I
HAVENT got anything against Paratrooper Stu Pearsons right leg. The
problem
is, neither has he.
Sergeant
Pearson, 31, had his left leg blown off by a landmine in
Afghanistan 18 months
ago. Hes now got a highly technical, hydraulics-aided
prosthetic limb,
although he still needs to use a wheelchair when the
appendage becomes too
painful.
But it
seems that this leap forward has caused the Department of Work and
Pensions
to declare the Queens Gallantry Medal holder as fully fit. He
therefore
loses his £325 a month Disability Living Allowance but, more
irritatingly
for Stu, he also loses his blue disabled parking badge.
As
he says: I cant get my leg out of the car without opening the door
as
wide as possible so have to park in disabled bays. They give blue badges
to
people just because theyre fat these days, but a guy gets his leg
blown off
for his country and doesnt qualify.
You
can understand his anger. While Stu is struggling in from the far
reaches of
car parks at Tesco or Lidl, those lying benefits scroungers with
a magical
Tin Leg of Money dangling redundantly from their arms will be
rolling into
the prime places, smug smiles of feigned injury firmly in
place. You can see
them every day. They dont even know how to walk with a
crutch, never
mind put any weight on it.
When
I come across one now I honestly feel like kicking their magical Tin
Leg of
Money away while shouting: Its a miracle! This fat, anorak-wearing
fraud
can now walk!
Of
course, doing so would see me arrested, charged and probably imprisoned,
where
Id have a rent-free room with a television, as many Class A drugs as
I
could manage to take and, if you believe the tabloids, a constant supply
of
hot and cold running prostitutes. The notion appeals all the more.
IF
YOU want further evidence of the warped values of our sick society, you
need
look no further than the case of the two elderly sisters from Wiltshire
who
have had their fight to earn the same inheritance tax rights as gay
couples
thrown out by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Joyce
and Sybil Burton (89 and 82) have lived together in the same home
since birth.
They have paid their taxes, cared for ageing parents until
death without any
help from the state, had brothers who fought in the Second
World War and a
sister who was a nurse throughout the Blitz.
Yet
because of our shabby inheritance tax legislation, when one of the
sisters
dies, the other will have to sell the £875,000 house and move out to
pay
the £50,000 tax bill. Does that really seem fair to you? Who in their
right
mind could possibly think that this was a reasonable demand by a
reasonable
government?
As
the sisters say: If we were lesbians we would have all the rights in the
world.
But we are sisters, and it seems we have no rights at all.
Perhaps
the nations usually verbose feminist movement might want to take up
the
case of these horribly victimised old ladies? Because whats going to
happen
to one of them is a hundred times worse than being shouted at in the
street
because youve got a moustache.
Reprinted
with kind permission of Barry Beelzebub...for full column visit Bazza's
website