Quite some time ago now I heard a woman say in a casual tone that everyone who was on Job Seekers Allowance were lazy, and didn't even try to find work. In her own words people on benefits were "Useless wastes of space." She then launched into a list of the reasons why she so callously decided to attack those on benefits.
The very worst thing, however was that this woman was a Job-Centre Advisor.
The very worst thing, however was that this woman was a Job-Centre Advisor.
Now, as mentioned previously, I have been unemployed. I'm not ashamed to admit that for one second. I'm not ashamed because I was trying to find a job and it's near impossible for someone with little experience to find a job in this desolate climate...I looked in the newspaper. I looked on the internet. I called places. I signed up to receive interview offers from apprenticeship agencies offering bare minimum wages, simply because I wanted a job, I wanted to learn and gain new experiences, I wanted to gain new qualifications, but more than anything I wanted to built a life for myself. In some respects, I still would like more opportunity either. And I'm not the only person who does this. Hundreds, of thousands of people, young and old every day search up and down the country for jobs, in every sector imaginable.
But this bigoted, opinionated wh*re of a woman, she said people like me, and even myself, do nothing to find a job. We just sit around all day, playing the xbox and watching Jeremy Kyle whilst eating chips and doritos bought with the money we get from the taxes they pay.
I have no doubt whatsoever that there are people who do nothing but this every week. I'm sure of it in fact, but just because one or two people abuse the system, 60 others try as hard as they can, and take every single opportunity given to them. And that is the source of the problem. It's the Nirvana Fallacy. You never hear of the success stories within people who are unemployed. You only hear about people like those on Jeremy Kyle. What sort of image is she painting of the unemployed people? The people she tells won't know any better, and because she works at the job centre, the people she tells will believe her! The nation will continue to believe that all the 3 million people out of work are currently on Call of Duty, drinking a can of Stella and getting arrested.
