Is intolerance getting worse on GN?

As I say, opinions differ. Which is fair enough, is it not?

I didn't send PMs, but it seems that they were sent by the people who escaped is aware were annoyed at 'uppity' posters expressing their opinions.

It is very easy to exclude others - you just ignore them and carry on the conversation as if they aren't there until the thread runs out of posts. It's happened more than once that I've seen.

And as I said, I didn't report anyone. Anyway, as has been pointed out, this could easily become a TAAT which will not help anyone. Maybe I shouldn't have responded, but the passive aggressive tone of escaped's post about 'uppity' posters and a group of disgruntled people who were trying to get the thread to 1000 posts goaded me into doing so.

But I was one of the 'uppity' posters (and that word says it all really) who objected to the way a group took it on themselves to decide that they would close the thread by 'chatting' and excluding anyone trying to make points of their own. In fact, I was the one who used the term 'mean girls', and I got several PMs thanking me for saying it.

I've just looked at that and yes, recollections definitely do vary.

a group - what group? Are you accusing posters of being in a clique? Sending private messages to each other?
I got several PMs thanking me for saying it. 🤔

I'm struggling to see how turning the thread into a rather daft chat was wrong and also how some posters were excluded from that by others How can one poster stop another posting?
Unless they report them and they get banned or suspended, of course.

Paying people to assess disability on a bonus scale is madness.
Therese Coffey was on Peston last week, and she said that the rate of UC is so low that people can't live on it, so they try to get PIP, and instead of using it to help with their disability they buy bread and milk with it.

If that is the case, the obvious answer is to increase UC, but that brings us back to the unfairness of someone on benefits getting more than their neighbour who gets up early to work a hard shift on minimum wage. It's obvious to me why people resent that. I think the rise in the MW is a step in the right direction, but it probably needs to be higher - it's either that or keep claimants in poverty - and I think the top up benefits were a very bad idea. I fully understand that people need them, but that's because employers are allowed to get away with paying too little, and landlords charging exploitative rents. Maybe the housebuilding will help with that, but not if the houses being built are all detached 4 beds instead of affordable ones.

I don't know whether people get PIP too easily. I know a couple of people who get it and really do need it for mobility aids and so on. They both had to jump through hoops to get it and stressed every time the renewal interview was looming, but I also know that a relative of my daughter's ex claimed to have agoraphobia but regularly turned up at their house asking for a lift home after she'd spent the day at the shops and been out for lunch. I also know someone who did an MA whilst claiming enhanced benefits as he'd left work because of stress. I couldn't help thinking that if he could travel in for lectures, do all the required work and cope with the stress of assignments and exams he could have held down a job of some sort.

Both of those people got various grants and discounts as a result of their benefits, which meant that they'd have to earn a reasonable wage to maintain their lifestyle. I think that sort of thing should stop. I'm not sure how it could be done though, as nobody wants to see people with incapacity forced to work and getting worse.

I wonder whether a more 'kind' approach to MH has made people see themselves as disabled when they wouldn't have in the past, and they genuinely believe that they are unable to work? I do know that as soon as anyone says something along those lines, however, they are accused of being intolerant and discriminatory.

lafergar

petra

Galaxy

The ones chanting at Glastonbury fir example will without a doubt think they are the good guys. Sometimes people are wrong about what is good and kind.

I would suggest that the majority of them don’t even know where Gaza or Isreal is.

Why would you think that?

Listening to some of the chanting morons being interviewed.
It was obvious that some of them aren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer.

I've just looked at the Offending Thread and can't see that there was a clique or any mean girls trying to bring the thread to a close, rather an attempt to keep it rather more light-hearted in an attempt to reach 1,000 posts and therefore bring it to a close.

^ I am on the lookout for any dashing new male MPs, but if they are there I haven’t spotted them yet.^
Have you found any yet, Casdon? 😁
I haven't!

Oreo 👍🏻

suep1953

Allira

suep1953

nanna8

If I wanted to I could actually vote in the British elections as I still have citizenship. I am interested in the mess that is British politics just now because I was born and bred there and have relatives there, including a brother in law and sister in law. I am also very interested in American and New Zealand politics because I have relatives there, too. Is that a crime ? I have never, ever,said Australia is perfect , it certainly isn’t . I voted the current mob in but they are not crash hot, lots of things they do I wouldn’t but then I’m not a politician. If people don’t like comments from overseas, feel free to ignore he , I wouldn’t be offended in any way.

Sorry Nanna8 you can't vote in UK Elections, you need to be registered to vote in the constituency in which you live

commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8985/

Yes, you can vote in UK elections as an overseas voter.

www.gov.uk/voting-when-abroad

Overseas voter eligibility
British citizen living overseas can register to vote as an overseas voter if they meet one of two conditions:

They were previously registered to vote in UK elections, including as an overseas voter, or
They were previously resident in the UK before moving to an address abroad.
How to register
Overseas voters must apply to register in the local authority of the last address they were registered to vote or were resident.

Thanks Allira, everyday is a school day on GN.

😀

I knew because I was trying to persuade members of my family to vote in the referendum but they said no, they felt they shouldn't. My argument was that at least one might want to come back and work in Europe as she had done previously.

Norah

Never worked out why people care to their hair. They have hair, are not bald.

Surely more important issues plague the world.

