Apparently the three leaders of the political parties, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg, are backing a campaign ‘Lets Lose the Labels’ by Gingerbread to stop us single mums from being viewed as ‘lazy scroungers’. ( steam coming out my ears!)
To highlight this and get the general public’s views, the radio show 5 Live ran a phone in today on the subject. You can listen to the show if you missed it and read some of the comments left by viewers.
You can register your support over at Gingerbread and read more about how its trying to change peoples views of us.
As ever it’s a controversial subject and one that gets me heated under the collar so no doubt you have a view on it all. For me it’s not the shear hard work single parenting can be or the lack of support (despite the government saying there is support) or the financial side of it all that makes me boil. It’s the attitude of others towards me as a single parent. It’s the painting us all with the same brush I detest. So as well as all the others things that a single parent has to do, I also feel that I almost have to prove myself on daily bases too.
So let’s get the ball rolling on confessions and hear your comments.
hi,
i was just browsing your blog and came across this article- bit of a late post im afraid!
i have been raising my daughter on my own since birth (8 years and counting). I have always worked to meet mortgage and bill demands (barely at times) and continued with my education. I must admit that i have hardly come across any negative feedback about being a single parent in particular, apart from the odd quote which often comes from the older generation that always makes me smile “I dont know how you cope, you know- in your situation”. Perhaps the labels are born from ignorance, curiosity- or just a bizzare way of making conversation- i personally think that often its the latter.
May i make it clear at this point that im not attaching labels, nor am i trying to spark a heated debate but i have seen proof of where these “lazy scrounger” statements are derived from. I personally know of women (who i do not call friends), who have indeed set out and got pregnant solely to obtain a council property. These women have no intention of working or contributing to society in any way shape or form (no voluntary work via schools or local hospitals for example). Children unfortunately are seen as a source of income in these cases and it is this caseload of mothers who really do warrant such a label and as you say generate a label to tar us all with the same brush.
Having said that i do wonder whether the labels were generated as part of a tool in order to enable more political spin. Labelling people as lazy scroungers may well evoke a reaction whereby you may feel you need to prove yourself thus motivating a large dormant workforce, reducing the burden on the budget and helping towards the budget defecit.. who knows!
All i can say after that rant (sorry) is who cares what labels people put on anyone, as long as you yourself are happy that you are putting 100% effort into whatever you are doing, you have nothing to defend or nothing to prove to yourself or anyone else. Whether you are employed, in education or are supported by the government has nothing to do with it- its all about effort, pride comes with a natural teflon coating which doesnt allow any labels to stick.