--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Hi Fred, your post reminds me of this post I was > sent yesterday. Not > sure I agree with the politics of it entirely (it > was sent by a > farmer friend of mine who has very particular > views), but it made me > laugh anyway.
These kinds of things worry me because, even though I can see some of the points, they paint everyone with the same brush - not a good thing. I'm sure most of us, at different times, in different generations, have had the experience of being the foreigner and of not being welcomed to the neighbourhood. Most of us who live in the Americas or Australia and New Zealand, probably had ancestors (or parents) who came to this part of the world because they weren't welcome in their old world; or because their old world was torn apart. Whether it's the accent or the religion or the funny clothes or the weird foods or the skin colour, people always find ways to NOT welcome what is different. Those who cheat the welfare system often have roots in this country going back generations, so welfare fraud certainly isn't the exclusive domain of immigrants. In fact, unless you're an illegal immigrant, it's harder and harder to come here (in this case Canada) unless you have a solid means of support - either a profession that's needed here, or relatives who will sponsor you. I'm sure this is true of other countries as well. While I agree that there are definitely a lot of welfare cheaters, I also feel that there are certain people who are just helpless and who may simply be incapable of finding and keeping work; and a great many more who have fallen on hard times. And yet the trend is, blame the poor for being poor - it's their own fault for not trying hard enough. Blame the immigrants because they took your job away. Blame the immigrants because it's their fault you have to wait longer for hospital care. It ain't that simple - but it's so easy. I would rather take the chance on giving something to the real cheaters who don't deserve it than cut off someone who is deserving - and I think we're getting better at finding the frauds anyway; it's just a matter of paying attention. ===== Catherine Toronto ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca
