Swedish Man Gets 'Sick' Benefits For Heavy Metal 'Addiction'
Original post
Posted by 4look4rd, 20.06.2007 - 05:03
so here is the article
Sweden's The Local reports: A Swedish heavy metal fan has had his musical preferences officially classified as a disability. The results of a psychological analysis mean that the metal lover can now count on having his income supplemented by state benefits.
Roger Tullgren (Photo#1, Photo#2, Photo#3, Photo#4, Photo#5), 42, from Hässleholm in southern Sweden, has just got a new job as a dishwasher at a local restaurant.
Because heavy metal dominates so many aspects of his life, the Employment Service has agreed to pay part of Tullgren's salary. His new boss meanwhile has given him a special dispensation to play loud music at work.
"The fact that I am so into music has affected my work situation to the extent that I have had to quit some jobs," he said.
[Watch video footage of Roger Tullgren talking (in Swedish) about his heavy metal addiction at this location.]
Roger Tullgren first developed an interest in heavy metal when his older brother came home with a BLACK SABBATH album in 1971.
Since then little else has mattered for the 42-year-old, who has long black hair, a collection of tattoos and wears skull and crossbones jewelry.
Last year the ageing rocker claims to have attended almost three hundred shows, often skipping work in the process.
Eventually his last employer tired of his absences and Tullgren was left jobless and reliant on welfare handouts.
But a series of sessions with a psychologist soon led to a solution of sorts: Tullgren signed a piece of paper on which his heavy metal lifestyle was classified as a disability, an assessment that entitles him to a wage supplement from the job centre.
The manager at his new workplace allows him to go to concerts as long as he makes up for lost time at a later point. He is also allowed to dress as he likes and listen to heavy metal while washing up.
"But not too loud when there are guests," said Tullgren.
The Local spoke to an occupational psychologist in Stockolm who admitted to being baffled by the decision.
"I think it's extremely strange. Unless there is an underlying diagnosis it is absolutely unbelievable that the job centre would pay pay out.
"If somebody has a gambling addiction, we don't send them down to the racetrack. We try to cure the addiction, not encourage it," he said.
Henrietta Stein, deputy employment director for the Skåne region, is also puzzled by the move; "an interest in music" is not usually sufficient to qualify for wage benefits.
"Certain cases are confidential but in general there is always a medical reason that is well-documented," she said.
Tullgren currently plays bass and guitar in two rock bands (including SILVERLAND; MySpace) and says that he tends to get a lot of positive reactions for daring to be himself.
"Some might say that I should grow up and learn to listen to other types of music but I can't. Heavy metal is my lifestyle," he said.
source: www.blabbermouth.net
What you all think about this?
| 4look4rd The Sasquatch Posts: 840  |
Written by Ernis on 21.06.2007 at 18:58 or "The Not So Great Story Ever Told"
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| -tom- Mr FancyPants Posts: 3922  |
Funny that some people can make irrelevant off-topic posts for the sake of being funny but half of my posts get deleted. Obvious racism from the moderators. : 
---- "This rudderless world is not shaped my metaphysical forces. It is not God who kills the children. Not fate that butchers them or destiny that feeds them to the dogs. It's us. Only us" Read Watchmen.
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| Bitch Boy Posts: 1353  |
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| Lowelas OF FIRE Account deleted |
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| Eternal Flames Posts: 1570  |
Metal as an addiction? I think not. While many of us will try get off work to go see our favourite bands, those who don't bother to go to work at all because they'd rather see their favourite bands are just lazy as far as I'm concerned. Everyone else in society will try to work extra shifts at work to get certain days off. This guy used to just skip work to go to a concert. If metal can be considered an addiction and people are able to get benefits from it, just about everything else can be considered an addiction. What is also beyond me is that the employment centre is actually paying him for his "addiction". And it's the working class taxpayers' money that he is getting. This just goes to show why society is degrading.
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| ..ExoTeaR.. Posts: 358  |
Ehh!! bit unfair but someones got live easy out there! wish it was me though
---- [-0-] Aussie Aussie Aussie!!!