I'm not posting a picture of my hair but it is vaguely rather like these two.
Not such a great colour though. I blame it on being made to eat too many crusts as a child.

The last government had to stop face to face decisions and interviews about sickness benefits due to the pandemic, but then never restarted it afterwards, a big mistake.
They replaced them with interviews over the phone but assessors knew that a face to face interview acted like a deterrent ( heard this on the radio) whereas people didn’t mind a phone call.
Then there’s the big rise in approval rates, assessors are paid a bonus to get through as many claims as possible and the quickest way to do this is to approve the claim.Then there’s the fact that interviews on the phone weren’t recorded.
It would be easy enough to get back to personal interviews and record all phone conversations.
Then there’s the fact that it isn’t easy to not receive any more sickness benefits when you then start work and don’t need it.
The DWP tell people they have to wait to be reassessed can you believe! This can often take years as reassessments were stopped during the pandemic and never started properly so down from several hundreds a day to about 50 now.
There were other poor management things but I can’t remember them all now.
The present government need to get back to how things were done before the pandemic.

Galaxy and grow stuff thanks

I don’t see it as kind to have increasing numbers of 18-25 years ago olds on sickness benefits.

Cat amongst pigeons comment, which I suspect needs its own thread. What positive outcomes follow giving people addicted to drugs and alcohol pip and increased benefits. Their neighbour who lost their job will be on basic Universal credit.
So many people with addictions simply spend any money feeding them.

The sickness’s benefit was aimed at providing extra money for bus fares etc to attend support groups, appointments and get well so return to work. Of course support services have been decimated and substance misuse has increased. We need to provide effective services but I’m not convinced people who find themselves out of work and in need of universal credit should get less than those who use additional benefits to fund addictiions

I’m open to persuasion

As Michael Rosen pointed out today all the news is about what was said at Glastonbury. And not the people still dying in Gaza. Today, or so my partner tells me, Palestinians were killed on a beach, including the photographer that was taking pictures of them Were those people sheltering Hamas? On a beach??

Thanks for that growstuff.
I think for me it is not neccessarily about those 'swinging the lead' as such, although that of course causes resentment and I am not sure how left wing it is to ask people working a 12 hour shift in a care home to fund that.
But if you consign those young people to a future without work without even looking into why, then you are not treating them in a way I would have wanted my children to be treated.

I am not sure what he said and why. Is he not allowed an opinion. Then there was a strange video circulating facebook about the crowds waving only ( not any British or English flag in sight ), Palestinian flags.

I watched Eastenders when first came here, it quickly helped my English

I suppose there are two ways of looking at it.

1. It is better that some disabled or ill people suffer real hardship as long as those swinging the lead stop getting away with it.

Or

2. It is better that some people swinging the lead get away with it as long as disabled or ill people don't suffer hardship.

petra

Galaxy

The ones chanting at Glastonbury fir example will without a doubt think they are the good guys. Sometimes people are wrong about what is good and kind.

I would suggest that the majority of them don’t even know where Gaza or Isreal is.

Why would you think that?

Galaxy

The ones chanting at Glastonbury fir example will without a doubt think they are the good guys. Sometimes people are wrong about what is good and kind.

I would suggest that the majority of them don’t even know where Gaza or Isreal is.

Not heart-hearted growstuff , many think the same

Galaxy

And it gets really complex. I have seen quite a bit of debate on kindnes with regard to the proposed welfare cuts, and whilst it is a complex subject, I am not sure that saying be kind with regard to funding the catastrophic rise in young people who are currently claiming is in fact kindness at all. Simply funding, this without asking questions is probably one of the cruelest things I have seen.

"Simply funding, this without asking questions is probably one of the cruelest things I have seen."

I haven't contributed to this thread because I don't really have any comment (TBH I don't know about intolerance).

I do agree with this sentence Galaxy. Again, I don't know enough details about disability benefits to comment. My heart tells me that, of course, people with disabilities should be supported. Unfortunately (and I know this is anecdotal), the three people I know are definitely receiving disability benefits are also "swinging it". It makes me quite cross and I have to tell myself they're probably not typical.

Nevertheless, I do think that there needs to be a thorough investigation about why there has been such a big increase in people claiming disability benefits.

Maybe that makes me hard-hearted and intolerant.

Sadly true.

GrannyGravy13

cossy and lafergirl having compassion and being concerned about those struggling is not just a leftie trait.

Of course not?

One can be a leftie and care was the point I was making. But care, thoughtfulness, kindness, concern is now seen as "woke", " virtue signaling" and feckless and weak.

A good few of my labour friends are now politically homeless and won’t vote labour ever again Cossy

Yes I’ve found that to be true Kandinsky.

And it gets really complex. I have seen quite a bit of debate on kindnes with regard to the proposed welfare cuts, and whilst it is a complex subject, I am not sure that saying be kind with regard to funding the catastrophic rise in young people who are currently claiming is in fact kindness at all. Simply funding, this without asking questions is probably one of the cruelest things I have seen.

GrannyGravy13

Galaxy

The ones chanting at Glastonbury fir example will without a doubt think they are the good guys. Sometimes people are wrong about what is good and kind.

I think the trope be kind is rather passive aggressive.

So do I grannygravy13

Galaxy

The ones chanting at Glastonbury fir example will without a doubt think they are the good guys. Sometimes people are wrong about what is good and kind.

I think the trope be kind is rather passive aggressive.