Monday, 3 October 2016

Posters berating homeless beggars as frauds? I know how far this is from the truth | Poppy Noor | Opinion | The Guardian #olsx #homeless #housing

Posters berating homeless beggars as frauds? I know how far this is from the truth | Poppy Noor | Opinion | The Guardian

Nottingham city council poster
 ‘From TV shows like Benefits Street showcasing Britain’s poor as if they were a circus act to the use of ‘shirkers and strivers’ by politicians, prejudice is increasing.’ Photograph: Advertising Standards Authority/PA
This week Nottingham city council’s poster campaign on homeless begging – suggesting that money to beggars funds booze, drugs, and fraud – was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for being discriminatory. The ruling is good news, but the fact that these posters existed at all is indicative of the way in which it has become increasingly acceptable to berate the less well-off. From TV shows like Benefits Street showcasing Britain’s poor as if they were a circus act to the use by politicians of language like “shirkers and strivers”, such prejudice is increasing.

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