Hey Winston! Leave those kids alone. Thoughts on Mr Smith and his 'underclass'

Winston Smith writes a blog about his experiences in support worker roles in care homes for children, supported accommodation for young people and Youth Offending Services.  Winston Smith isn't his real name but the name of a character from George Orwell's 1984.  This Winston Smith wouldn't bother me where it not for him garnering national media attention, picking up the Orwell Prize in 2010 and penning a book, Generation F.

Winston tells us in his book that he wanted to be a journalist but his excessive use of cannabis meant that he couldn't complete his formal education as a journalist.  It also apparently was the reason he decided to work in the field of social care.  He believes that his experience of smoking too much dope, appearing in court and turning his life around thanks in part to the tough love of his parents gives him a particular insight into what the people he works for really need.

Winston's blog is called "Winston Smith - Working with the underclass".  It is a retrospective and detailed account of some of his encounters with the young people he supports.  I've read quite a bit of his blog and the resulting comments. 

Winston very occasionally demonstrates some understanding and a little affection for some of the people he is paid to support.  However, by and large, the over riding sense is of a person who actually has little or no genuine insight into or particular liking for the young people he sees himself as being unfortunate enough to have to encounter in his working day.  The general gist seems to be - here is a generation of people with little or no respect for themselves, authority, rules and good grammar, an indulgent society upon which they inflict their odious and burdensome selves, a care system which colludes with their expectations of take and not give and which is staffed by heroic and well intentioned people whose 'common sense' approach goes disastrously unheeded by manager after bleeding heart manager; essentially a self replicating 'underclass' of feral rogues, welfare scroungers and bad parents who don't get told off enough.

Winston's blog is certainly interesting but I am horrified to read in the comments that people believe that his views are actually representative of a large group of tough but loving and down trodden social care workers.

My personal view is that 'Winston' is burnt out and has a value base which is clearly ill suited to the field of work in which he reluctantly still finds himself.  A few examples of the things that he writes about the people he is paid to value and support,

"a slightly obese, uncouth 21-year-old female member of the underclass storms in to the office"

"the she-lout class"

On the participation of people who live in care services he writes,

But half of our residents are potheads who fail to sign on, can't successfully apply for housing benefit, are always in rent arrears and are in and out of court for petty offences. They can’t apply order to their own lives and seem to flout most social norms as well as the law so surely they are the last people that we should be consulting on how to run this project?

Winston excused himself of any sense of being offensive about the people he works with in an interview with The Guardian by pointing that he wouldn't actually talk like that about people to them directly.  Yeah, still not okay Winston.

Winston also provides us with very detailed information (false names) about people that he has worked with.  Some of these people would very clearly be identifiable to either themselves (Winston would probably reassure himself that they couldn't read) or other people who either work with Winston or with the young people.  It is a clear breach of confidentiality and completely unethical.

The other frustrating thing about reading Winston's blog is that apart from instilling a sense of discipline, responsibility and good grammar in 'the underclass', he doesn't seem to have many concrete suggestions for the betterment of the people he is paid to provide a service to.  He gives the impression of somebody who smugly watches on and races home to bang away on his keyboard.  He isn't participating, he is watching and judging. 

I hope Winston finally finds the route into journalism that his brief flirtation with addiction prevented him from achieving.  He is clearly too good to be wasting his time with the 'loveable rogues' that pollute his day.  He is meant for bigger and better things.  It would be a win win too.  The 'loveable rogues' would have somebody working with them who hasn't spent most of his career sulking self importantly over a keyboard because nobody in his work values his offensive, snobbish, reactionary and just plain mean theories about the people it should be his privilege to support.