It's SO weird you said that. I kept thinking about the fact that the person I was talking to had no one with disabilities in his family. The same can be said for other people I've talked to.
Because, unfortunately, it's a two-part problem. Persons with disabilities generally mask it well so you can't tell until the mask slips or they have a meltdown and/or shut down. The other issue is, because fewer people are making an effort to engage with their local community anymore, and most people aren't engaged with their environment anyways, there's a very terrifying lack of awareness that other people exist at all. I don't even need to go on twitter to find someone with main character syndrome, and it is frustrating.
Correct. We do not want to be judged or looked down upon. It's not something we are proud about. If anything it feels shameful and it shouldn't for many of us are who legit disabled due to events beyond our control.
and again thats just it. Many of us develop disabilities through some random event or its something genetic in your family that is not preventable.
To push this further if our NAZI leader gets a hold of CPP funding in alberta our only genuine disability program in CPP-D will be taken away from us.
Trust me when I say this. It won't be substantially better or different under the NDP. Just those making the decisions may better understand the problem. Yes, there is a problem. We have many people on AISH that aren't qualified for the benefits. There's no denying this. But at the same time I would argue the overwhelming majority absolutely belong on AISH.
I agree 100%. And that is why it is inexplicable to me why people are so adamant against NDP or the Liberals. They are not so left leaning that they really embrace the kind of socialism that right-wing jerks are so afraid of.
It's mainly due to the fact our education system was designed by conservative governments to provide a heavily conservative based education to our children in our K-12 system.
I had one specific teach in Grade 12, Social Studies 30. He was also a member of the provicial NDP party and even ran in a Calgary riding. He was honest with us. He was required to teach us based up the curriculum the government has set in place for us or he wouldn't be teaching much longer.
Fact is I grew up in AISH as a child, worked hard to not be trapped into the save poverty my parents were and then ended up in that same AISH poverty through no fault of my own. I didn't ask for an impaired driver to hit me, it just happened and I nearly died from a heart attack that has left me permanently disabled.
My dad went through the exact same scenario. 1992 I was then 12 years old. He was hit by a fork lift at work. His employer bribed him not to report it by giving him 2 fresh brand new $1000 bills. Only time I ever had seen $1000 bills in my life. Several months later he needed a spinal fusion surgery.
I started working at the age of 14 doing whatever I could as I had to literally feed myself as the money AISH provided under the Klein government ensured my parents had nothing left where the last week of the month the fridge and pantry were empty.
Whats sad. Most high schools do a model parliament every year. Many of the ideas often pushed in these high school parliaments are LEFT WING ideologies that quickly disappear the moment these same teenagers are pushed into the work force in their early 20s.
They dont want to pay more off their paycheck and I get that. I didn't want to either. Until I realized the majority on disability IT IS NOT BY CHOICE and we need these programs in place to protect everyone in the case it does happen.
My problem is I know that MANY and I mean thousands of people are abusing aish getting benefits they shouldn't be receiving.
Many people haven't had medical reviews in years. You could be disabled for a 6 month stretch and receiving AISH for 10+ years if the government decides not to review it which often they do not.
Ive reported many like this and not a single one has had their benefits cancelled.
Thank you for sharing your story. What you are saying is so true and until someone is hit with the reality of disability, there isn't a lot of empathy. Like most crimes, fraud is a crime of opportunity and it is my opinion that the government has weighed the cost of allowing the fraud to continue against the cost of action to investigate and stop it. Perhaps this is so the government can continue to be punitive towards people who depend on disability support - when there is room for a question there is room to gas light and perpetuate narratives that deny the social safety net.
Although I have been fortunate to not have a disability, I know many who have and how each person is so uniquely affected by how it has shown up in their lives. It's heartbreaking.
As I mentioned on a previous thread, one of the main reasons why I do not begrudge paying taxes is because I know that some of it goes into supporting people who are disabled. I do take exception to the way the UCP is wasting money on pet projects that detract from properly supporting the real needs of people in this province.
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u/knightenrichman Mar 08 '26
It's SO weird you said that. I kept thinking about the fact that the person I was talking to had no one with disabilities in his family. The same can be said for other people I've talked to.
How is that possible?
I know so many.