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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 08/10/2007 : 01:14:55
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A married couple in Kinda, in the south east of Sweden have been told by social services and a court that they can no longer get as much money from the government as that to which they had grown accustomed for the last ten years.
Kinda couple ponders a stark, unconscionable
existence of conventional work, pain and dejection.
The husband argued, unsuccessfully, in Ötergötland county court. . . . . . for a reversal of the decision taken by local social services at the end of May to reduce the couple's benefits.
"Conventional work is out of the question for me - both in terms of my conscience and on an intellectual level - as it seems objectionable with regard to both my personal well-being and the well-being of society as a whole. Emotionally too it creates unbearable pain and dejection," he wrote. |
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
Edited by - HalfMooner on 08/11/2007 03:19:33
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2007 : 08:52:54 [Permalink]
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| You know, I totally get what the guy means and feels, 'cause I certainly do feel that way myself about most jobs. The difference is that I don't have the immense sense of entitlement that these people seem to have. If they are mentally ill, get disability. If not, either get a job or accept a lower standard quality of life. For crap's sake, what percentage of people in this world have no choice but to live in abject poverty? They should feel damn lucky to live in Sweden and not have been born in Kenya or Ethiopia. |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
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moakley
SFN Regular
USA
1888 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2007 : 12:39:56 [Permalink]
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| on an intellectual level ... well-being of society |
Pathetic little bastard. I don't know if he is too full of himself or too full of shit or whether there is even a difference. He should put his disgusting little ass to work.
Yep. That's pretty much what I think. |
Life is good
Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned. -Anonymous |
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2007 : 14:08:43 [Permalink]
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On further consideration, I am reminded of a story told by Utah Phillips on an album he did in collaboration with Ani DiFranco. The story is about a bum he knew named Frying Pan Jack who said this:
"I learned when I was young that the only true life is the life of my brain. But if it's true that the only real life I have is the life of my brain, what sense does it make to hand that brain to somebody for eight hours a day for their particular use, on the presumption that at the end of the day they will give it back in an unmutilated condition?"
I do think there can be something noble about making a philosophical decision not to do work that is, as Studs Terkel once put it, "too small for one's spirit". This is not an old idea. It is not unlike the cynic philosopher Diogenes who chose to live in the streets like a dog, or ascetics who choose to live a life of pious poverty, begging for just enough money and food to survive. However, as if shown by the lifestyle led by noble bums and ascetics in rags, there is a price to pay for such a decision. |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
 Posted - 08/11/2007 : 14:44:03 [Permalink]
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Gee, based on his looks, I wonder if he could get jobs as a young Bergmanesque Max von Sydow double… You know, before Max became American…
All in all, I think the story is funny. A conman going for it… It's sort of Green Acre's in reverse on every level… Maybe he will become a high powered urban attorney…
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Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2007 : 15:43:12 [Permalink]
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I can certainly understand the desire to live without "conventional work." I'm doing it myself, since I'm living on my retirement IRA annuity. I can also understand that the fellow would want to write an argument to defend his last decade's lifestyle. But I find his particular argument hilarious and bizarre.
I like the Diogenes parallel, Marf, not least because I'd first read some details of his style not a week ago. There was a guy who lived as he wished, kept it simple, and expected no luxuries. According to legend, when Alexander the Great visited Diogenes, the philosopher was sunning himself on the ground next to the tub he used as a home. Alexander generously offered Diogenes anything on earth that he might want. Diogenes replied that it would be nice if Alexander could give him some of his sunlight back, by moving his shadow just a bit.
I wonder what the gentleman meant with the part about, "... the well-being of society as a whole" being threatened by his having a 9-to-5? Does he burst into murderous rages? Has he not bathed in ten years? Does he steal staplers?
Kil, now that you mention it, I do see the resemblance to Max von Sydow!
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 08/11/2007 16:48:12 |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2007 : 07:30:50 [Permalink]
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And I still haven't sucked Mab or Starman into this. Not even Hawks. Like cops, there's never a Swede around when you want one.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2007 : 15:52:29 [Permalink]
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I don't think it's funny at all. 
Living in Sweden is living in the greatest country in the world, as I see it. But these folks are not taking their responibility seriously.
Bad shit can happen to anyone, and that's what the system is for. Not for abusing it, like this. Whatever they have coming... they seem to deserve it.
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Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2007 : 17:19:39 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dr. Mabuse
I don't think it's funny at all.
Living in Sweden is living in the greatest country in the world, as I see it. But these folks are not taking their responibility seriously.
Bad shit can happen to anyone, and that's what the system is for. Not for abusing it, like this. Whatever they have coming... they seem to deserve it.
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Thanks for the feedback.
What with social service's decision, the county court's, and now your comment, I suspect most Swedes are on the same page as most Americans about the principle of this couple's abuse of a system which was set up for people who need real help.
But, Mab, didn't you find they guy's words funny (as well as amazingly self-centered}? Maybe an observer needs some distance for it to be more funny than infuriating. Once you're at DragonCon in Atlanta, you'll laugh.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 08/12/2007 17:22:51 |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2007 : 17:29:05 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by HalfMooner
But, Mab, didn't you find they guy's words funny (as well as amazingly self-centered}? Maybe an observer needs some distance for it to be more funny than infuriating. Once you're at DragonCon in Atlanta, you'll laugh.
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It's funny in the way that his self-centeredness is so absurd. He honestly think he's entitled to the aid.
There weren't any links to other Swedish news, and I haven't heard anyone of my coworkers mention anything about it. Perhaps it's a non-issue.
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Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Hawks
SFN Regular
Canada
1383 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2007 : 18:50:48 [Permalink]
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| What with social service's decision, the county court's, and now your comment, I suspect most Swedes are on the same page as most Americans about the principle of this couple's abuse of a system which was set up for people who need real help. |
Sweden has a great welfare system (or it used to anyway) and I think that the inevitable consequence of having one is that some people will take the piss. These guys sure do. I would think that anyone who actually pays tax would feel that these people are abusing the system. Not that they will be able to do it for much longer, though - at least not when presenting such crap arguments.
On a side note: I'm glad that you guys know who Max von Sydow is. I managed to find "Pelle the Conqueror" for sale in NZ the other day and will sit down and watch it as soon as possible. |
METHINKS IT IS LIKE A WEASEL
It's a small, off-duty czechoslovakian traffic warden! |
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"Workshy" Swedish couple denied income