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15287  |
this guy is a waste of valuable air. being able to play metal in the kitchen is a somewhat reasonable request, but a wage supplement? i'm not an expert on the Scandinavian countries or anything, but i am pretty sure they have more pressing concerns - real people with real problems - where that money would be better spent. hooray for socialism. Written by [user id=23267] on 25.06.2007 at 12:50 Yeah, because feeding his addiction, at taxpayer expense, is the smart thing to do, right? should heroin and crack be handed out to drug addicts and pedophiles score jobs at elementary schools (with wage supplements) as well to handle their addiction? All at taxpayer expense? If it is a serious addiction, it should be treated like serious addictions, where the primary course of action is to remove the addict from tempting environments. That's why the Betty Ford Center is a rehab facility, not a bar. And there is zero jealousy on my part. None. Nada. Nichivo. Zilch. I can play metal in my office as much as I want, and I if I ever got a stipend (at tax payer expense) for such a lame malady, I'd kick my own ass.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| Torelli Posts: 1288  |
@Raging atheist: Come to think about it , you're probably right. Execpt that an addiction should never be incuraged. BitterCOld has a point that this can be compared to giving booze to a drunk or let a pedophile work at a childrengarden, not that this addiction is that serious, but you get the picture.
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| RavenLord Posts: 651  |
Written by [user id=23267] on 25.06.2007 at 12:50 Because, as we know, Sweden has no other projects (like sorting out their elderly care service) that could better benefit from this money. Would you rather your money is spent giving your next door neighbour cigarettes because he's a chain smoker (or whiskey because he's an alcoholic etc.), or building a school for your children, a park for you to walk in, protecting you from crime? Written by [user id=23267] on 25.06.2007 at 12:50 So, instead of attempting to control and wean the addict off the substance, they encourage its use? That's just stupid, and I don't need a fucking doctorate in psychiatry to tell you that. Written by [user id=23267] on 25.06.2007 at 12:50 Well, the tax-payers care, since its THEIR MONEY. And thinking 'It's just one guy' is missing the whole fucking point. It makes a mockery of the entire benefits system when such a condition is rewarded! Especially since many other people are going to try and claim that they're addicted to rap, hip-hop, chocolate, pop, guitar, elehpants etc. etc. And that leaves a hole in the budget of Sweden.
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15287 |
Written by RavenLord on 25.06.2007 at 23:04 that is NOT cool man. not cool. you crossed a line there. let's not make light of Elephant Addiction. It's a very serious problem and I have spent many months in rehab (at tax payer expense) trying to get over my problem. now if you'll pardon me, i'm taking my wage supplement down to wal-mart so i can buy the Dumbo DVD and a couple sacks of peanuts.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| Daru Jericho Posts: 2098  |
Written by [user id=23267] on 25.06.2007 at 12:50 Why would people be jealous of a dishwasher?
---- Aborted Misanthropic Smurf Puppy On Acid.
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| ASiema113 Posts: 322  |
Well know he just needs someone to pay him for wiping his ass and he'll be on easy street 
----  Written by [user id=22888] on 18.01.2008 at 09:05
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| RavenLord Posts: 651 |
Written by Daru Jericho on 28.06.2007 at 03:30 Because he's making lots of mone...oh, wait. Because he's got a cool j...oh, wait. Because he's a very openminded per...oh, wait. Umm...because he's being paid to listen to metal?
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15287 |
Great, RA. I can't wait for YOU to graduate school and get a job and struggle to deal with bills and real life expenses and not be to afford even all the little things you want and work hard for, like CD's, because the government takes a huge bite out of your paycheck to hand it over to pathetic failures like this guy. Tell you what, let's start now. I'll PM you my address and you can start taking money out of whatever stipends, wages, or allowances you get and sending it my way. Not sure what the tax rate of Estonia is, but if it is as socialist as many European countries, we'll go 35% of whatever you bring in for starters. Thanks, I really appreciate you stepping up to the plate and helping me with my Elephant Addiction!
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| Daru Jericho Posts: 2098 |
Swedish taxes are really expensive too. Just think what they could be doing for the country instead of paying a dishwasher to listen to music.
---- Aborted Misanthropic Smurf Puppy On Acid.
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| RavenLord Posts: 651 |
Written by [user id=23267] on 28.06.2007 at 21:33 This guys 'benefits' are paid out of taxpayers money. That tax is taken to benefit society by providing and running services. It is also used to benefit the healthcare system. This can include helping addicts overcome their problems. The treatment this guy is getting is not helping him 'overcome' any supposed 'addiction' he might have, it's just encouraging it! How would you like it if the government took...20%...of your salary, to pay for, I don't know, a war, so that they have to make cuts in education or nursing, meaning your kids or family members suffer, and your relatives who need healthcare suffer. Written by [user id=23267] on 28.06.2007 at 21:33 You still don't get it. If this guy is allowed to call his passion for metal an addiction, and get benefits for it, what's to stop 10, 100, 10000 people doing the same? By the same token, if you find one person committing benefit fraud, you think they should be let off, as its just one person? Written by [user id=23267] on 28.06.2007 at 21:33 Yes, because you're not footing his bill. And there's nothing at all to indicate he's miserable...he has a shit job because he's too obsessed with his passion, which he actively partakes in. I see no reason why he should be miserable, unless he actually realises what a stupendous amount of time and money he's wasting. If he's addicted to metal, than I'm addicted to life; give me money for it!
