"...all conservatives are hypocrites and frauds."

I had an interaction with a Progressive late last fall. I have been sitting on the conversation and trying to make sense of it.

The woman I was listening to had retired from her jobs at the City of Lansing. She had never worked in private industry. Incidentally, even the supervisors who work for the City of Lansing are unionized. It is an uber-incubator of progressives.

She deduced that I was a conservative. She shared, without prompting, that all conservatives are hypocrites and frauds.

Being a calm and inquiring kind of fellow, I asked how she could know that.

She replied "Every conservative I know claims to have a disability and is working for pay under-the-table."

I asked her where those conservatives worked.

Given her circle of acquaintances, it was difficult for me to envision that she knew many conservatives.

She was more than happy to throw the "proof" on the table. "I know some people who work at a combination gun store/shooting range. Everybody who works there says they have a disability and I am sure they are working for cash under-the-table. Obviously, they are all Conservatives."

Let me comb out the speculation and assumptions that are buried in her declaration.

Disabilities 

One assumption is that Disability = Unemployable and so if a person with a disability is working, they are engaging in fraud.

That might be the holy grail of somebody working for the city: Get a ruling of 100% disability and then get "free-money" for not going to work. But there are many disabilities that don't make it impossible to work.

My "A-ha!" moment was when it occurred to me that most of the people she was interacting with were probably veterans of the military. Working in gun store is a ducks-to-water occupation for many people who were in the military.

Contrary to popular opinion, the rate of veterans with disabilities (29.6%) is virtually identical to the rate for the general population (28.7%)   

The most common VA disabilities in 2025 were:

1. Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
2. Limited range of motion of knee(s)
3. Damage to sciatica nerve
4. Lumbar or cervical strain
5. Hearing loss
6. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
7. Limited range-of-motion arm
8. Limited range-of-motion ankle
9. Scars and burns
10. Migraines 

I see only one disability that makes working at a shooting range a bad-fit. That job is compatible with all of the other disabilities as long as accommodations are available in terms of chairs/stools/lifting-aids and scheduling to limit time standing.

Cash-under-the-table 

The other statement "...I am sure they are working for cash under-the-table..." is suspect. How can she be sure? What business would run the risk of hiring such a large portion of their staff off-books, especially a high-visibility business like a gun store. I cannot see any gun store risking their insurance, their business license and risking of high-profile litigation by putting a not-on-books-employee behind the gun counter. Doing that also exposes the business to risk of prosecution for Federal felonies because that "ghost" is instrumental ensuring the fidelity of 4473 form documents. 

The reason I bring this up

You might find yourself in a similar conversation in the future. I wish I had the facts lined up to undermine that woman's absolute certainty. Maybe you can do better.