NOT HAVING THE LATIN
“I would have been a
judge,” said the distinctly plebeian sounding Peter Cook to Dudley Moore, “only
I never had the Latin.” Never having the Latin my self this also ruled out a
life on the bench. These days of course
our ruling elite no longer require Latin to communicate in the obscurantist
language of the Patrician.
Having asked for an explanation as to why he
was deemed suitable for work here is the contents of the letter sent to an ESA
claimant.
‘On
21/12/13
[sic] Mr X was examined by a Health Care Professional of The Medical Services
in connection with the Work capability Assessment (WCA).
Having
considered the available evidence the decision maker has decided that Mr X has
scored 15 points from the appropriate descriptors and has limited capability
for work.
Mr
X continues to continues to be accepted as having Limited Capability for Work
and is entitled to Employment and Support Allowance Cont [sic] and Income related.
The
Decision Maker has also considered limited capability for work related
activity. Having considered the available evidence the decision maker has
decided that by reason of his mental condition none of the descriptors set out
in schedule 3 of the ESA regs apply to Mr X…’
It goes on for a further
two paragraphs in the same vane, however at this point I am inclined to reflect
enough already, further infliction of this dismal mantra begins, I suspect, to
smack of cruel and unusual punishment.
People who think it
appropriate to send out a letter containing this kind of verbiage to a
vulnerable claimant with mental health problems are not really interested in
communicating at all, the intention is to obscure; when not outright
gobbledegook it has about it for the layman all the clarity of a Latin Mass. It
is the language of the inflated, self important official, the language of the
fearful. Such decisions must have a quasi scientific sound to them, ‘the
decision maker has decided that Mr X has scored 15 points from the appropriate
descriptors and has limited capability for work,’ lest the cavalier way in
which such decisions are actually made be exposed.
Whenever officials lapse
into the use of such language you know they have something to hide. It should
be fully exposed to the light of day where it is likely to provoke anger and a
sense of outrage, though I believe more importantantly, laughter and ridicule. For
it is ridicule that these people are most afraid. We may not have the Latin,
but we all know bullshit when we see it.
