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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Banning Easter eggs a step too far

320 replies

VivienScott · 30/03/2020 14:30

I’ve just read that some officials are cracking down on shops selling Easter eggs as it’s non-essential. Isn’t this all going a bit far now? Easter eggs aren’t essential but a chocolate bar is? Feels like some people are letting a minuscule bit of power go straight to their heads.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52090441

OP posts:
PurpleDaisies · 30/03/2020 16:13

People screaming about their human right to buy an Easter Egg are the reasons why we'll have more and more restrictions.

Why is buying an Easter egg as part of a shop any worse than buying a large bar of chocolate? No one is saying we should be making solo trips to buy Easter eggs. Just that the police shouldn’t be deciding what goes in our trolley.

EveryDayIsADuvetDay · 30/03/2020 16:16

sale and display of easter eggs should be banned until about 3 weeks before Easter,
Nothing to do with CV19 - I just find it irritating that supermarkets fill the shelves with them the moment they bin the remains of Christmas tat.
And hot cross buns should not be a year-round thing.
Rant over.

ShootsFruitAndLeaves · 30/03/2020 16:17

Are you playing dumb or trying to be funny?

You know the advice is to shop as seldom as you possibly can.

No, I think the person who posted about a 'monthly shop' is the being funny here, frankly.

A weekly shop and avoiding unnecessary extra trips is one thing, but unless you live in frozen dinners and tins, then nobody is going to shop monthly.

The stupidity is the reason we are in this mess.

Clearly not. The ultimate stupidity is with the Chinese government, and then I suppose you could argue that we should have got 60 million tests ready and shut down flights from Europe a bit sooner, but otherwise no I'm not seeing it, sorry.

JudyCoolibar · 30/03/2020 16:17

And while police forces are fanning about with drones and social media and banning Easter egg proposals - 2 women have lost their lives at the hands of a current or ex partner since this lockdown began. 2 women since last Monday. One case was in South Wales where a man killed his wife, and another in England where a mum of 3 was killed by an ex partner I believe

This times a thousand! A friend who is employed by a local authority told me the other day that there has been a significant upturn in domestic violence and children being put in danger as a result. It really mystifies me that the police think that Easter egg purchasers should have priority in terms of their attention.

listsandbudgets · 30/03/2020 16:18

Surely not there are ways to invite a riot and Imwpuld have thought banning g any type of alcohol was high on it

Aragog · 30/03/2020 16:18

Seeing as the shops haven't been told they can only sell essential items only it is definitely too far.

I ordered mine online, alongside some other non-essential items, for non contact delivery.

Under our current guidelines we are allowed non essential items.

If and when the Government changes that I will abide by those new guidelines too.

listsandbudgets · 30/03/2020 16:19

^^ or chocolate.. you see where my priorities lie and I dint even drink ^

PurpleDaisies · 30/03/2020 16:19

Alcohol is not banned.

It is very dangerous for people who drink very excessively to suddenly stop

TheProdigalKittensReturn · 30/03/2020 16:21

Why is buying an Easter egg as part of a shop any worse than buying a large bar of chocolate?

Because people see the Easter Egg as whimsical and fun and nobody is meant to be experiencing any sort of joy in their lives, even if it's tiny and fleeting? There really does seem to be an element of wanting everyone to be as miserable as possible, as if worrying that your loved ones might die wasn't making us all miserable enough.

GlomOfNit · 30/03/2020 16:21

Like other posters, I'm EXTREMELY concerned that some police officers are literally taking the law into their own hands. Their job is to enforce the law as it has been made by government, not interpret it according to their own lights. There's very little consistency in the ways that various police forces have been acting over Coronavirus enforcement. This needs to stop!

Of course you shouldn't make a special trip out to buy just Easter Eggs. But do police officers have the right to look inside your shopping bags and judge, on their own terms, whether what you've bought counts as essential? No of course they bloody well don't. This is the thin end of the wedge.

I'm interested in what else they might view as inessential? My son relies on fairly esoteric sources for his protein since he's severely autistic and picky as fuck. I don't want some random cop saying my shopping basket containing pea crisps, nori seaweed strips and pumpkin seeds is inessential, because without those my son is going to be pretty badly malnourished.

What about the proportion of one's shop - essential:inessential? What ratio of essential to inessential products is acceptable? Can we say 80:20? What if I buy everything from Waitrose's 'Essentials' range? Grin

Clearly this is a bit of a souped up article to rabble-rouse and grab attention, but we need to strike a balance between compliance to save lives, and not allowing the police to become the law-makers. That is not their job.

CantSayJack · 30/03/2020 16:23

And what goods would that be @willowpatterns 🧐

No-one is banning buying Easter eggs here, what a non-story and what does chocolate have to do with the Easter story anyway?

JudyCoolibar · 30/03/2020 16:23

So maybe people should be banned from just going to the shops for less than 3 items full stop of something..? If we’re going down that route ..

well, yes. That's the current guidelines! What part of stay home unless absolutely necessary and avoid going shopping as much as you possibly can is so hard to understand?

