Social collapse imminent?

[AdultHumanFemale]

DP and I have just been listening to R4 PM, and the unfolding conflict surrounding tiered regional restrictions. DP reckons we are potentially 6 weeks away from some degree of escalating social collapse in the UK, and should take precautions to insulate ourselves from the impact.
Prudent or unnecessary?
What measures might those of you who may be thinking along the same lines be taking?

If more people are tipped into more serious food poverty I cannot see how riots won't happen, once they're at breaking point? People who cannot feed their children are going to get extremely angry. I don't blame them.

There are already food banks who can barely keep up with demand. What will happen if their donations and funding dry up?

Every society is three missed meals away from SHTF. What is the plan to make sure everyone is fed?

Please can we talk about your neighbour parking on your dahlias or what to call your pet stick insect instead??
🙈

I'm not sure we'd see social collapse but civil unrest yes. People can't be told not too work for months on end until we have a widely available vaccine.

I guess for brits social collapse equals moaning more than usual?

I wouldn’t be surprised, anything could happen.
I can’t believe this has happened. I remember joking about it beck in February! Life is so strange

I think how affected you are by riots etc depends on where you live, agree not sure we can do much to avoid it affecting us

jasjas1973 I think it will go beyond the underclass, they're already used to surviving & have lived through 10 years of Austerity.

I think the higher earning working & middle class have the most to lose & may kick off. When they have to deal with losing homes, businesses going under, DWP, the sheer lack of community services to help navigate the system.

Look at outrage this week, for suggesting Ballerinas retrain in Cyber Security, it wasn't even menial work like scrubbing toilets. Wait until a DWP work coach with 3 GCSEs get started on the upper echelons, whilst struggling on a pittance & shock horror that they can't afford wide-screen tvs & the latest I phones, which is what a lot of people think life is like on benefits.

Haven’t got too far but what BrokenBrit said in page 1 is pretty on the money imho....

I'm hoping the country will 'grow up' in some ways. When I think of some of the things people have gone through in the past, such as the world wars, there does seem to be definite snowflakery in the present day. Having one hour less at the pub isn't exactly household food rationing or digging for victory. There are genuine concerns about many things, of course. But there is also a lot of moaning and complaining about things which are tiny in comparison.

[quote OrangeSamphire]If we start to believe this it risks becoming a self fulfilling prophecy.

I believe humans are resourceful, and competent. We will work hard to get through this, we will get as much enjoyment out of Christmas as we can under this pandemic, and then 2021 will see innovation, solutions, and a better future for all.

We are not at the mercy of crappy governments forever. We just aren't.

If you're feeling gloomy about the future, have a read of [[https://www.forbes.com/sites/solitairetownsend/2020/10/11/welcome-to-the-solutions-century/#7ef80c7943a8]][/quote]
Exactly. If you focus on doom and gloom you’ll find it. If you focus on opportunities and possibilities there’s every chance you will find that too. I know countless people who have turned this shitstorm to their advantage and I’m not talking about ripping off people by selling loo roll at sky high prices!! Obviously there will be many others who are in a terrible way but to say we’re all heading to hell in a hand basket is OTT and scaremongering.

Can anyone remember the post about the Government being able to take money directly from our bank accounts? I'm trying to track it down, I'm sure it was on a 'cost of Covid' thread!

They don't even need to do that. They can just print money into infinity and cause inflation so your cash savings will be worthless after a while when it costs £10 to buy a pint of milk. Much easier (and more deceptive) than directly stealing your savings.

There won't be any massing of any kind because the country is too diverse. There are too many variations of views. For a 'revolution' or serious backlash to spark, there has to be common ground. Currently, we can't even agree what a woman is yet alone agree on an alternative to the government's response to Covid and brexit.

It occurs to me that it would be quite easy, using a forum like this, to convince a lot of people that something terrible is going to happen - like social collapse. If enough people start to believe it, could that contribute to it happening?

