Alright Fox News, you caught me: I am a Watcher. Admittedly, my proprioception issues mean I must watch my driving a bit more than your average motorist, as I am not always aware of where I am spatially situated compared to nearby objects. In today’s snowstorm I had to watch the road extra closely on the way to and from my part-time job as a captioning assistant for a telephone service for the hearing impaired; in other words, I assist people who have no choice but to watch things for a living, as circumstances have partially or fully robbed them of the ability to hear. A big portion of my job is watching my computer screen, being on the lookout for proofreading errors that come across my screen in near-real-time, such that others may view the conversation they are having as accurately as if they could hear it themselves. It was a particularly busy four hours of work, as the type of weather that keeps schoolchildren and business owners alike at home means that people have more free time to tie up phone lines, while those of us who keep communication lines open (including those to 911-a primary reason that my company’s government contract is currently unaffected by the government shutdown) must brave the storm to facilitate communication for others in the community. And so, tired from watching my work screen and watching the traffic on a highway that I normally don’t have to drive, I agreed to do my friend a favor and watch her house and pets clear across town. I began to think about the TV waiting to be watched back at the house. It was at that point, reflecting on the guilt some would have me feel for the ample viewing time my work schedule allows me to have, that I realized it was instead my temper that needed watching.
Allow me to place all of this in context. Earlier this January, I was engaged in that all-too-common form of 21st century voyeurism known as Facebook, when I glanced an auspicious headline in my News Feed: “‘Fox & Friends’ Guest Says Poor People Too Busy ‘Watching Porn’ to Get a Job.” The headline, from a digital news organization known as The Wrap, leapt off the page for its absurdity as much as its shocking content. Last I had checked, my porn viewing habits did not substantially change the day I received my first, much-needed SSDI payment to supplement my part-time work. I have numerous friends and a girlfriend currently receiving Social Security Disability payments, and not once have I gotten invited to, nor have I accidentally interrupted, any sort of orgy or salacious viewing party. Knowing that even my own political side’s headlines can be sensationalist, I decided to watch the accompanying news clip in which conservative activist Star Parker attempts to justify tighter SNAP restrictions by suggesting that scientific studies prove that an overly generous Social Safety Net produces lazy individuals who choose to spend time that others work affixed in an eternal gaze of sorts:
“People here in Washington…[have] done an extensive study on this to show that what they’re calling them now are ‘watchers.’ These guys are not working, they’re watching. They’re watching porn, they’re watching TV, they’re watching women, they’re watching everything, but they’re not working” (Parker, Fox & Friends).
My first thought was, “What an odd combination of viewing habits to be lumping together…” I mean, I don’t think my unsuccessful friends do any more women-watching than my successful ones; if anything, stories of sexual harassment in the workplace suggest that more of that type of behavior might be going on in a professional environment than in the seclusion of one’s home. My next thought was, “What devious imagery to accompany the hackneyed shame-narrative about the lazy welfare queen (or in this smut-heavy rendition, welfare king)!” Make no mistake: promoting shame towards those receiving government benefits is the ultimate goal here, as Parker herself even suggested that “taking the shame out of” the food-stamp program with debit-style EBT cards may somehow have caused the economic crash of 2008. Short of sipping Mai-Tais on a beach somewhere, what image conveys laziness better than sacking out in front of the old boob-tube? The mere fact that we use the phrase “jerking off” euphemistically to imply wasting time suggests that the social sins of an engrained porn habit may extend beyond those that are merely sexual in nature. Perhaps to promulgate a Just World theory, Americans have long needed their poor to be not simply misfortunate, but morally corrupt. There is a sort of general suspicion that the underclass are constantly engaged in immoral behavior, yet while an ordinary person might be forgiven for having a vice or two, there is no such slack cut for those who receive taxpayer money in any form.
