Blinds closed

“When a hard-working head of the household leaves for work every morning, he can see that the blinds on the windows of the house opposite are still closed. Behind those blinds may be somebody who is on benefits and is not going to work. He is paying for those behind the blinds to stay at home and not work.” this is a direct quote from George Osborne he made in a speech around 6yrs ago.
Let’s think about closed blinds, or for most of us curtains or even for some old sheets pinned up to windows.
Well when I was young, so much younger than today (sure there’s a song in that), keeping your curtains closed was a sign to your neighbours that you had a death in the household. People would often react to that by paying respects or visiting to see all was ok. Sometimes it would mean folk would go to the house to check on the resident and maybe find them in need or sadly that it was the person themselves that had passed away.
Sadly today this is not usually the reason for closed curtains or the like. I say sadly for death is the only certainty in life, but the reasons today maybe far worse than death.
In a few cases closed curtains may mean a night shift worker, maybe someone rushing to get to work or kids to school but far far too often they signify things are not right. It maybe that the occupant suffers from depression and does not have the ability to let light into their world, they may have let things go and be worried that someone would look in and recognise that they were not coping, maybe they are suffering anxiety too and are scared of someone seeing they are in, a social worker, a bailiff, a neighbour, a stranger, family or even just the post man.
It maybe that by opening those curtains they would expose themselves to the horrors that for so many in society daily life holds.
A big percentage of our supposed ‘great’ nation live in debt, in constant fear their possessions or even home will be repossessed. Others know they are not coping with day to day living and are scared that their children may be removed or that their own ‘freedom’ will be taken (not that they live free, prisoners to their own personal hell).
People label depression and anxiety as ‘mental health issues’ which of course they are, but they are also often people living within states of mental cruelty, a state of constant torture, where the ethics, morals and values of todays politicians, the current government in particular, the establishment (those behind the politicians who hoard wealth and power) are the catalysts, the causation and their actions serve to perpetuate the distress.
We are now programmed to see those with any disability, but particularly those with invisible illnesses and mental health issues as 4croungers, as drains, as sub human, a subject to ridicule and yes hate. You will sit there not realising the sublime messages kyle, or Benefits Britain, or even the BBC news are pushing into your heads. Why? Because giving you someone to hate, a scape goat detracts from them. If you focus your ire on the woman with chronic pain, or the bloke that feels so hopeless he does not even dress, then you are not seeing the corruption and greed of those who are making life impossible for so many.
So yes todays reasons for closed blinds in my view can be far worse than death, they can mean isolation, terror and a complete loss of hope. Thats not a lazy scrounger Mr Osborne, that is someone fighting each day just to exist, if not survive.

Jonesy Jones
Dog of Socialism