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AIBU?

To be fed up of the "I'm a key worker" line now

405 replies

Chishelled · 28/09/2021 08:13

Fair play, I do understand that not every key worker is pulling this out at opportunity and that not all key workers are acting like entitled selfish twits, plus the fact DP and I (although only on day two) are both NHS - him as a doctor and me within mental health.

Our entire local facebook page is full of "I am a key worker, I need to get petrol, people are being so selfish" BUT why do key workers expect to be prioritised for petrol now, particularly when many of the ones posting work in our local hospital which is a 20 minute walk away??

It's just all adding to the scare mongering and hype by trotting out the "I'm a key worker, I need petrol priority...[it's going to run out again], plus plenty of people are having to commute back to work due to the end of furlough and the fact that offices are well and truly reopen - are their jobs seen as lesser?

I propose on the spot fines for anyone who uses the phrase "I am a key worker" to get preferential treatment from this point forwards [unless of course we go back into Lockdown again]

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Orangedaisy · 28/09/2021 08:15

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Chishelled · 28/09/2021 08:17

@Orangedaisy thanks for pointing that out - damn dyslexia!

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Chishelled · 28/09/2021 08:17

I am hopeless at spelling so jumped to the wrong conclusion then!

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hamstersarse · 28/09/2021 08:19

Scare mongering, panic, division….it’s all so 2021

I’m not a key worker and I’ve not been panic buying. And if I did want fuel but had it was either me or a doctor getting fuel, i’d definitely let the doctor have it! Just common sense.

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Orangedaisy · 28/09/2021 08:19

I wasn’t digging at you!! Sorry if you thought that. I appreciate dyslexia is real etc but ‘queue’ is misspelled so often on my social media feeds that it cannot possibly be down to dyslexia alone.

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Cuddlyrottweiler · 28/09/2021 08:21

YANBU we need all workers. All people need to get to work.

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Chishelled · 28/09/2021 08:22

@Cuddlyrottweiler exactly this - I am absolutely hating this division between key workers vs. every other worker.

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ichundich · 28/09/2021 08:23

The government has the people exactly where it wanted them to be. Turning against each other and worshipping their new Gods aka NHS aka key workers. I personally don't quite believe the current fuel shortage and empty supermarket shelves are caused by panic buying, rather that it's just another government tactic to deflect from their own incompetence. It was the same at the height of the pandemic - blaming people for spreading Covid when government advice was contradictory (eat out but stay home) or for booking Covid tests 'unnecessarily' when there were hardly any tests available.

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myusernamewastakenbyme · 28/09/2021 08:23

I'm sick to death of reading posts on fb from people calling others idiots for trying to get fuel...I live alone...im not a keyworker but my wage is the only one coming into the house...if i can't get to work i don't get paid...I don't have a husband to split the bills with...its all down to me.

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FrogsAreMean · 28/09/2021 08:24

I do not agree with one word you have said.
What about ‘key workers’ who visit patient’s at home, sometimes more than once a day and who have several house calls to make every day and night.

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TheWayTheLightFalls · 28/09/2021 08:24

I think it fuels (sorry) unnecessary division really. Some doctors/nurses/HCAs need fuel to get to work. Some surely take public transport, or could feasibly. Likewise with teachers and anyone else. Some non key workers likewise (I run a food bank and this morning 10 volunteer drivers will turn up in their own cars to deliver food to people who are housebound… damn right I hope they have petrol). There’s just an overall lack of moderation in people’s responses just now.

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SoupDragon · 28/09/2021 08:24

To be fair, if we'd had more "key worker" HGV drivers we wouldn't be in this mess 😂

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Magenta82 · 28/09/2021 08:30

A woman on our local page was kicking off because she is a key worker and needs fuel. She works in a school office.

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Judashascomeintosomemoney · 28/09/2021 08:30

I’m glad the ‘keyworker’ firefighters, that came to put out the fire that started in my house last night, had enough petrol to get to work tbh - and indeed that there was enough fuel for the fire engine too.

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Lalliella · 28/09/2021 08:33

YABU. Key workers need to get to work. Other people may want to but don’t need to. Key workers should be prioritised. After everything they’ve done for this country during the pandemic, being able to queue-jump at petrol stations is the least they deserve.

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girlmom21 · 28/09/2021 08:33

She's not saying certain industries shouldn't take priority - she's fed up of people referring to themselves as key workers...

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AlexaShutUp · 28/09/2021 08:33

I'm not a key worker. I do an important job, but I can do it from home if required.

If there is a shortage of petrol - or at least, enough disruption to the supply chain to make it feel like a shortage - then I would think it entirely logical to prioritise those in essential front line roles.

I get that it's annoying when people bandy the term key worker around to express their self righteous indignation. I also remember the time last year when it seemed as if everyone was suddenly identifying as a key worker. However, the fundamental principle of prioritising those who need to travel most seems quite reasonable to me.

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DecadentlyDecisive · 28/09/2021 08:39

Well, to me it's pretty obvious that the true Key Workers are the same people they've been throughout the whole Pandemic.

The people who've kept the country running by delivering all the goods (and fuel) that the rest of us need to survive.

And that's never more apparent than right now....

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DecadentlyDecisive · 28/09/2021 08:41

Every scrote with an NHS pass gets to jump the queue??

I don't think so.....

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Savoury · 28/09/2021 08:42

It's an interesting point.
I've read posts from doctors and other key workers on my street whatsapp plead for fuel but there's a bus from the end of our road to the hospital they work in - literally door to door.
Meanwhile my kids' bus has taken an hour to go 3km because of queues and there is still a long way to go.
I hope this is a wake-up call for our government on many levels - they're nowhere near being ready for carbon neutral and we need immigration to grow.

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burritofan · 28/09/2021 08:43

But surely if we learned anything from the pandemic (we didn’t), it’s that there are “key” jobs without which society won’t properly function (medics, teachers, binmen, HGV drivers, etc – non-exhaustive list), vs pen-pusher jobs where no one would notice if they WFH vs go into the office. Non-key jobs aren’t lesser in terms of earning the person a livelihood but they’re definitely lesser in terms of needing the fuel for society to function.

It doesn’t need to be divisive. It DOES need the government to ensure no employee is penalised for being unable to attend work, and for our society to be less race-to-the-bottom, dog-eat-dog, with shitty zero hour contracts and other penalties that will make non-key workers desperate to get to work.

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XenoBitch · 28/09/2021 08:52

YANBU. I hate seeing this line being trotted out again.
If you have a car, you need fuel. It is that simple. Having fuel could be absolutely vital for someone who may not be a keyworker at all. They could be a carer for a relative, or need their car to get to appointments, or get their kids to school etc.

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Ichangemynameagain · 28/09/2021 08:54

@SoupDragon

To be fair, if we'd had more "key worker" HGV drivers we wouldn't be in this mess 😂

Quite.
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Chishelled · 28/09/2021 08:54

People need - and i mean - truly need - fuel for other reasons than going to work though; one example would be caring for elderly relatives.

All sorts of people need fuel for vital reasons; it should not be prioritised for just key workers getting to work - particularly when many key workers have and are able to also work from home.

@Judashascomeintosomemoney I really hope you are OK - Emergency vehicles are being prioritised for fuel where we are.

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GitsandShigggles · 28/09/2021 08:55

All workers are keyworkers if it's a matter of paying your mortgage or not.

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