Right from Atrebors Corner: Andre Bauer’s Remarks about People on Welfare

Author: Atrebor

In Response to: South Carolina Lt. Gov. Under Fire for Comparing Welfare Users to Stray Animals

What if you became disabled and were unable to work and someone said to you that they didn’t want for their taxes to feed you.  How would you feel?

What if you lost a job due to the recession, and there were no unemployment checks or food stamps to help you through your tough times.  Would you be angry?

The lieutenant governor, Andre Bauer, of South Carolina was recently quoted as saying something offensive about people on welfare.  He said, “My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed! You’re facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don’t think too much further than that.”

Bauer later said, “Do I wish I’d used a different metaphor? Of course I do,” I didn’t intend to offend anyone.”   But then Bauer went on to say that he wants people on welfare to take drug tests and attend parent-teacher conferences if they have children in school.

His statement is not only offensive towards people on welfare, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income or food stamps, but it stereotypes these people in a negative way.  He automatically assumes that people on welfare and food stamps are going to start having a lot of kids, however not everyone on welfare programs fits this common stereotype.  The other stereotypes that he uses makes welfare and food stamp recipients look like they are drug addicts and incapable of being supportive of their child’s educational needs.

I went on the welfare and food stamp program, when my husband left my son and me.  I had no money, no car and a stack of unpaid bills, so I had to do something to feed my son and me.  What if there was not a welfare or food stamp program?  I guess we would have been left to die or live on the streets.  My son became diabetic just a few months after his dad left us, and so he would have died as a baby.

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone on welfare or food stamps starts breeding out of control, and seeks to create a welfare empire for their massive families.  I never had another child after my husband left me, and therefore I find it offensive that people would presume that I would have done this during my crisis.  Also, I was never a drug addict, nor have I ever taken un-prescribed drugs, however he wants for people on welfare to start taking drug test.  I find it extremely disturbing that he thinks that mothers will not attend their child’s parent-teacher conferences, and that he wants to force them to go.  He is assuming that mothers on welfare will not participate in their child’s education.

Is this new attitude going to turn into a euthanasia program similar to what Hitler started in his Nazi regime?  Anytime there are statements starting to rise like the one by Andre Bauer and others, people start to target the people that need help.  Is this the kind of world that we want to live within?  If we start attacking people that are on welfare and food stamps, then we have become a society that ignores the needs of the poor, disabled, handicapped, chronically ill, mentally ill, elderly and veterans that were injured or wounded during wars.

This poster reads: “60,000 Reich marks.  What this person suffering from is hereditary defects costs the People’s community during his lifetime. Comrade, that is your money too.

I am concerned that society is turning against those that need help, and we may be one step away from death squads and euthanasia programs in our future.  I have seen that society is becoming colder and more selfish, but I would hope that people will still remain compassionate towards people that need help.

My son was just attacked last year by someone that suggested that he should kill himself, because he is autistic and doesn’t do anything to contribute to society.  This statement could not be further from the truth; in fact, my son runs a website and does many things to contribute to society.

These statements that Bauer makes fails to realize that welfare and food stamp recipients have paid into these programs when they worked previously, and that their families also contribute their tax money to these same insurance programs.  Therefore grandparent, parents, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles are all contributing for these insurance programs for their families or even friends that may need these programs in the future.  Not all of them will be able to take advantage of social security programs, food stamp programs, Welfare, Medicaid or Medicare; therefore they are happy that their family members or friends will be able to benefit by these programs that they helped contribute to with their taxes.

A society that fails to take care of their poor, disabled, handicapped, chronically ill, mentally ill, elderly and our veterans will eventually be destroyed from all of the problems that they are going to create.

SC politician’s welfare comments called `immoral’

http://www.fresnobee.com/641/story/1796425.html

Euthanasia Program in Nazi Germany

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_T4

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