I'm not reading owt more that 'newspaper' prints

I honestly think national Service is a great idea (now that i'm 24)

I am not clicking on anything Daily Fail related.

I clicked. 

It has the key words/phrases "lout", "wasters", "claiming benefits", "I was paying my taxes" so there's something for every DM reader there.

The core story, sans Daily Mail reporting, is quite sad of course: disabled man suffers very upsetting ridicule in street by ignorant and rude people.

He shud put his feet up and forget all about it

Oh dear - I appear to have opened a can of worms here.
I just thought it was a very sad story.

You are right there Moomin it is sad,yes national service should be brought back.

No, no, it is very sad.  We're just taking the mick or showing contempt towards the DM.

I mean, it's arguable that the people giving the abuse didn't know that he was a soldier who sustained the injuries on the battlefield and it's arguable that the soldier didn't know the employment status of his abusers.  I suspect the DM has constructed and encouraged the 'angle' of the story to make it one of benefits claimants and disrepected war veterans instead of just hideous and unforgiveable rudeness to a heavily disabled person.  Obviously, from the soldier's point of view it's insult to injury knowing himself how he got the injuries and that's where the real story lies. The DM, as ever, is pandering to the prejudices of its core readers.

the Daily Wail going for maximum outrage yet again

Not reading that shite paper.

Fortunately, such people are a very small minority.

One of my patients was discharged recently; Like Matthew Weston, he was severaly injured in Afghanistan; he lost a leg, and an arm up to the elbow, and has still to regain full use of his other arm. He is 19.
When he was discharged, my team decided that we would take him out for a drink; he'd been a frequent visitor to our theatre because of the nature of the surgery he needed, and we'd all grown very fond of him, and he was suffering quite badly psychologically.
When we took him into the club we'd chosen, there were a lot of stares and uncomfortable silences from the other customers; but as soon as people learned how he'd been injured, everything changed, and the respect he received was heartwarming. Several people came up just to shake his hand and offer him a drink. By the end of the evening, he was fighting back tears (he wasn't the only one) and his self-esteem was soaring.

Personally, I'm a pacifist - I hate wars, and particularly the pointless waste of life that is the war in Afghanistan; but I wouldn't stand by and see anyone disrespect the brave men (and women) who risk so much for what they believe in.

I think going for the whole tax money/benefits angle just cheapens what is actually a story about disabilism...

I think it's sad that the Disabilist Mail has to use the whole "scrounger" thing to get their readers shocked about something that should be shocking and unforgivable anyway

quite

Well said! Totally agree with you!