No, it absolutely isn't the current guidelines. What the Coronavirus Act says is that we can go out to buy food. Nowhere does it dictate what food we can buy. Sure, the guidelines rightly say we should avoid going out shopping unnecessarily. However, that does not mean that, when we are doing necessary shopping, we can't also buy the odd bit of chocolate. It makes no difference in terms of risk to anyone.

If people cannot accept the rules, there will have to be a clear ban and fine.

And if people make up the rules, action may need to be taken in that regard. It is seriously worrying how eager so many people are to impose and then police ridiculous or non-existent rules. The current situation is a real eye-opener about how easy it is for fascism to take root.

WTFdidwedo · 30/03/2020 16:25

I have a terrible diet and about 30% of my shop is probably biscuits/chocolate/general unhealthy snacks. I really don't think the police or government would ever be able to say what's essential. Some people's essential would be completely non essential to others. My daughter takes osmotic laxatives daily and will only take them in apple juice. If I ran out of apple juice at a different time to my main shop then I would definitely go to the garage or corner shop just to buy more, possibly as part of my daily exercise, and that would be essential to my household. If a neighbour or police officer tried to tell me otherwise I would not be impressed. This situation is really showing how much some people would fucking love to be in 1984.

WhatWouldYouDoWhatWouldJesusDo · 30/03/2020 16:25

My dp got a snotty comment for buying our DD an easter egg........he was also buying eggs and milk.

She's disabled, her world has imploded as college / school / friends / family / the little bits of freedom have come to an end. She lives 11 miles away in a supported home that has been on lockdown for a.few weeks now. We haven't seen her since February half term when she came away with us for a.week.

He then had to cycle to her house as we don't drive and I wasn't risking the trains / buses and leave it on her doorstep without speaking to her.

If I can make things a little easier for her by leaving the egg of her dreams (( an expensive one of usually say no to )) on her doorstep then I damn well will do.

kateandme · 30/03/2020 16:26

i think this is wrong adn could get dangerous.there are many products then that 'healthy' dieted people or your average jo might deem not essential.but there are those out there with disorders or diets where they can only have certain products.rightly or wrongly there are lovely folk who can only manage eating yoghurts or noddles or rice pudding!.or SEN whio can only have certain textures.and this current product rules have already effected those because they cant get enough of a product they only have in their diets.
so starting something like this on what is deemed acceptable to eat is shitty.
and the joy of an egg is just one of the small things that might make someone day a little bit nicer.

ilovecakeandwine · 30/03/2020 16:27

but we need to strike a balance between compliance to save lives, and not allowing the police to become the law-makers. That is not their job
I was just going to post similar.
On my local police fb page there was a update that they stopped someone buying a fire pit now clearly this is not essential but they sell them in Asda so If you go and buy your essentials plus a fire pit I see no wrong .
I'm all for the police stopping people for going out for non essentials but I'd rather they adapted some common sense and spent the time stopping groups of people getting together which is still happening.

Womencanlift · 30/03/2020 16:31

Is anybody else craving an Easter egg now???? Grin

(Adds to list for next shopping trip before they are made illegal)

BiarritzCrackers · 30/03/2020 16:37

If the police did try and stop me buying a fire pit/Easter egg/mascara etc at the same time as buying groceries, and I politely said that I wish to continue with my purchase under the law of the land, what would happen next? If I am breaking no law, and choose not to accept their advice, the Police can't actually do anything can they?

sadforthekoalas · 30/03/2020 16:38

Some people, including on mumsnet , won’t be happy until we’re all existing on bread and water with nothing to do to keep us occupied

^^ this.
Totally agree, it's because the uncertainty makes us all anxious and this is one way of controlling things

TheProdigalKittensReturn · 30/03/2020 16:38

I'm sure we'll see a test case soon enough at this rate.

MarshaBradyo · 30/03/2020 16:44

‘Some shops have been told by police and local councils that the chocolate eggs are considered non-essential goods.’

Sometimes I wonder if the media are reaching for stories with articles like this.

RhymingRabbit3 · 30/03/2020 16:46

There really does seem to be an element of wanting everyone to be as miserable as possible
There certainly seem to be a vocal minority here who have this opinion. Anyone posts about a minor annoyance on AIBU is met with "who cares, people are dying from Covid!". Anyone talks about something nice that has happened its "how insensitive, dont you know people are dying!?"
As though the only thing we are allowed to do it sit at home (not in the garden) and cry about who has or might die as a result of our actions.

MarshaBradyo · 30/03/2020 16:47

I think it’s click bait to fuel threads and SM like this.

itsgettingweird · 30/03/2020 16:47

Ive ordered a load with my Asda online shop!

Maybe they are worried that people will then visit others to deliver?

Both my parents are shielding so I'll deliver them some when I dump the rest on their doorstep. And put stuff for my sister and nephew in a separate bag for them to leave outside for sister to collect when she gets bread/milk etc for them and leaves it outside!

So no extra journeys or contact here. But many people may be tempted to "just make that journey"?

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 30/03/2020 16:49

In the supermarket where I work, someone tried to claim that a dozen bottles of Coke was 'essential shopping' yesterday.

Maybe they wanted something you might think of as essential and it wasn't in stock so they decided to buy Coke instead. I went to the corner shop for eggs last week but they didn't have any so I bought chocolate and Coke instead - no point in wasting the journey!