Nozicks theory of justice. ABSOLUTE AUTONOMY (no one should enforce anything upon us we should have absolute ownership of ourselves) oh and little old benefit bum me.

Recently someone tried to refer to me as a lazy lefty benefit bum and that is why I am a lefty, and that I’ve never had a full time job in my life. The irony is the person who claimed this of me is on the same benefits as me! Anyways the difference being I went straight from school into having kids and 3 years of an abusive relationship and then into education and onto uni. I worked from the age of 13 and smashed my way through education with excellent grades and a not so ideal home life.  Now I’m doing a law degree one of the heaviest degrees whilst working part time and being a single mother with hardly any support system (unlike the person throwing the false verbal abuse at me to try and impress and make themselves feel superior). 

You would feel from such abuse that this person may think that people on benefits are the scum of society and lazy. Yet again very ironic as they are too on benefits but won’t admit that online because it will make their awful comments about people seem very hypocritical. So today in a very intense lecture the topic was on autonomy and self-ownership.  The debate was based on the tax system and such society structures.

 A famous writer (Nozick) in the jurisprudence and philosophical world argues basically that no-one has the right to force measures upon others, as then you own them. So for example forcing a nation to give blood is basically owning them. Well this argument was then transferred to people selling their labour. The argument was that taking tax from people’s earnings effectively is a way of owning them as they have no say in keeping the fruits of their labour.  I really struggled to find my opinion on this concept.  I could not shift in my mind that actually autonomy is a doubled edged sword. Not only that, should autonomy be at the expense of others in society? It was argued that we can dismiss that. But you cannot. To say believing in autonomy means that you believe a person is owned if they are ever forced to do something, you have to take autonomy very literally. It was an internal battle in me. I definitely don’t believe that people should be owned. I agree with autonomy. But at the same time I could not justify to myself that the poorer in society should be so disposable in the name of autonomy. Complicated right?

I put forward the arguments that tax is a good thing for the poor but that I still believe in autonomy and it was batted down. I needed a stronger argument than just that. Some heated debate happened. People believed that Class A should not be responsible for class B, and class B shouldn’t be so lazy. They should try to go get enough wealth to become part of class A no one is stopping them . I found it hard to listen and not retaliate. I am a bit of an advocate of defending the less fortunate see. It is not a child’s fault they are born into a poor family. And actually Class A are so protective of their wealth that they make it hard for class B to accrue any. As it would start to level the playing field and then class A would no longer be class A as we all would be on the same level. Let’s call it Class A-.  So this view I would see as very classist and unfair. We are all human and it is by pure luck that we are born into rich or poorer families and have varying levels or resources available to us to attain wealth. Some such as disabled people are completely unable to be as resourceful as the average citizen anyway. Ownership and autonomy in this sense would mean they get no money and effectively die….fair? No. But then the argument was turned on its head.

It didn’t matter that it was fair. Ownership is more important. The government should not be allowed to own us and make us pay taxes. If people want to they can but it shouldn’t be forced. Here’s the problem that won’t work . Hardly anyone would voluntarily pay taxes, especially when people who are poor are demonised by the elite classes and everybody is brainwashed by programmes like benefit street. No one wants to pay taxes  (even my boyfriend admitted if he didn’t have to pay taxes he wouldn’t but more of a self-thing rather than not agreeing with where it goes) because they think the jobless are lazy scum. Like the benefit recipient who called me lazy benefits bum lol! See how good the media is at brainwashing. They have actual benefit recipients spewing crap about benefit people. My point is for whatever reason (wanting more money or not agreeing with where the money goes) people wouldn’t pay tax if it wasn’t forced.

Anyways effectively it was agreed that yes ownership would probably mean that yes people will die because they do not have the access or resource to attain the wealth to live. Those who favour this libertarian approach would say that is an acceptable thing to attain true freedom and ownership. I was just still not okay with this. This internal battle was raging like a bloody monster inside me. I wanted to still advocate autonomy but also respect the fundamental rights of all humans. I wanted to remain humanitarian. An option was presented to me that self should be seen as community. Absolutely love the idea. Kudos Jordan! But the truth is I just felt it didn’t retain a respect for individual autonomy whilst promoting welfare state for the less fortunate and needy.

Anyways I walked 2 miles to pick my kids up after that lecture. There’s a saying that most famous ideas were conceived on a walk. I shit you not its true. I had my lightbulb moments, just too bloody late to win my arguments in a popular knighthood fashion. Here were my thoughts:

A)     Absolute autonomy is a double edged sword. Being able to own ourselves completely and abide to no rules sounds awesome but even speaking in a slavery context it can be used in a bad way. Ownership allows slaves to not be slaves. But ownership and autonomy also allows slave owners to do whatever the fuck they want to, so then it becomes a war, survival of the fittest or strongest between the two opposing people. So I think we can all agree that there should be a promotion of positive autonomy (no one should be a slave) and a restriction of negative autonomy (no one should be allowed to have slaves and do whatever they want).

