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AIBU?

Will the government eventually give up with this?

22 replies

richele4 · 29/05/2020 21:12

Apologies that this topic is done to death. I just wanted to hear some different opinions on this specifically

By now we all know someone or a group of people who aren't sticking to social distancing rules and meeting up with big groups of people and not sticking to 2m away. I've mainly seen this being teenagers and young adults but I know some adults are doing it as well. Everyone stuck to it when it was first introduced but after 2 and a half months they're just getting bored of it.

What I want to know is if social distancing is comparable to other 'crimes' (I know it's not technically a crime, hence the inverted commas but if you're going against the governments rules and they're able to fine you for it, that kind of makes it a crime, right? A social crime if nothing else.) Let's for arguments sake say it is.

For example, other crimes in the past (eg, homosexuality, abortion, breastfeeding in public were eventually normalised so people eventually stopped reporting people for it and it became decriminalised. Will the same happen with this? I couldn't think of a better word than decriminalisation, I know it's not technically a crime and I am in no way trying to disrespect anyone who was wrongly punished when those three examples were illegal in the UK but I didn't know how else to explain what I meant!

What I'm trying to say is, if everyone starts ignoring the rules, nobody's reporting each other, if we go back into lockdown it's my opinion that people won't listen as much as they did the first time, will things just...gradually get back to normal without the governments say so?

AIBU to think that? DH, DD, and DD's boyfriend all disagree with me. I'm just curious what others think. Obviously nobody knows the actual answer Grin

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StillCoughingandLaughing · 29/05/2020 21:18

I think it will become a bit like smoking weed - technically it’s illegal, but it’s a rarity to walk through the park without smelling it at least once. In the same way that the police might stop you if they actually see you toking on a spliff, but wouldn’t come out if someone called them, I’d say there won’t be any concerted effort to ‘crack down’ on groups of four instead of two.

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attackedbycritters · 29/05/2020 21:25

Depends on the infection rates

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SnackSizeRaisin · 29/05/2020 21:43

Erm breast feeding was never a crime surely? Homosexuality and abortion definitely were crimes until the law was changed. They still are in some countries. They weren't decriminalised because people stopped reporting things. If anything, the law changed before public opinion, lots of people still aren't keen on abortion or homosexuality.

The 2m advice isn't law anyway so can't be enforced. The big groups thing is more like speeding I think, in that people will do it to an extent but police will catch and fine some people and that will keep it under control, with many people sticking to the rules or bending them only a bit now and again

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SnackSizeRaisin · 29/05/2020 21:46

I’d say there won’t be any concerted effort to ‘crack down’ on groups of four instead of two. Groups of six are allowed now anyway

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PepperMooMoo · 29/05/2020 21:52

I genuinely believe this'll just sort of fade out.... something else will happen, we'll all be distracted, over time (many months) we'll just notice that things sort of migrate back. There won't be clear direction from the government, there won't be "on this date we can...." at what cost, god knows, but that's what I believe.

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richele4 · 29/05/2020 22:08

Thanks everyone, just wanted a couple more opinions.

@SnackSizeRaisin - I think breastfeeding in public used to be illegal, although I could be wrong. And a reason why those other things were decriminalised was because people didn't regard them as crimes anymore, so there was less people reporting and being arrested for those crimes even though an increasing number were committing them. This is quite similar

@PepperMooMoo - I hope you're right. Otherwise when lockdown is 'announced to be over' there will be a huge rush and lots of people at once desperate to do the things they've missed out on, eg parties, clubs, bars. Surely that'll cause more problems than if it happens gradually!

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lljkk · 29/05/2020 22:19

"By now we all know someone or a group of people who aren't sticking to social distancing rules and meeting up with big groups of people and not sticking to 2m away."

I don't know anyone like that. I mean, maybe I do. But I don't know that I do. I'm personally sticking to the rules now but was breaking them before (the ruls have changed, my behavior didn't change).

