Bob Looks back and wishes...

 By – Kendall Worth

 

 

 I previously wrote about Bob, who told me that recently he was thinking about a previous post on Body Cameras, and the benefits or issues of Income Assistance recipients using body cameras to record daily unpleasant interactions. Bob has had some experiences in his personal life that made him wish he was wearing a body camera.

Bob is one welfare recipient who does not mess around when he gets stigmatized by others for being on welfare. This is one of the exact reason why Bob asked that I not use his real name. does not use his real name. Part of the reason as to why Bob wishes he had a body camera is to record unpleasant interactions with people. Sometimes, especially in the summer he attends free outdoor events, even though he worries about running into people who believe in the stigma about him and welfare recipients generally. These are people he knows from other parts of his life, not his acquaintances from standing in line at the food bank or soup kitchens.

But his unrelated reasons for wishing he had a body camera include:

#1 – He was on Income Assistance since sometimes in the early 2000’s and there have been times when he has had stigmatizing and uncomfortable conversations with Income Assistance caseworkers during his required annual reviews. Also he has times in his life where doctors have refused to fill out required medical documentation. He wishes he had access to recorded conversations of these interactions.

#2 – Bob has one point in his personal life, where he was approached who he did not know, while he was out watching a band play. The fact that he did go with having no friends to attend with also turned out to be a safety concern for him. Someone approached him, came right into his face and wanted to know things about him that were none of their business. If he had a body camera on him then he could have gotten a recording of the uncomfortable conversation and a picture of what the person looked like and that person’s actions.

#3 - Bob once attended an event with people from a supposedly “progressive” organization. One of the attendees who was from the organization approached him and after discovering he is on Income Assistance, behaved toward him as if she is an exact believer in the stigma talked about in this article. Anyway Bob wishes that he had body camera both times he ran into her, because he could record the stigmatizing conversations he had with this this women. As much as Bob wanted to tell her where to go, plus tell to mind her own business. The reality is this persons represented an organization that Bob has to work with... potentially on an ongoing basis.

The problem with all three of these scenarios, is that a video recording of most of these interactions is either not possible or would have negative consequences for Bob. If you were to publicly embarrass or report to a supervisor the recording of the interaction with the caseworker, I worry that it would mean cuts or difficulties for Bob from ESIA, rather than getting any actual benefit. And on number 2 and 3 – who would you report the person to? It is not illegal, or potentially seen as an issue, to be mean or too nosy.

Long Story Short, Bob felt that if he had a body camera then, and had the opportunity to record this conversation, he would have gone and complained using the video as evidence… but if Bob had raised his voice or responded himself in a less than appropriate way – he could be blamed for being the problem! We need to make sure that people on Income Assistance who are treated with bias or stigma are believed, when they report it. Cameras might help but they are no cure-all and could potentially make things worse for some.

Lets get rid of stigma once and for all!