Now I know with this economy that nerves can get a little bit frayed and people can say some things that they don’t necessarily mean. Unfortunately, there are some people out there who choose to express their own opinions without thinking that someone within earshot might take issue with them. Now what follows is a story that I feel the need to pass on, the names and places have been changed to protect people’s privacy…
I have a friend who lives in Utah named Don. Don is a good guy, he tries to take care of his family the best he can and he doesn’t usually involve himself with politics. Don has been looking for a job for over two years now after the last company he worked for sent his job overseas. He has been looking everywhere for employment – the classifieds in the local fishwrap, CareerBuilder, Monster, HotJobs, he has been trying to network, he has done everything he can think of to get work, but he just can’t get hired for some reason.
He’s no longer collecting unemployment either – that ran out after six months and the federal extension ran out after an additional three months. He and his wife then had to live on their savings, their 401k and interest from other investments that they made. Because the market crashed they are not getting as much return on their investments and their savings are almost gone. They don’t try to live beyond their means, but when you have three kids to raise sometimes belt-tightening can be a little tough.
Not too long ago Don was at a neighborhood block party and he overheard someone ranting about how lazy people who were unemployed actually were. This guy was saying that people who don’t have a job actually don’t want to work because they are sitting on their lazy asses collecting unemployment. Don overheard this and took issue with the guy. Don told him that he was unemployed, and that he had been looking for a job for over two years. So what was this guy’s response?
“Well you’re just not trying hard enough then, are you?”
Don: “How do you know I’m not trying hard enough? How do you know what I am doing? You don’t even care that I’m reading the paper everyday, going online every day or asking around if anybody’s hiring? You think that’s not trying hard enough?”
“Do you have a job?”
“No.”
“Then you’re not trying hard enough. It probably doesn’t even matter because who would want to hire a little piss-ant like you anyway? You probably can’t get a job because you screwed up at your last one. That’s why nobody wants you, it’s because you’re a screw-up who can’t do anything right, isn’t it?”
“Hey, the only reason I lost my job is because the company I worked for sent my job overseas so that they can save money. I didn’t do anything wrong, but it’s guys like you who want to try to make me feel guilty because I haven’t been able to get hired yet. How about you, do you have a job?”
“What do you think?”
“I’m asking you, do you?”
“Yeah.”
“Is the company you work for hiring right now?”
“I don’t know, I guess.”
“Then how about you solve both of our problems? You hate it when people are unemployed, I’m looking for a job so that I can pay my mortgage, keep the lights and the heat turned on and put food on the table for my family. How about you solve both of our problems and give me a job?”
This guy was stunned at first (according to Don) but then he looked at Don right in the eyes and with a sneer on his face said:
“I don’t give handouts.”
And with that he turned on his heels and walked away.
So, with that here is my question:
Since when did we get to the point in this country where hiring someone to do a job is now considered to be a handout?
Since when did sending someone your resume in response to an ad, or physically filling out a job application and handing it in, or even the idea of applying for a job become the same as panhandling?
I really would like to know because I have run into the same attitudes myself. I have been looking for a job for nearly six years now. Well, that’s not quite accurate – I can find jobs with no problem, getting someone to hire me is the problem. And like Don I no longer collect unemployment as my benefits ran out over five years ago. Today marks the 2,250th day since I last held a “real job”, and like Don I was downsized by my company. As of today I have sent out 1,013 resumes and applications looking for work in two states. Out of all of that I have gone on 51 interviews. If you do the math and turn that into a batting average, that’s an average of .050, waaaaaay below the Mendoza Line! So it hasn’t been like I’ve been sitting on my ass either.
So if someone can answer those questions for us, maybe it would help us understand why some people consider us to be worthless bums instead of ordinary Americans trying to do the right thing and support their families. We’re not looking for handouts, we’re not looking for Government Cheese, we just want to be able to pay our mortgage, keep the lights and the heat turned on and keep food in our children’s stomachs.
Is that asking for so much?
I must say this is a great article i enjoyed reading it keep the good work
[...] He’s no longer collecting unemployment either – that ran out after six months and the federal extension ran out after an additional three months. He and his wife then had to live on their savings, their 401k and interest from other …Continue Reading… [...]
I’m glad you liked it Stacy. Thanks for coming by and taking a look and tell others about this place.
Wow! The gull of some people never ceases to amaze me. Why is that when faced with a situation, like the one your friend Don was in, did the guy run after making that snide remark? Was he afraid that he couldn’t deliver? All talk, no action. I have been on unemployment for a bit, and mine runs out next month. I am relocating but I still put in for employment because I could use the money, at least until I leave here. People do not realize the extend of a situation brought on by unemployment. How difficult it is to find work. It isn’t that we do not want to work, it isn’t because we like collecting unemployment checks that is for sure, considering how very little they are and like your case, run out. People need to survive. When I first lost my job because the company “needed to downsize” I was horrified. I delberately was made to feel like I was worthless. I loved my job, the people I worked with but the head of the company said they could not afford to keep many people and me and few others being the last to be hired, was given our pink slips without warning, the day after Christmas! I had to wait until the New Year to file. I walked into the unemployment office and when the man asked if he could help me, I said, ” Yes sir. You can hire me to help out here.” He looked at me like I had totally lost my mind. He said he wasn’t hiring, that I could apply on line for unemployment. I told him what had happened and I said if things are done on line, then there is little paperwork to be done, that he should be so lucky he still has a job since someday, everything paperless will eliminate his employment eventually. How sad it is to come to this. We are not worthless people, and the stereotyping needs to be addressed. We are hard working people who have bills like everyone else, with little or no means to pay them. I am not on assistance, nor will be if I can help it. I do not ask for handouts or panhandle to support myself and family. I ask for a good job that puts food on the table, and a roof over my family and my head, and heat to keep us warm. It isn’t asking too much for a job when everyone has necessities. If someone hired me today, I would do the best of my ability to show that I am capable, am willing and can do the job. In return the employer would get one of the best damn employees he or she has had in awhile I am sure. Given the chance, we would all do that. It is a receive and return situation. Ajob for services rendered. Stupid is a terrible ignorance. It goes to show that the ones who call us lazy are probably the ones who actually aare and don’t want to be shown up or outdone by someone else. They like their lives, and barely get by with little or no effort, and that keeps them smug by degrading the unemployed for their insecurities.