My Family Was At The Welfare Office

The other day I was accused of having family members who were welfare recipients by Stephen Frazier, one of the more recent visitors to my blog who vehemently opposes my opinions.  Mr. Frazier goes by the alias The Black Turncoat and is a staunch supporter of Rush Limbaugh.  He took exception to the fact that I believe he is delusional with his subservient opinions on race relations.  This is a black man who thinks that The Confederacy was a good thing for the black community.  In retaliation for my dismissing his opinion as far less than tripe, he eventually submitted a rather lengthy comment that started with an inaccurate observation about watching my family spending considerable time at the local welfare office.  Of course I deleted the less than pertinent comment.  The fact that he admits hanging out at the welfare office was totally lost on him as he attempted to slam my family for hanging out at the welfare office.

I have no problem admitting that my family and I have had to rely on welfare.  Having to rely on welfare should never be considered a personal failure far too embarrassing to admit.  It is a common occurrence in life to stumble or make a bad decision that puts us in a tight spot.  Some people who are very successful today admit to getting by on welfare at one point or another in their life.  Whoopi Goldberg quickly comes to mind.  Craig T. Nelson is another famous personality that admitted to being on welfare.

Not too long ago I watched a video clip of Mr. Nelson being interviewed by Glenn Beck on the merits of welfare.  Mr. Nelson was livid.  He was angry that it was so obvious that we were turning into a socialistic society.  Mr. Nelson complained that when he was down on his luck and had to go on welfare, nobody was there to help him get back on his feet.  The very idea of the government helping people was against everything Mr. Nelson stood for.  The man’s an idiot and doesn’t want to admit that welfare is a form of help.  But nevertheless, he had help when he needed it.  It is too bad that he is financially secure and he is so fiscally conservative that he now wants to promote the idea that people getting help from their government is somehow wrong.

People on welfare should not be victims of prejudice.  Simply because someone is on welfare doesn’t mean that he or she is a lowlife.  Being on assistance does not automatically mean that someone’s character is ripe for condemnation.  The father of modern conservatives former President Ronald Reagan drilled home the impression that people who apply for social assistance are welfare kings and queens who drive to the welfare office in big luxury sedans and live large off the taxpayer’s tab.  Now, people have this idea that people on welfare live like corporate executives who stand in line for the next no bid government contract worth a few billion dollars.  People are so suspicious of the people who apply for social assistance that we are ready to label them all as welfare cheats of ill reputation and intelligence.  These people might suffer from a reputation of being shiftless and lazy.  But somehow they have the wherewithal to put together a scheme that would make Bernie Madoff proud.

The need to apply for social assistance ranks right up there with people having to call for help from the police or the fire department.  Every now and then, we all find ourselves in situation where we will need some kind of help.  We are constantly promoting the idea that people receiving social assistance are the dregs of humanity unfit for even the most rudimentary form of consideration.  Instead of encouraging the people who might be down on their luck, we want to point a finger of scorn and laugh at their lack of fortitude or resolve.

Mr. Frazier just might have seen a family member of mine at one of the many welfare offices that does a brisk business helping all of the people who are trying to muddle through this mess we call an economy these days.  I’m not even going to pretend that everyone in my family is immune from such hardship.  I actually think it’s better that they realize they need help and decided to see what their government can do for them in these trying times rather than see them take to some kind of criminal enterprise and doing a whole lot more to confirm any assumption of their lack of integrity.  If anything, I need to thank Mr. Frazier for the heads up.  In trying times like these, family should do more to stick together.  I need to make sure my family knows that this hard time will pass and they will get back on their feet.  And lastly I want them to know that we’ve all been there.  There’s absolutely nothing wrong with asking for a little help.  And when they get back on their feet, I hope they will remember this experience and never bitch about no one helping them when they were on welfare.