If you think the world has gone bonkers, how will this period be judged?

[Daffodil101]

To be clear, this is a thread for people who think the works has gone bonkers.

How will we look back on this? How will history judge it?

My feeling is something about the lack of consideration for children. I think we will look back and think that children’s needs were overlooked, their education and mental health was affected by adult hysteria.

They couldn’t meet their peers, schools were so worried about having them back that they treated them like dirty, walking viruses, talked about them in bubbles and wanted them to play inside hoops.

Also something about utterly bonkers behaviour with no scientific basis, however willing to argue on social media that we were right ‘just because’ and reflection on the government’s own goal in use of the word ‘safe.’

I think the millennials were already angry and this will make them even more angry, and rightly.

I read that 40 million died worldwide in the 1919 flu epidemic. We aren't near that yet.

We couldn’t even open windows for fresh air

Eh?

They are in their 70s and 80s and still profoundly affected. It's really sad

In my country schools were closed in the polio epidemic. My father was at school then, and I have never heard him, or any of his family and friends, say they were "profoundly affected" by the epidemic. I just asked him if he was - I think he thought I was mad! As a pp said, there weren't the platforms for people to have a public rant, they just buckled down and got on with life. I haven't heard all this rubbish about children being damaged here either during this lockdown.

Face masks and school closures helped control the spread of previous pandemics, if we have any interest in learning for history.

And major recessions lead to social collapse, anger, extreme politics and war. And we've set ourselves up for the biggest ever.

Plus in the bad flu epidemic, there were more younger people dying.

That we went back to the Victorian era momentarily and people had to extract their own bloody teeth!!! Honestly I think it’s an absolute fucking scandal that there is no dental care currently unless your head has fallen off.

Oldies are the main people who do gardening.

What absolute rubbish!!

I think history will judge the boomer generation harshly.

I think (hope?) people will look back at this period of time and be amazed that, with a world of information at their fingertips, populations voted for leaders who blatantly lied to them. I think Michael Gove’s quote about experts will be remembered in the light of the current crisis.

I think a lot of children will be shown to have been deeply affected by current events and that poorer children will have been the worst affected.

@eaglejulesk DP and I were watching a program about WW1 yesterday. Towards the end of the war where soldiers were demoralised, exhausted, had a myriad of war associated illnesses and ailments there was a bloody flu pandemic!! Fucking hell we both shouted at the TV!! Those poor poor people. Just breathtakingly horrendous.

I think the millennials were already angry and this will make them even more angry, and rightly

and I agree with this.

I think and hope this period will be studied in detail by sociologists, psychologists, behaviourists etc.

For me the most frightening aspect has been the general public’s willingness to capitulate and surrender their liberty with very little (if any) healthy questioning. Now I’m not judging whether the initial lockdown was right or wrong, but robust questions should have been asked at every stage.

I’m shocked at how quickly people were willing to report their neighbours, friends and even family members for the most trivial “rulebreaking”.

The naming and shaming of people who, for whatever reason, don’t join in the Thursday clapping.

Overreaching of police powers and the public support for that.

I feel the same as many PP with regard to the treatment of children during this time. It’s like they don’t matter at all.

I hope it will be a turning point where people started to appreciate the need for socialism in a way we’ve lost since the end of the Second World War. I hope questions will be asked about why the staffing of the NHS and social care rely so heavily on immigration for staffing, about the role of schools and the distinction between education and childcare, the expectation that two parents work full time hours to raise a family...

Isolation for infectious disease did have a profound affect on in individuals historically, but it was accepted as part of life. You did it as an individual for the good of society. I think this has been dragged out because of people’s lack of willingness to isolate. A shorter, but stricter, lockdown would have been more effective and we will be criticised for not using one. I am encouraged by the narrative that certain female heads of state have been particularly successful, and blustering, macho idiots we’ve let into power have been a disaster. Let’s learn from that!

How many people are still whining about the 80's or 2008 recession?

In the areas affected by the 80s recession a generation was thrown onto the scrap heap, towns lost their reason to exist, lives were and continue to be ruined, and a shocking range of social ills were created. Remember the delight when Margaret Thatcher died?

The 2008/09 recession lead directly to our lurch towards authoritarian nationalism and brexit. Let's see how that plays out. And both of those were trivial compared to what is about to happen.

I think in decades to come people will look back and think every government had hugely mismanaged it. Throwing the entire population under the bus rather than coming up with a decent way of protecting the vulnerable and keeping things normal for everyone else.

Rates of cancer and other preventable diseases are going to go through the roof as people are too scared to contact the GP about symptoms.