B)      Taxes can promote and enhance autonomy. I do agree that tax rates are entirely flawed. That is for another conversation. But rational tax rates can enhance autonomy of self and others. Paying taxes enables police to protect and intervene from robberies and attacks, protecting physical and mental autonomy. As autonomy is a double edged sword! You have the autonomy not help a poor shit, but the poor shit has the autonomy to rob you for survival, or an immoral person may even rob you just because they want more than necessary and find it funny. Either way taxes promote standard of living to prevent that kind of society etc.

C)      If you’re still really not an advocate of what I have put forward and agree with the Class A v Class B theory I argued against in my lecture. . . . .You know when you start work or accumulate wealth you are going to pay tax. Therefore no infringement of autonomy has occurred as you have already consented to the tax system by conduct. Even if you want to argue that you have no choice but to work to survive, your own classist attitude is another double edged sword. If you don’t want to pay tax don’t work. It’s luck of the drawer, it’s not our fault that you don’t have the skills to live off the land. We shouldn’t be forced not to have a tax system because you want to work without paying tax. This argument many people would not want to agree with. But when you really think about it, you agree to tax when commencing work. It’s practically contractual. Therefore ownership and autonomy are actually not infringed upon.

That is how I found a way to respect autonomy while still justifying some restrictions on autonomy. I mean a humanitarian perspective and love for the world in all led me to find these solutions.

So yeh only love people!!!

Peace out x

My Very Late Mental Health Awareness Day Post

Mental Health Awareness

So a more serious post and sorry about how ridiculously late it is! J

Many people when they think of mental health awareness tend to think of depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, anxiety etc . It’s understandable. I do to. However there are many things to do with mental health that many people do not know. Mental health issues can be a serious destroyer of physical health. Mental health issues can also be left completely uncaught because people can have high functioning mental health issues. This sometimes can be worse than just having your basic mental health issues actually. I know because I am a sufferer and many times it has played holy hell on my physical health. Let me explain.

High functioning depression and anxiety is what I have. Previously diagnosed but I stopped attending GP meeting s because I felt I was wasting my time (please do not follow my suit if you suffer, we all have individual needs and coping mechanisms). Mine a product of years of abuse and emotional neglect. I mention this because I want people to know that you can improve and attain positivity no matter where you are starting from. So now it’s untreated and I deal with that shit. And honestly it’s not something I tell people about because I hate the stigma. It’s something I hide very well, and my life looks totally together. The average person would think I totally have my shit together. They think I am totally dynamic and strong. Not many people know that actually when you’re talking to me I probably suffered three panic attacks and my anxiety is at 70mph trying to figure out the correct response to you communicating with me. It’s something I am constantly dealing with. 24/7. I even get panic attacks as I am about to sleep because I am worried that I don’t have time to sleep I have got way too much shit I need to be doing. Basically high functioning anxiety is where you have anxiety but it does not “cripple” your life. You are still highly functioning. It is the same with depression.

Many people would ask so what’s the big deal if you can get on with your life? The deal is that actually it’s torturous. You suffer in silence. And it makes life very hard and it takes a massive toll on your immune system. There’s actual science to it. And the suffering in silence means you deal and deal and then you have massive episodes. So for anxiety you would end up breaking down because you just don’t want these panic attacks no more, and this breakdown can involve heart palpitations, sweating, struggling to breathe and feeling very faint, and puking. Depressive episodes . . . .well you lose the will to live and don’t want to face the world. You withdraw. You ghost for a couple days so no one knows your issue and then you come back highly functioning again. If you manage to pick yourself up(some people don’t and that’s how you end up with people you were talking to who seemed so happy the other day dead the next). Technically high-functioning can be more dangerous because it’s untreated and/or not worked around.

I am in no way telling my story for sympathy. I’ve got mechanisms in place that help me deal with the high functioning silent dangers. I got myself with this. But I guess I wanted to write this to let people know that this stuff is very real, and just because it’s high functioning it’s no less serious than the standard or chronic versions. So when you encounter people in life just realise you don’t know what they are dealing with, always be kind. Always come from a place of love. Don’t judge, don’t stigmatize, be open-minded and gentle. Stigma is what stops people from admitting they may need the help, and what can be the cause of silent killers like high functioning depression.

If you’re interested in this, feel you relate, or feel you may know someone suffering with such a thing I have provided some links at the end of this. Basically reading all of the links gives you a better picture. The same symptoms of standard depression and anxiety are suffered, just hidden better and creep out in more subtle ways, like fidgety hands (anxiety), lack of awareness (depression).

All love people. Love could cure many things. And some people just need a little love in their day. It might help them deal!

