Australian Man Wants the Government to Buy Him a Wii

[Andy Chalk]

Australian Man Wants the Government to Buy Him a Wii

An Australian politician has been caught up in a controversy over his request to have the state of Victoria pay for a Nintendo Wii [http://www.amazon.com/Wii-Sports-Resort-Black-Nintendo/dp/B003EH0BQ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278523782&sr=8-1-catcorr] for a man who claims he needs it as a "rehabilitation aid" to help him get over panic attacks.

The whole mess started when Assistant Opposition Treasurer and Liberal MP Gordon Rich-Phillips asked Victoria State's WorkCover Authority [http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/] to pay for "a certain rehabilitation aid" for one of his constituents. It soon came to light that the "aid" in question was a Nintendo Wii, however, and that WorkCover had already assessed and rejected the claim.

Of course, the Wii's usefulness as a rehab tool is already well established [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_227/6760-Waggle-Therapy], but in this case the claimant isn't suffering from a physical injury: He says he suffers from panic attacks whenever he tries to go to work as a "funeral celebrant" and hasn't worked in four years because of it.

"I can't articulate the effect it has had on me," he said. "I've tried to go to work but every time I do I have a panic attack."

How the Wii would help him deal with his panic attacks isn't explained and even Rich-Phillips admitted the case is "complicated," although he maintained that WorkCover failed to take the matter seriously. Does he really wonder why? The Wii is a fantastic tool and dismissing it out-of-hand is a foolish mistake to make, but I think it's safe to say that "no" was the right answer this time around.

Source: News.com.au [http://www.news.com.au/business/business-smarts/lib-mp-gordon-rich-phillips-wanted-workcover-to-pay-for-wii/story-e6frfm9r-1225861036146]


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[Flying Dagger]

Possibly needs to get an easier job.
Not entirely sure what "funeral celebrant" is, but it sounds like it's a lot more likely to induce panic attacks then working as a shelf stacker would.

 

[the_tramp]

Am I the only one who thinks that if he has panic attacks working as a funeral celebrant then he should try a different job!?

 

[Kiithid]

I find rather odd how he managed to stay as a... celebrant, for 4 years without getting there at all.

If it's true omg I'll have a panic atack every time I have to program; if not he should have gone to hunt a new job already.

 

[4484448444844484]

Maybe he should consider a new line of work...

 

[borediam113]

I find it amazing that this man hasn't worked for 4 years and all he wants from life is a frickin Wii?

 

[interspark]

yeah, i want the government to get me an xbox 360 but thats life

 

[soilent]

I say we give him the Wii, but instead of hardware, fill it with C4.

 

[RatRace123]

I suppose the new job thing might be out of the question. If he's disturbed by death, not much you can do with the Wii, I guess Mad World and several other M games would help but... the whole notion of a Wii stopping panic attacks is a bit stupid.

 

[Therumancer]

As someone who suffers from Anxiety among other things, and is retired on disability (collecting social security) I have a somewhat differant opinion. If he really does have the kind of problem he's describing, changing his line of work is not going to help. He is going to create anxiety for himself no matter what he does.

If a Funeral Celebrant is what I think it is, he's basically an assistant at a Funeral Home. One of those guys who helps set up the bodies/viewing area, and lurks around in a dark suit directing people, and helping out where needed. Not to be confused with a mortician or anything like that.... basically it's a nice, quiet, job where the person does very little work except stand around all day and maybe answer a few questions. There is probably some very basic maitnence/cleaning involved also....

Simply put it's a very quiet job, very low impact, and with very little to do. If you get anxious there, then chances are your going to have problems with it anywhere. An anxiety/panic problem isn't really fear of anything specific (like "OMG, the body is going to get me") but just a tangible feeling of dread and fear without any real reason for feeling that way... though sometimes people will feel like they are being watched by a (generic) malevolent force. An "attack" is when you lose your abillity to cope with that constant feeling and stress. I have had similar problems but never a full fledged attack.

Strictly speaking the guy should be able to take medication for it (helps a lot with me, but it never totally goes away), depending on severity and what other problems he might have that might not resolve it entirely. Things to occupy your mind help calm you down and deal with a problem... I could see the Wii working in this case, but it's not a very portable solution.

While I have never had to do this (I'm not disabled for this reason, it's just one problem among many), one typical solution for people that are worse off than me is to provide them with a "companion animal" a dog or cat or whatever that they bring along with them wherever they go to act as a calming influance. I know from experience in security (and talking to people) that these animals are exactly like handicapped assistance animals and can't be prohibited from entering places with their owner (and the American's with Disabilities act prevents you from asking for proof of their condition).

Generally speaking I do not think the Wii is an unreasonable request for home use if I understand the problem correctly.... however if this guy wants to get around and he's that bad, perhaps he should be looking into seeing if Australia has anything similar to the companion animals program, and what employers they have lined up that are willing to deal with people who bring one along.

 

[Kanima423]

I am glad they rejected this ... how the hell would this help him? Is there a game where he plays as a character working as a Funeral Celebrant? If he could prove that then I would probably buy him a freaking Wii.

 

[Flying Dagger]

If a Funeral Celebrant is what I think it is, he's basically an assistant at a Funeral Home. One of those guys who helps set up the bodies/viewing area, and lurks around in a dark suit directing people, and helping out where needed. Not to be confused with a mortician or anything like that.... basically it's a nice, quiet, job where the person does very little work except stand around all day and maybe answer a few questions. There is probably some very basic maitnence/cleaning involved also....

I'm unsure how being someone who has to be around people at their time of grief, and has to constantly face mortality, could be unsure where their anxiety comes from.
I think that is far more likely to cause stress then it being the pressure of a job.
And he should also try majorly cutting back his hours to something like 4 a week, because if you know you only have to do an hour it's a lot easier.

 

[Jared]

Am I the only one who thinks that if he has panic attacks working as a funeral celebrant then he should try a different job!?

Yeah...you would think that would help him get over that kind of fear...you dont need a Wii for that ><

 

[Fuhjem]

I fucking love this man.
He lives in a country that once tried to ban videogames, and now he's demanding that the same country buy him a game console.

The sheer irony of this makes me want to throw a party.

 

[danosaurus]

snip

Wow, an intelligent, honest and helpful reply - you belong on Reddit champ

 

[JWW]

This man needs to find a new line of work.

 

[dmase]

Ugh then he is gonna sue Nintendo for making it so his mii isn't real enough and because of that his social/mental condition has been exasperated. Next stop suing WoW.

 

[The Unskilled78]

I bet it would be relatively easy to get a $500 (converted into Aussie money) loan from a bank. (Wii + a couple games.) If it helps himg deal with his job, he should pay it back quite quickly. Of course, I'm not of the whole "Government should solve my problems" mindset. Maybe I should be?