People are scared of leaving the house, mistrusftul of other people and have started bleaching their fruit and veg. Anyone with DC planning on applying to Uni I'd advise training in psychology/psychiatry as their services are going to be hugely in demand as mental health issues rocket.

I think the worldwide hype over this is appalling.

The only thing that needed to happen was more critical care beds, created in the short term with cancelling non urgent appointments and more ventilators etc (which was done) and then move over to Covid dedicated hospitals (Nightingale hospitals). A temporary lockdown while this happened then things should have gone back to normal with the sheilded still shielding.

We have stopped 66 million people to protect 1.5 million from feeling hard done to. GCSEs and A levels cancelled will have a lasting impact. I desperately wanted to send ds (6) back in June but wont while the current hysteria is still in schools. It won't be a nice environment and he's happy and confident at home.

The economy will take years to recover. This will have a lasting impact on most people except perhaps a high portion of the shielded population.

And I say all this having lost my fil to covid. So am not ignorant to the impact of it.

The sooner things get back to normal, with extra capacity in the NHS for covid cases the better. If we didn't flood the NHS with an R of 3, unprepared, without the nightingale hospitals then why with an R of 1 or under we are continuing to pay the wages of a large portion of the population who could be working I have no fucking idea.

The hysteria from schools and teachers is disgusting.

I’m always curious to find out when such people as the OP think the world “went mad”.

It’s never about the world. It’s about the self, and growing old, and not understanding. And flailing against change and personal failure and personal irrelevance.

There’s always an interesting crossover between “the world has gone bad” and “that’s just political correctness gone mad” and “things were better in the old days”. It always just turns out to be a toxic sort of nostalgia with lashings of arrogance and judgement.

Great post, Frouby

What are you rambling on about Paddy?

Paddy.

It’s a turn of phrase.

Anything longer makes for quite a cumbersome title.

Which model would that be? Didn't it change at least once because oops turned out those actual scientists knew what they were talking about. And even said that bloke you know from your local is talking bollocks.

Oh didn't he run away and hide after telling those in the field they were basically too stupid to understand?

@BeatrixPottersAlterEgo yea I'm one of those annoying shielding ones lol.

I'm loving that people have been staying at home protecting those like me and your mate. It's been nice to walk around without being rammed by shopping trollies, not having to walk into the road to get around crowds of people. And oh mate going on an escalator was amazing, it's not that often you get to the end and there's no one blocking it.

Shame it has to end really, brings back our "norm". Well unless of course we are forced into something ridiculous legally.

I think it is so interesting how things that people previously deemed to be important on Mumsnet - such as access to particular options during childbirth, postnatal follow ups, all those things which I suspect many of the most ardent “you’re only being asked to sit on your arse and watch Netflix” proponents wouldn’t not have tolerated losing for themselves, are suddenly deemed unimportant. And anyone who even dares to ask “hang on, why aren’t those things important any more” is deemed at best a feeble whiner and at worst wishing for the deaths of the most vulnerable in society. Resilience doesn’t mean what you think it means.

I think it's becoming clear that we're all going to have to find new ways to live with the virus. Perhaps foreign travel, music festivals and large gatherings need to remain off the agenda for a while, but there are other things that could begin to go back to normal.

I think the difference between kids with gardens, plenty of space in the home and plenty of food, resources and good quality toys will be very stark compared to those who live in cramped or unsafe conditions, in urban locations without gardens, outdoor space or cars to drive for exercise, with limited food / resources.

In 2011, 30% of children lived in houses that owned no books.

These children will never achieve what they were on course to achieve, never mind have opportunities to close the gap. It's an absolute tragedy.

I honestly think it is incredible how well people have largely adhered to the lockdown advice in the UK. Coming out of lockdown was always going to be the tricky part in my mind.
I thought in some ways it would make more sense to allow people to see their families first, whilst reiterating the social distancing and handwashing. It would make the track and trace easier as people would know the people they had been in contact with, as in names and addresses. By gradually mixing other households in this way, you can monitor if there are any clusters or spikes. Obviously it would be better if visiting was still socially distant and handwashing ( remember that ) was again actively encouraged in the media.
If no spikes in infection, then you can move on to mixing with other households outdoors, again socially distancing and handwashing, monitor again, again track and trace easier as people know their friends names and addresses or at the very least can get in contact with them via phone or social media.
Sorry gone off at a tangent there !
In answer to your original question , I am not sure we can tell just yet, lets see how easing lockdown goes first, I think most of the country would like to see some semblance of normality soon.

I think it will be judged poorly. Governmental mistakes, over-reactions, others not taking it seriously and not giving it the respect it deserved.

Why some things can't return I don't know. Surely some GP's and some hospital appointments could be done?