One love!

Symptoms of high functioning depression:  

http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/depression/symptoms/#.WAJxrCQQss0

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/world-mental-health-day-what-are-dangers-high-functioning-depression-anxiety-1585154

Tips for people who may know someone:

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/05/08/9-best-ways-to-support-someone-with-depression/

http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/03/supporting-people-with-depression/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/things-people-with-high-functioning-depression-want-you-to-know_us_57ed52d8e4b024a52d2d9160

Symptoms of high functioning anxiety: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Anxiety/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

 https://themighty.com/2016/06/living-with-high-functioning-and-hidden-anxiety/

Tips for people who may know someone: 

http://www.calmclinic.com/anxiety/tips-for-friends-family

https://www.bustle.com/articles/120115-7-things-your-friend-with-anxiety-wants-you-to-know

And if you related to anything I said, or any of the links don’t feel alone! You’re not. Trust me reaching out to at least one person can help you put mechanisms in place that help you deal! Reach out!!!

Single Parents: Benefit Wankers?

Time and again you sit down to watch a program on TV about benefits.  Mostly you see drug addicts, families with ten children, kids smoking at the age of 5 or something, and single parents. Just to add to the scene they are trying to set it’s normally a young single mum with a mouth that’s constantly being censored.

I am a young single mum. 24 year old (I have decided this will now be my age forever, I really don’t want to be half way to 50) with a 7 year old and 5 year old.

Watching these programs really irritates me. For a start, a lot of young single mums are not even the tiniest bit similar to those shown on TV. Secondly, yes most of us are unemployed but not like the way that young single mum on TV can’t be bothered and is happy on benefits as long as she has got her fags and alcohol. In fact it irritates me that there’s no documentary on us more ambitious young single mums trying to take life head on.  I think actually, if enough true research and a little less brainwashing happened, the root cause of single parent unemployment could be found and remedied.  My unemployment is not through lack of education or effort anyway.

So naturally I decided this year I am doing a dissertation on it. I am a right fucking nut case for taking it on let me tell you (way too much reading)! I want to argue from a legal perspective that single parents should be a directly protected classification in the employment world, and a category on par with LGBT and ethnic minorities in the whole diversity and social inclusion policies. I know some people will read that and think that is controversial, but regardless of sexual orientation or race, a single parent from anywhere on the spectrum is statistically more likely to be, and remain unemployed than  two parent households, or childless people (ONS website). As much as I feel this dissertation will empower me and help me gain employment out of university hopefully, I wanted to write more conversationally about it on here. Largely so I could rant too.

It’s sad really as well; single parents are the ones who struggle the most to run a family off one income and probably need the diversity boost more than anyone else.  Yet instead once their eldest turns 5 they are forced off the welfare system (which is crap anyway hence me being at university) and into part times jobs. It barely keeps milk in the fridge let alone a good standard of living for your kids. You’re basically fucked. No one wants to hire you and the state doesn’t want to help you either. So you end up mopping an off license floor for ten hours a week.

Get a full time job I hear you say?

Yeh sure, when the kids start school at 9, finish at 6 (with a hefty childcare bill to boot), and I don’t drive, and my works an hour away this leaves me . . . . . 10.30-4.30 (you need to leave time to actually get rid of the sweat, leave time for traffic etc etc). So let’s say that’s a generous £7.00 ph job (but because it’s classed as part time you get awarded hardly any childcare). But my childcare is 15.00 per child for 3 hours. Basically 4 of those hours I work a day go’s on childcare. That leaves me £14 a day of my wages. Shocking as shit on the wall. Basically working to pay childcare and struggle more than anything.  And that’s if you manage to secure a place in a cheap after school club that runs for 3 hours. Otherwise you’re paying a childminder £7.00 per hour per child so then you would have even less left.

Even more infuriating is this. Someone who has gone to university worked real hard and smashed some good grades out against all adversity. Yes I’m saying having two kids and a household to run by yourself can be adversity because family life = DRAMA, when one is ill for a week there’s illness for  the other two in the household for two more consecutive weeks and stuff like that. Team No sleep in the literal sense unlike these students who say #teamnosleep just because they went out partying from 10-4 then slept from 4-8, rocked up to lectures at 9, went home to sleep some more at 11, woke up at 5 ate, read, showered and repeat. They don’t know what no sleep is #justsaying #sorrynotsorry. Anyway back to point, I have worked this hard for some childless person or two parent person to get it because they are more flexible, other than that we're even on paper probably.