Brits are said to be the most fearful & supportive of strict Lockdown rules, populace in Europe. I don't think there will be a mass middle finger to the rules.

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Fifthtimelucky · 29/05/2020 22:33

I can't believe it was unlawful to breastfeed in public in the UK!

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Ireolu · 29/05/2020 23:01

South Korea has had to shut things down again including several schools. They have been heralded for their response to C-19. Our response here has been far from perfect. The figures say it all. Things may have eased but we are heading for a full lockdown again unless by some miracle there is effective treatment or a vaccine.

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MaxNormal · 29/05/2020 23:05

I really don't think public breastfeeding was ever illegal.

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Washyourhandsyoufilthyanimal · 29/05/2020 23:14

I cynically believe that people will still be dying from COVID but the press will slowly stop reporting on it and life will resume as mostly normal for those who aren’t in a risk category.

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BubblesBuddy · 29/05/2020 23:20

What would be interesting is to know when people who die now actually caught the virus. How long have they been ill? Are the deaths now recently affected people or not? Are they mostly in care homes? We need far more nuanced stats so we understand what’s happening. Just reporting deaths doesn’t mean much without context.

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Justcallmebebes · 29/05/2020 23:21

Breastfeeding in public has never been a crime

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richele4 · 29/05/2020 23:53

My mistake - a quick google search has proved me wrong. Breastfeeding in public was never a crime in the UK although it was in the US.

Please don't get so caught up on that it wasn't the point of the thread!

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BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 29/05/2020 23:57

The majority of people have reduced their lives to about 10% of what they were (nhs et al aside). It's easy therefore to justify meeting in someone's garden this Saturday instead of waiting til Monday because even then, it's still a 80-90% reduction on what life was pre CV.

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StillCoughingandLaughing · 30/05/2020 08:14

Groups of six are allowed now anyway

From Monday. Groups of eight instead of groups of six then - the point stands.

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CherryPavlova · 30/05/2020 08:23

Breastfeeding is the norm in many countries. In Saudi it is the exception to the laws requiring women to be covered.
Many Old Masters depict breastfeeding.
It has never been illegal in U.K.

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PhilCornwall1 · 30/05/2020 08:32

I hope you're right. Otherwise when lockdown is 'announced to be over' there will be a huge rush and lots of people at once desperate to do the things they've missed out on, eg parties, clubs, bars. Surely that'll cause more problems than if it happens gradually!

It will never be announced as over. Restrictions will just be eased more and more, until one day people realise there are no longer any restrictions.

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MedSchoolRat · 30/05/2020 08:44

What would be interesting is to know when people who die now actually caught the virus.

2-3 weeks ago. 5 days incubation, 5-16 days of illness before death (typically).

Are they mostly in care homes?

Not yet, but the trend has been upwards. 40% of deaths in the week up to 8 May, 44% in the week up to 15 May iirc, were among care home residents. At least some of the remainder of those who died those weeks were A) elderly who received daily care in their own homes possibly from their own partners and B) family carers, health care & support workers who had close contact with the infectious.

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feelingverylazytoday · 30/05/2020 09:00

Lots of people will continue with some degree of social isolation, OP.
Either because they'll be too afraid to go to pubs/shops/holidays, etc, even when they're open again. Or because they lead quite isolated lives anyway. Not everyone is going to barbecues or hanging out in groups, plenty of people will be sitting in their own homes, either by themselves or with their immediate family or housemates.

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DinghyCalledDignity · 30/05/2020 09:00

It's advice, not law.

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twinnywinny14 · 30/05/2020 09:06

The ONS estimates about 8000 new infections a day, excluding hospitals and care homes. If hats even fairly accurate, that suggests it is still spreading quite a lot doesn’t it? People have given up and think they can do whatever they like, having parties and BBQs in the garden with others and not following the hygiene messages that prevent/reduce the spread in other ways to the staying 2m apart. This phase to me is more dangerous than before the lockdown and peak

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