Political quandary!

In so many I ways I wish to avoid political comment because I feel there is just as much propaganda from the anti-stigma campaign as there is from the government and really I am not so much of a fan of either. That the time for change blogs are sifted for the positive content somewhat offends my sensitivities as many may not realise that these are the successes and positive stories that the anti-stigma campaign wish to publish but is not a full picture of the general story of people with mental health problems. They are chosen for the content that matches what the campaign wants the public to know and really how accurate this picture is for the general public who has a mental health issue is unknown and although I want change people’s ideas I do not completely approve of fighting fire with fire.
Government dishes out the really negative so anti stigma fights back with only the positive…

To me it’s just not an accurate picture and I fear that people do not realise this, just as they do not seem to grasp how selective the negative picture that the government is painting either.

So when I saw the is petition on change.org with the title, Investigate the Manslaughter of Benefits Claimants I was torn
On the one hand I feel for all the people who have had to deal with the sanctions and for all those who lost their battles with the system and some of them with their lives but there is a part of me that asks myself

If there was a case to answer here then surely it would have been investigated already?

Maybe I am naive but really I feel sure that the families of the claimants would have sort redress through these means already particularly as any suspicious or unexplained death would have been investigated when it occurred I find it difficult to believe that if there was a case to answer the investigations wouldn’t have happened at the time of each of the deaths.

There is also a part of me that feels that the way this petition has been worded is specifically targeting the emotional side of people and is lacking in facts and although all the deaths are tragedies and the handling of the system is so mismanaged I could metaphorically beat them all with sticks for being so stupid as to not see how the sanctions would affect people I feel that the major problem is with the implementation of the benefits system, including the sanctions, rather than the precept. That is not to say that the precept and the pushing of the government to implement the new benefits has not made the situation worse but there are far too many things to be considered here, too many unknowns for me to feel comfortable signing this petition.

I want fairness and politicians to not be above the law but then I do not feel that pushing for what this petition is asking is reasonable, they are not above the law just because this case isn't being investigated.

So then why make any comment?

Because I feel so many people will feel this is the right thing to do, because many may see this and feel that this is the only right thing to do and to kick up such a storm and really I am not convinced. But everyone makes their own choice. That I do not feel the benefits system is really fair or easy to navigate is true but that of itself does not make it corrupt or those who instigated it guilty of manslaughter.

For me, each case for manslaughter should have been made at the investigation into of each of those peoples deaths and if they didn’t have reason to investigate at that point then how can they have it collectively?