May 16, 2020
A conversation with Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia
Well, Scott, no. It is not quite like that. There are plenty of people who try like hell to get ahead, who work like blazes to assist their family, and do so for a long, long time. But they do not actually get a go.
It may be because they are born on the wrong side of the street, or the wrong side of town or the wrong side of colour.
It may be because of ill health, their own or that of a member(s) of the family. It may be because of accident, their own or that of a member(s) of the family. It may be because of family violence and disruption, it may because of lack of education and opportunity, it may be because of disability.
It may be there is no one particular reason. It is just that shit happens to some people without their invitation. They try and work at it, struggle and get help, but the bike of life upon which they ride just keeps breaking down.
And they seek help from their government. From the people in power, the people with authority. The people with wealth.
Sometimes they do not seek help. Integral to their life experience perhaps, is not knowing where some roads are, where are the avenues to get help, how to find those avenues, those people, those communities that do not so much as speak about goodness but who provide goodness through quiet activity on behalf of others.
When you reveal your thoughts Scott, by implying or saying directly that people on dole queues are bludgers, you reveal yourself as that king who wore no clothes. You reveal yourself as naked of understanding, compassion and respect. You speak from a high tower of opportunity, comfort and self-assurance. From your great height you are unable to recognise the faces of people who live around the corner from you yet live in a different world.
Scott, you present yourself as a man of God. I can mention this because you arranged for media to capture those shots of you, arms raised, face a-glow, praising your God as a member of the Hillsong community. Dutifully those photos came into the public arena; you presented yourself to the electorate as a Christian believer.
Now, there is more to Christian faith than being a believer. It is about being a practitioner, a follower-in-deed of the Merciful Father. That is what counts, now and forever. Arms raised or lowered, it does not matter. You might be in a state-of-the-art coliseum type cathedral with the best electronic gadget and technical advantage or in a mud-hut in the back of beyond, it does not matter. What does matter, now and forever, is how you treat your fellow neighbour, how you do good to those that are hurting, how you seek mercy before justice.
Then, Scott, you put your foot in it. Really, you really gave yourself away with THAT statement, that statement about Australians and handouts, warning that Australians may become “addicted to handouts”. It is like you wrote your attitude toward working Australia upon a billboard and hung it from the Harbour Bridge or Parliament House or everywhere else. Living in a cocoon of pandemic anxiety, Australians are addicted to GETTING BACK TO WORK, getting their kids back to school, visiting their parents, grandparents, all family members, paying the rent, the loan, the home insurance, the electricity, the water, the rates, the food bill, the doctor’s bill and every other expense that falls across their doorway at a time they are excluded from work. And in the meantime, avoiding getting hit with THAT virus.
A person who speaks of people as being deliberately lazy, as being inclined to seeking handouts rather than carrying the responsibility for themselves and their family seriously, that person is betraying their attitude to the majority people who do not live in high towers – ivory towers that is – a person who looks down on those below as the great unwashed.
Shame on the Prime Minister.
Scott, I do not wish you harm, but if it did happen that you fell on hard times, as they say, if you lost so much of what you have because of any eventuality, and if because of such misadventure – unlikely that it may be – you would find yourself walking in the shoes of others, even for a day, I believe you would have a change of attitude toward those who do not share your position, your power and your wealth.
Among those seeking financial benefits at this time – whether it be JobKeeper, JobSeeker or whatever else benefit is around – there are certainly those who seek to take unfair advantage. There are those who will put in false claims, who will fail to carry their fair share of the burden. There would be individuals of bad intent with criminal records.
Likewise, in the circles of big business and government there are people and indeed businesses who seek to gain unfair advantage. Using all forms of utilities and knowledge at their disposal, and having connections in the right places, there are people with wealth and power who put in false claims and who fail to carry their fair share of society’s burdens. And there are individuals of bad intent with criminal records.
A person does not have to wear rough clothes and walk unshod to be a parasite upon society. Parasites are just as comfortable in slick suits and using a valet-driven limousine. The difference lies in their ability to disguise their status as parasites, their enormous capacity for self-gain and the fact they are not required to queue up at Centrelink for their “handout”.
Scott, it is not a matter of “If you have a go, you will get a go”. Rather, it is a matter of “If you give them a go, they will have a go”.