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| RavenLord Posts: 651 |
Written by [user id=23267] on 28.06.2007 at 23:10 You still don't get it. YOU CAN'T MAKE 'SPECIAL' CASES LIKE THIS. Yes, individually, this case is not hurting the pockets of Swedish taxpayers that much, but Sweden is a nation of MILLIONS. Think what would happen to the Swedish economy if 10,000 people did the same thing? That's benefit fraud, my friend...and if you tolerate one case, then you unintentionally promote the case to everyone else.
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| Torelli Posts: 1288 |
I have changed my stand point now...he deserves the money. I don't get why people get so worked up by this, especially when isn't effecting your country. How many of you actually know how swedish psykologists work? This is an extremley rare case, I think it's highly unlikely that we see anymore cases like this in Sweden. It's like saying "A man died today beacuse a bird hit him in the head. Oh no! I will never go outside again!" . For you who doubt the diagnosis: this guy has probably spent years of therapy, so I don't think this is a hasty decision. And what phsykologist would rish his/her repetion by claiming something so riddiculus as a heavy-metal addiction, if (s)he wasn't sure it's a mental illness? The only part I don't get is why they encurage this addiction, instead of trying to make him healthy.
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15287 |
"Rageing" - my elephant addiction was a joke based off ravenlord's sarcastic end to his post immediately prior to that response. sorry if it isn't 'imaginative' enough for you. it was there, handy, and an equally ludicrous malady as 'metal addiction.' It isn't that funny, no. Not nearly as funny as the posts of people who agree that this waste of sperm should get additional money to support his 'addiction' - or the very notion that a welfare nanny state will divert funds from education, the infrastructure, legitimate health care, or whatever so that this failure can add to his cd collection. And, finally, the point still stands that their treatment of this disease runs counter to pretty much every treatment for an addiction i've ever heard of. you still look at it as a lone case. it might be for now, but sets a very dangerous precedent which others malingerers can exploit for their own nonsensical issues. in the US, instead of absurd health care fraud for imaginary ailments, we have issues with frivolous lawsuits. some dumb person burnt themselves when they spilled HOT COFFEE (duh!) and sued the restaurant, ultimately winning over 2.5 million dollars for it. that has opened the flood gates and frivolous lawsuits are running rampant, costing the taxpayers millions upon millions of dollars a year and tying up our legal system in the process. while there is a difference between the US legal system and the Swedish health care system, the parallels should be obvious... my ultimate point still stands. Once you have to bust your ass 45 hours a week at a job (or whatever passes for a work week over there) and don't have enough money to go around to cover your needs and wants that you've worked for, you'll probably be more critical of where exactly your tax money goes. it's not "petit-bourgeois" but from an awareness of greater social issues within your community where that money would have been better spent.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| RavenLord Posts: 651 |
Written by Torelli on 28.06.2007 at 23:54 I really, really doubt that. From what I've seen, the man has spent years going to metal concerts. Based on BitterCold's post, you could also argue 'What lawyer would risk their reputation representing a burglar (who cut himself on broken glass when he smashed in a window) suing said household for damages?'. It happened. Some people in this world are very, very stupid, and, surprisingly, some psychologists are very, very stupid. I think this guy has successfully pulled the wool over all their eyes, for some extra cash.
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| BurbotsRevenge Foetal Butchery Posts: 1603  |
is this serious?  like seriopulsy...
---- Dark death metal from Sydney: https://www.facebook.com/GolgothanRemains
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| Lowelas OF FIRE Account deleted |
Lowelas OF FIRE
Account deleted  If I ever saw this shit on the news or in the papers I would kill myself laughing.
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| Asphyxia Account deleted |
Asphyxia
Account deleted Written by BitterCOld on 27.06.2007 at 20:05 Honestly though that's no more rediculous than this article
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| Warman Erotic Stains Posts: 7695  |
Aha... that's the guy from a swedish program called "Boston Tea Party". The psychologist in the show said that he probably has some other mental disfunction, but since no one knows what it is they make it easy and says that Heavy Metal is his problem.
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