The point I am making is, media sucks for portraying us to be benefit wankers because were trash. Most of us are fucking superhuman, we struggle, we cry, we face all the shit of a two parent family all by ourselves. We get no rest. We carry on. And some of us are taking a shit stab at uni knowing we’ve got more battles to fight out of uni because old charles from Oxshott or something has no singular parent childcare issues (either because he has no children or he has a wonderful partner to take the kids to school etc for him), and so is flexible the fuckwit. And some are taking really shit pay, shit reward /prospect jobs because they have no other option and are struggling their tits off every day for the rest of their life as a single parent to just afford to get by, but not without plenty of debt accumulation. I literally take my hat off to those souls. You the real superhumans.

Anyway that is my rant over.

I hope to present a more legal based argument in my dissertation with references and lots of clever shit.

And less swearing.

Peace out x

A Flooded House. Two annoying shitheads and a non present boyfriend. Oh the fucking luck.

Oh the luck. About three weeks ago I signed a shiny new tenancy. Bloody brilliant. Nice little 2 bed for over a thousand a month. Because you know…..South East England is the place dreams are made of or something (seriously the schools are good though).  All is well and good except I’m eating on the floor like a tramp every night! Pot Noodle for one! Furniture was slowly being delivered like a snail on a slow stroll in relativity to their own speed. Far too many items going back to the sorting office because my letterbox is smaller than my nostril. My point is life was good!

Literally a week ago the heavens opened from my ceiling and rained down on me. Absolute magic. The power. The unbelievable. My ceiling the heavens! My floor the oceans! My soul absolutely fucking destroyed! Oh the fucking luck. My new extortionate little two bed was flooded beyond all belief. The electrics cut. Couldn’t see a thing mind as it was 1 AM. I will be honest I did kind of get slightly hysterical and ring the police to tell them it was raining inside and I might die. So they sent me the fire brigade. This however wasn’t before I rang the love of my life to proclaim my undying love for him and say my final goodbyes.

The call went something like this:

ME: “Trev it’s fucking pouring down inside what do I do?! SAVE ME!”

TREV: “I don’t fucking know go back to bed”

ME: “What the fuck advice is this? I might die! Don’t you care? Are you such a prick? You cheating on me? You death? YOU GAY BRO?”

TREV:  “you won’t die, just stay calm and ring 999 or something babe”

ME: “ STAY CALM? WHEN IM GOING TO DIE, YOU STAY CALM PRICK!”

The firemen came, lovely people. Wonderful people. Calmed me right down. They had to check the building was stable and light some candles for me. My two monsters were loving life. They had bragging rights in school the next day about the firemen turning up. No doubt with my genes they entirely over exaggerated the story. The firemen were awesome, although I must say I did worry about them going up into my attic. I mean they looked no younger than 50’s 60’s. I didn’t want them to pull a back bit or get a minor stroke getting up into my attic. No magic Mike I can tell you. But voices more soothing than angels!

Well since then I’ve been living from night to night wondering if there will be a roof over my head as its hotel living. I was chewing every throat out via email, and giving every bitch a metaphorical tit punch too. But the truth is I met my landlord face to face today, and when she apologised my heart sunk at least 100 times quicker than the titanic. I could see the sincereity and suddenly I didn’t feel like pushing for things to move faster. It was clear she felt bad and was trying her best.

I have also had a little less patience with the monsters than usual. One warning and then the consequences have come into play rather than the 100 warning system I usually have. Let’s just say I’ve been eating all their biscuits and treats this week (So sue me Im human and need comfort food in these lonely hotel nights)! But today seeing them gang up on me together actually made me proud and smile. I forget that sometimes, no matter how fun I try to make it and shelter them from the truth, hotel living isn’t easy on them either. But they’ve stuck together through it all like Gerrard and Carragher. OR Jason Bowen and Andy Legg I would prefer to say. My point is they are little soldiers. And I will stop eating their treats. They are still little shits though. The one told me I’m no longer fat today. I mean COME ON! SO YOURE SAYING I WAS FAT YESTERDAY YOU LITTLE SHIT? Only love though.

To top it off my boyfriend’s still a non-present prick. But he’s a non-present prick because of his job. This is the engine of his borrowing me money all the time and making sure I am okay. Staying calm when I am hysterical to plan the best course of action, and to bring me down from my panic. Helping me constantly. Loving me. Being there in spirit when he can’t be physically. Being my biggest fan and my best motivator when I’m feeling beyond shit.  Being Jack to my Rose when my Titanic sunk. So I guess what I am trying to say is…….what I have learnt through this is…..everyone is human, we all make mistakes. But we all love. Everyone is trying their best. If you look with clear objective vision there is actually love in the world. And love can make any disasters bearable.

I am actually blessed and I love the people around me. It's world peace day today. I think it's totally relevant for everyone to calm the fuck down. Take a moment to reflect on the world. Just breathe. Remember your love for people. People's love for you. Remember we are all human. Remember people's love for other people. I mean even Putin must have a mum who loves him and he loves her right? So maybe one day he can learn to love the whole world with differences and similarities alike. 

Peace out x