@Sarahandco

It occurs to me that it would be quite easy, using a forum like this, to convince a lot of people that something terrible is going to happen - like social collapse. If enough people start to believe it, could that contribute to it happening?

Russians know nobody in the West mobilises in winter. It's their #1 defence strategy.

Well, what a cheerful thread

Some countries really cannot feed themselves.....no riots...
They just take it.

When people riot they don't steal food they smash property and steal tvs

alot of this thread comes across as total utter bollocks, if things go badly toes up, it was so bad the military got involved and to my mind that's a big if we would have to deal with it there and then on a day to day basis, angsting and wailing isn't going to solve anything.

@RationalOne

Some countries really cannot feed themselves.....no riots... They just take it.

When people riot they don't steal food they smash property and steal tvs

with you on this one. they do get on with because they have to.

I have a spare bedroom in New York because DS is at uni. Payment in gold or bitcoin only and you have to like cats.

This - except I will take money, and I'm in NZ (and no DS, but lots of cats).

The temporary closure of Park run = social collapse.

I have just hit peak Mumsnet.

Yes I listened to PM and it was the most unsettling news broadcast I've heard for several months.

We won't get social collapse in 6 weeks but I do think we're in for a winter of discontent.

Looking at the world situation and the state of the environment I also think we are now tipping into long term societal decline and I'm quite happy that neither of my adult DC are planning children. I think things will be bad enough in their own lifetimes. There won't be any dramatic 'social collapse' event. For the most part, things will just slowly and inexorably get shitter over years and then decades.

I agree with PP that rioting depends largely on the weather so now we're into autumn there is less risk. But rioting also depends on is access to food and other vital necessities. It doesn't matter why the shelves are empty, if they are empty for a few days in a row then we should expect trouble, even if it's raining.

I don't like the sneery minimising of rioting on this thread. 2011 kicked off over not much at all and it was devastating for those of us living and working amongst it all. Everything was either boarded up or on fire, everywhere smelt of burning, everywhere felt like it could kick off again at the slightest provocation. Pretty much every city and big town in the UK was badly affected. In 2011, despite the very recent world financial crash and the introduction of 'austerity', we had the resources to contain the crisis and to rebuild high streets and businesses. I don't believe we could do that now if we were faced with a similar level of unrest. Completely boarded up high streets could easily be the new normal.

Keep a bit of an eye next week for the clocks changing / halloween / guy fawkes - that can be a bit frisky in a normal year. After that we're probably fine until January. Do your best to avoid running out of anything and have a plan for temporary loss of power, water etc. but don't be a wanker.

Meanwhile grab onto every scrap of joy life throws at you because you're alive now and you won't always be, whatever else happens.

TBH I started the first thread about COVID on something like the 22nd January after reading all of the available evidence at that point and got a million posters saying I was a lunatic, scaremongering, etc even after linking to evidence so who knows!

FWIW having predicted the COVID thing my best guess is that we'll see some small scale riots in city centres when a few 'youths' get a bit lairy, things will be increasingly challenging economically and things will get even shitter for poorer people. Homelessness and crime will rise. January will be a bit of a shit show food wise but no-one will starve, we'll just have to eat weird meals like the first few weeks of lockdown.

I don't think full scale social collapse is at all likely.

Anyone up for a second referendum instead now we know the terms of leaving?

I’ll get my coat.

Social collapse is a bit OTT, but I would actually be surprised to NOT see some riots and such soon, in a few areas possibly. Mind, I have been thinking that for a while and its not happened yet, so I very much hope I am wrong. Seems everyone is so tense and anxious, and upset, and angry in a lot of cases too. Mind, no deal Brexit in the middle of a pandemic will do that to people I guess.

@Auto

I'm hoping the country will 'grow up' in some ways. When I think of some of the things people have gone through in the past, such as the world wars, there does seem to be definite snowflakery in the present day. Having one hour less at the pub isn't exactly household food rationing or digging for victory. There are genuine concerns about many things, of course. But there is also a lot of moaning and complaining about things which are tiny in comparison.

So how was WW2 for you then?