You know I used to think that Bel Mooney was a sensible sort of agony aunt. I don't expect to agree with everything another person says, but I felt that she tried to be compassionate, to see the other person's point of view. And then I read this article : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1379846/Thats-spirit-The-bestseller-believes-warmth-heart-transform-old-age.html
Now admittedly this isn't an agony aunt page, it's about how to grow older without actually falling to pieces, so I couldn't help but wonder how this bit of bile was pushed into the text...After extolling the longevity of people on a Japanese island, Bel writes:
'Contrast that with Britain, where it was revealed this week that 80,000 of us are too fat or too dependent on drugs or alcohol to work. Think about that. Slovenly zombies who have given up on dignity, but claim benefits in order to buy more disgusting stuff to shorten their useless lives. There’s mostly no excuse for their attitude — although, of course, people will always try to explain it away.'
Well, that's nice to know, isn't it? Apart from struggling to cope, going blind and feeling my independence slowly slipping away, I am a slovely zombie who has given up on dignity and has a useless life.
And notice the authorial 'we' : '80,000 of us' although I bet Bel doesn't really include herself in their number.
Well, don't forget as I am so fond of telling anyone who will listen - everyone is just a step away from disability. The funny thing is that no matter what they thought of the disabled before, they don't half change their tune afterwards.
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