It is true, however, that I engage in a disproportionately high amount of screen time. It started back when I was a promising yet depressed graduate student. It wasn’t just that my mind was fried from work and study all day, although that certainly explains why I binge-watched Season Four of The Wire in a single day. I was on the same internet sites almost methodically in a way that satisfied my (undiagnosed at the time ) autistic need for repetition and ritual. Plus, the internet kept me stimulated and connected with others. Television, somewhat ironically, served as a social outlet that let me bond with my overworked girlfriend: watching Real Housewives, a show in which I had no intrinsic interest but one that she loved, offered me talking points and shared laughs with the girl I was dating at the time. These days my screen time helps me unwind and pass the time on afternoons when I do not have prior commitments. I’m sure that many readers dream of a four-hour workday, but mine is essentially government-mandated; along with disability accommodations and an understanding HR department. It is what enables me to have employment at such a useful job to society in the first place. As with many disabilities that involve flare-ups and inconsistent health, I am not allowed to pick and choose the weeks I might feel capable of putting in a 40-hour work-week.
In fact, a fair number of the people I know on SSI or SSDI (and by extension for most, SNAP) are “Watchers,” in that they do more TV watching or more people watching outdoors than your average person. Some watch because they are almost too depressed to move, and watching is low energy. Some watch because their physical limitations make too much movement painful or uncomfortable, and television sure beats staring at a wall. Some watch because it is entertaining, but this doesn’t mean they could hold down a job; in fact, some keep trying and getting fired, and watching passes the time until they try again. One of my friends who watches has hallucinations in the silence, and watching a different movie every afternoon helps build routine into his schedule. Another friend stays at home on his SSI, watching TV and smoking pot (a double whammy for anti-social safety net folks), but I personally would rather this friend be engaged in such activities than getting into fights downtown like he used to do. Not enough watch time stirs that itch. If a third friend of mine is spending her day as a Watcher I am happy, because that means it isn’t a day when her migraines make all lights and sounds unbearable.
For these people, television isn’t an excuse not to go to work, it is what they do because they are unable to work. For most of them, as well, it is not all they do. In support of Star Parker, Fox & Friends host Ainsley Earhardt chimed in by stating that cutting SNAP benefits is not designed to hurt the poor, but to make them self-sufficient and help them “contribute to society”. Self-sufficiency isn’t an option for many (including many SNAP recipients who work part or full-time yet still do not make enough to make ends meet), but societal contributions are a different question entirely. The implication from people like Ms. Earhardt is that contributing to the supply side of the economy is the same thing as contributing to society. I wholeheartedly beg to differ. Volunteerism offers a much more flexible way of providing services than the often rigid workplace, particularly when it comes to the potential absenteeism or unorthodox behavior that can make employment difficult for those with disabilities and mental health issues. I volunteer at the Autism Society of South Central Wisconsin, where a good percentage of those who take the time to serve on the board, to organize events, to offer counseling and support to their peers, and even to help set up and take down gathering spaces for community events are people who receive government services and who struggle with issues of employment. By arranging for guest speakers and leading tours to historic sites around the state of Wisconsin, I also contribute in a way that makes watchers of the general public, as attendees gaze in amazement at the beautiful architectural and artistic legacies they never knew existed, as well as enjoy the public performance of those specialists with a passion to educate and share information they care deeply about. Those with more severe afflictions can contribute to society in individualized ways beyond the type of house-and-pet watching I am doing today, as opportunities exist simply to be a phone counselor to those who struggle to leave the house, or to be a friend and resource to an incoming foreign exchange student through programs such as Global Friends. Even having a public Instagram account of one’s art, as many poor and disabled people do, is a way to spread joy and beauty by allowing others to know the pleasure of watching.
So to those at Fox & Friends who make me wish they would do a little more watching of their own (of their accusations, their assumptions, and occasionally their mouths), I would propose a reexamining of what it actually means to be a Watcher. Perhaps they think that their comments will pass unchallenged and unnoticed by those about whom they speak. They should know, however, that I am watching, and I am not ashamed.
Written By: Mark Huntsman
Editors: Jasmine Hyder
Seid Suleyman
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