am i just around bad people?

Thank you <3

Catherine21

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/140705/people-who-hate-people-being-on-benefits

I used to say to people I did work as so ashamed ive masked all my life trying to minkic people's behaviour trying to explain how my brain is totally wired differently is impossible so yes my mum is a great one for shaming me about not working and claiming welfare its a great shame for me I wish I was more capable ps some people have no filter and dont relize how damaging thier words are they really dont

Ross1975

I've luckily never encountered anyone being negative towards me because I'm on benefits. But I've seen plenty of hate from people online (not directed at me), with a lot of them it seems like jealousy, like they hate the fact that they have to get up early every morning and be stuck at work all day, whereas someone on benefits doesn't and can spend their time doing enjoyable things instead.

Personally if I had a friend like that I would ditch them, especially if I explained myself to them in the hope they would then understand yet they continued to be like that. I'd be like 'Bye! See you later!'. 😊

chiarieds

Hi @amihere - I doubt that people actually hate people on benefits, &, not to excuse what some people might say, I think it's down to a lack of understanding, some of the unfortunate rhetoric (not least from the Gov't) &, as you suggest, pretty lousy & inaccurate media 'reports.'

I'm also fortunate that no-one has ever been negative towards me. Your friend doesn't understand the struggles you have, but to presume you're doing something shady must have felt so unpleasant. You don't have to disclose anything to anyone you don't want to, so you did the right thing.

I don't know if this will help, but there's a really good website which counters misinformation. It's up to you whether you wish to share it with her: https://fullfact.org/

They also correct false statements by politicians, etc.

Yani09

These people are venting frustration at the people they are nudged to vent at.. It is easier to blame the ill and disabled for one’s problems. Life is tough for all.. A society that hates the ill and disabled is one in decline. Anyone may become ill or disabled and appreciate the support avaliable. If my friend was so mean.. well, it would be a case of ciao!

PhilG111

I've pointed out to more than a few, that I am also on benefits and both myself and My Wife work Full and part time respectively and then we both work full-time when we get home with our Son. There is no way, we are living the life of Riley, but we are comfortable.

Me and the Wife didn't claim benefits for the first 5 years of our son, (It was a nice little payback when we did though). Before our son, we might, have been able to claim a whole £50-60 and we were both working fulltime we were eking out a living. So in a sense I can see where the arguments come from, but they do need to do a case by case review of some of the claimants. There was a limit I think of £500 per week for benefits?

I barely get that working 40+ hours a week. Yet there are people on Benefits that somehow earn more.. if the DWP cant or wont find these people, maybe they should employ some of these newspaper reporters since they seem to be able to find some of these people at least once a week…

MW123

Personally, in my professional and private life I’ve never heard anyone speak badly about people receiving benefits or disability support. The media might be obsessed with stirring up division, but real life conversations simply aren’t like that.

If you’re getting grief from a friend or family member, that’s about them, not about what everyone thinks. Most people don’t care what you claim, why you claim it or how your health affects you. They’re just trying to get on with their own lives and don’t have time to worry about what anyone else is doing.

Feeling jealous of people who are to unwell to work, or earning very little and need some extra income support to get by really shows a misunderstanding on the part of the person doing the judging, not the people receiving the help they’re entitled to.

To anyone unfortunate enough to encounter such opinions, remember this, your existence is not up for debate, and you never have to justify it to anyone.

AndrewHall

I personally don't feel obliged to discuss my personal situation with anyone

SwiftFox

In my opinion and it's only my opinion. I think it's mostly to do with LCWRA and mental health that's getting the all the flack. The public assume it's a benefit for not being able to work because of and illness ( including real mental health) or limb disability, and rightly so. But time after after time you'll get some not only on here saying, "what else can I earn", now everyone can see this forum and not only the ones who are claiming.

Maybe they're thinking, but you're sick and that's why the government is giving you this money, how come that you want to work too. I've nothing against anyone having benefits if they're ill, but just remember some firms can't afford to pay the national wage just because the government say so.

I think it all started in the pandemic and there was no assessments and such as tiktok post's were encouraging people to claim benefits with mental health and it's still going on with tiktok. As I say, this is only my opinion but I hear it on the street time after time. It must get boring for the genuine ones, but it happens. Merry Christmas and New year all.

MW123

Compliments of the season to you as well, @SwiftFox, and thank you for sharing your views. Your post is actually a good example of how easy it is for people to get confused about long‑term sickness benefits and what LCWRA really means.

LCWRA isn’t for people who can never work again, it just means someone has limits around work‑related activity. The DWP allow permitted work, and the new Chance to Work Guarantee lets people try a bit of work without risking their support.

So when members ask “what can I earn on LCWRA?” they are trying to understand the rules and see what kind of work might be realistic for them. And honestly, I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t support someone with health limitations doing a few hours if they’re able,  it can really help with confidence and purpose.

On employers, minimum wage is a legal requirement. If a business can’t afford it, the owner has to adjust their business model, even if that means taking a smaller profit. The whole point of raising the minimum wage is to reduce the number of people needing UC to top up low pay

As for TikTok, I don’t know much about it, but I’m fairly confident they are not in charge of sickness benefits. You still have to meet the DWP’s rules and go through their strict assessment process, so social media doesn’t really come into it.

amihere

Thank you all for your support <3

I think people saying to say goodbye to the friend might be right. I won't do it myself but she has not spoken to me since so i will allow her to walk away if she wants. It's crazy how a person can turn on you for something like that after over 25 years of friendship! I will get over it.

It is so embarrassing for me but i think i have to learn to accept what i am. I think the mindset around it is why i am so embarrassed in the first place. I almost died because i was too proud to get help, but i got through that, now i need to get through this in the same way i think.

I will keep being honest and if it costs my relationships then so be it. Honesty is one of the things that has helped me heal so it would be a shame to stop now.

As for the jealousy in people. I don't get £500 a week, but even if i did, their problem is with their employer, not me. These people never look at their company's yearly profits and demand more money from their boss. I'm not saying every company can afford to pay more, but i looked at the company profits of the company the other person in my story worked for and their company made multiple billions of pounds in profit alone in one year, but instead of asking the company for more money they complained to me because i get too much in benefits. These companies can usually afford it, but their greed prevents them from doing it. I think the problem is looking at profits rather than if they can live a good life. But that is another topic!

I survive because i make big cuts in my lifestyle. I do not have subscriptions, fancy phones or gadgets, i do not shop or consume products, i even forage what food i can (which is great therapy too. I highly recommend it!). People who are addicted to shopping and resteraunts and they always need new things seem to be blaming outsiders for not having enough money. This is another topic too i think and i think i am going overboard so i will stop myself here.

Thank you all for the responses and the support <3 it is great to have other people to speak to openly

SwiftFox

I'm going to give up on this and other posts..I post back and nothing appears, this on two post's today at least.

SwiftFox

I did reply twice, but the messages just vanished as soon as I pressed post. I'll leave posting anymore till it's fixed.

SwiftFox

I'll leave posting anymore till it's fixed

amihere

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1092477#Comment_1092477

I can see your replies. And thank you for the responses <3

I don't know if there are others that did not show up, but i can see 4 replies from you.

I wanted to address each post individually but it was a lot so i did a general reply to everybody trying to cover all the points. I did address your point too, i think. Not the tiktok part because i don't know anything about tiktok, i don't use the internet apart from here really. I am not interested in tiktok. It took me long enough to figure this place out :)