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Post by MourningIreland on Nov 15, 2017 22:43:25 GMT
A woman Elaine rings Joe Duffy today and tells him that her brother, in his 50s with "mental health issues, kind of you know" (she doesn't specify what they are), is homeless since February because the house he was living in with their father was sold after the father died. According to Elaine, the siblings who sold the house cannot take the brother in because of the "mental health issues, kind of you know" - but - I am reading between the lines here because she doesn't say it directly - they are apparently happy to turf the vulnerable brother out, sell the house, and pocket the €€€€€€.WHAT THE HELL HAS HAPPENED TO THIS COUNTRY THAT PEOPLE THINK IT'S PERFECTLY NORMAL TO ACT LIKE THIS?It starts at around 1:04:00 of this cast: www.rte.ie/radio/utils/radioplayer/rteradioweb.html#!rii=b9%5F10800565%5F53%5F15%2D11%2D2017%5F I realise horrible stuff like this has always gone on, but 30 years ago a family who did this would have been filled with shame and guilt - wouldn't they? 
Clearly, for whatever reason the father did not think ahead and make provision for a life estate - so shouldn't the siblings have done this? I really am speechless and feel quite sick, having just listened to it again. There is no moral compass whatsoever, just greed and more greed. Or maybe it's just me that thinks this is a problem. God help Ireland. |
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Nov 15, 2017 23:41:51 GMT
No, it's not just you. I don't understand it either. My own extended family is a bit of a soap opera in terms of drama and difficulties. But...nobody has ever turned their backs on anyone in their hour of need. Yes, sometimes you have to be stern, but you don't just give up on someone. I've been watching Frasier, and in the very first episode, when Frasier is thinking of leaving his father in a nursing home, his brother sarcastically describes their mission thus: "We care so you don't have to." Now, I am sure there are many legitimate situations where a parent NEEDS to be put in a nursing home, where it is simply not possible to give them the care they need at home, but I think that is what too many people see the role of the State as being today. "We care so you don't have to." (Although, to be honest, I'm not sure how prevalent it is. You doubtless have your ear to the ground more than me.) I'm sure you've all been following this story. I know these things are complex and perhaps there is something to what the woman said, but it does seem like a very statist, bureaucratic outlook. www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/volunteers-giving-only-food-to-homeless-not-helpful-official-says-1.3292063 |
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Post by Séamus on Nov 16, 2017 9:01:42 GMT
The attitude isn't confined to Ireland, although it may be a bit sadder to see it happen there. A cousin in the Dublin-metro area has told me that her daughter will be having a child; she had moved back to the same house. The baby will be the fifth generation to have lived there, at times three generations at once. Not a nice thing to lose, if older people get put in homes, younger ones told to find their own way.
A Dutch lady here,traditional Mass Catholic, lost her husband when they were both about 50 -she was still active and driving for twenty years after. Early in her widowhood her daughter and husband, who lived literally next door, told her they wanted to buy her out and build a flat on the properties for her use;she would have to relinquish her car-park. Financially I don't know how it would have worked. At any rate, it wasn't acceptable to her. They cut off from her completely. There were at least two granddaughters living there that she couldn't talk to, she could listen to them playing in the adjoining garden. She did eventually downsize/move and has now died, about a year ago.
It's not the worst case, of course, but it strikes one, because we knew her and because it had a pathetic thread attached: She became obsessed with buying toys and dolls for years. She said it was for the Apocalyptic times (she read a lot of visionaries) and was certain that she'd be looking after children after the world's chastisements. But it's hard to believe that not seeing her family wasn't subconsciously something to do with it.
The happy ending is that the stuff went to poor families in the Philippines eventually via church contacts.
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Post by cato on Nov 19, 2017 18:00:26 GMT
I wonder has there been some huge decline in our attitudes towards family members who in some way make demands on us or has it just continued in a modified form.
Up to fairly recently we had one of the highest rates of hospital admissions in the world for mental illness mainly schitzophrenia. Many of these patients were odd balls eccentric or just in the way of a family that needed them removed from the farm for various reasons. Many lie in unmarked graves in every Irish county. This is an open secret yet there are no state enquiries or ringers to Joe Duffy. The book Saints Scholars and Schitzophrenia gives a good account of this in the West of Ireland.
Nowadays we have closed the hospitals and the community look after the mentally ill in theory. A large per centage are living on the streets in reality.
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Post by ClassicalRepublican on Nov 20, 2017 11:31:01 GMT
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