To marvel at the curtain twitching and spite

[viques]

You know when they had witch burnings, public hangings, or if you are French , public executions by guillotine? Well I now realise that they weren't exaggerating the crowds that turned up to enjoy the spectacle judging by the number of nasty , spiteful posts today frothing at the mouth about how their neighbours are using schools, getting deliveries, standing too close, etc etc etc . I think the posters who are hoiking their judgey pants so dangerously close to their tonsils are the same ones who would be denouncing their neighbours to the witch finder, the revolutionary committees and magistrates before packing a picnic and their knitting and taking themselves off for a day trip to the village pond or the local prison.

I know MN can be a playground for mean girls, I know everyone is stressed and anxious, but omg this virus is bringing out the worst in some people.

Chill out guys, eat if you have it and cuddle a to get your blood pressure down.

Trouble is GoofyLuce a lot of the supposed rule breaking being reported on MN isn't rule breaking it is people doing things within the law that others don't like or disagree with and they feel somehow entitled to know everyone's intimate business so they can personally arbitrate whether or not they are allowed to do it.

Mumsnet is already one of the most negative and depressing sites, coronavirus was hardly going to improve matters. I'm trying to break the habit of coming here because it's guaranteed to bring me down. It's about 5% helpful advice and about 95% shaming people for daring to have a different opinion or experience of life.

Brene Brown makes an interesting distinction between shame and guilt. Guilt is the feeling that you've done something wrong and shame is the feeling that you are intrinsically 'wrong'. MN posters aren't concerned with guilt - just shame.

@BronwenFrideswide Yes I agree if someone isn't breaking the rules then mind your own. But i I saw a post earlier where someone was having a moan about her neighbours having their family over and people just jumped on her. She was just having a rant about it as she hadn't seen her own family for ages as she's been sticking to the rules. That family were clearly breaking the rules and it's really frustrating. It makes me so angry because they're just making it worse for EVERYONE.

My point is for those people who are abiding by the rules it infuriating to see people who think theyre above them.

We need a national effort to beat this bastard virus and help our NHS. If people want to have a whinge about it then let them!

I think there's a lot of guilt amongst those who voted Tory and Brexit pouring all their energies now into banging pans and bitching about those they perceive to not 'be supporting'. Very basic though-processes at work but very obvious.

Thought

On MN the competitive “I’ve not been out the door in weeks and live on water and gruel, aren’t I virtuous” posts are getting on my tits.
IRL I’ve seen a few moaners on community group; outrage at the ice cream van doing the rounds and it was ‘terrorising’ the kids as parents have to say no!!
The guy is also selling bread, milk, toilet roll etc, ideal for folk unable to get to shop.

@RuffleCrow I'm sorry you had that experience but MN got me through the most horrendous times of miscarriage and having a critically ill child with the best most wise support I've ever experienced. It may have become bigger since but you can't blame MN as a whole for some random recent trolls and their spouty ways.

It's not just the curtain twitching ranting, it's the overdramatic and frankly psychopathic comments i've seen:

Numerous comments about hoping people 'breaking the rules' (the rules usually made up in MNetters heads) are refused medical treatment if they become ill.

On a thread about people picking up 'non-essentials with their essential shopping ' I hope you enjoy your chocolate knowing you killed people'.

On a thread with a nurse complaining that she'd had her arse handed to her on a FB page for incorrectly telling 4 people living in a house together that they couldn't kick a football in the park and being snide about it; 'I hope you see them in hospital, ignore them and let them die'.

Along with all the other screamed accusations.

My friend and I have taken to naming the more histrionic threads; e g 'hot cross bun murderer' 'brownie bastard' 'key worker cunts' '2 brother football fuckers'

I do think some people who are still working out of the house or who don't have kids to now school and contain don't truly get how mind destroying it is to be indoors all the time. It makes some people take risks. Then you've got my elderly mother who does what she's told and has self isolated herself practically in one room and is making herself sick worrying about getting her shopping delivery slot. She's not poorly, she could take a walk round the garden but she's terrified and I'm getting very worried about her having a heart attack or a stroke with the stress. And I know people working out of the house are having to confront greater risk and that's incredibly stressful too. There aren't any winners. But proper self isolation makes people nutty. Arseholes will always be arseholes but there's a lot of normal people just trying to stay sane.

I think there's a lot of guilt amongst those who voted Tory

Really? All I think it's immense relief that Tory won and not Corbyn! As bad as things are now, I dread to think how much worst it would be.

@RuffleCrow

I have to agree with @LadyRochfordsHoickedGusset

I’ve had great support through tears and great laughs through the years.

There are a handful of newcomers who are goady and trolly and quite frankly nasty gobshites. I say this as I am a gobshite and they are out gobshiting me.

This virus 🦠 is bringing out the best in folk and the worst in folk. Some threads I need to hide or else my inner hulk will come out (Spanx don’t keep her in!) but on the whole there are still some ruddy lovely posters here and I live in hope we can return to the MN of days gone by.

@JustinCasecakehappens

I think you mean 'worse'.

Corbyn was not my front man of choice but I don't switch parties because of the frontman or woman. The basic policies for a welfare state were set in place under Attlee thankfully as a result of all of Aneurin Bevan's efforts. They created the NHS and saved shit loads of lives.

Aw Sheldon yes I do ! Of course. Before all the real-life random-esque ;) shite started to happen.

Have been a bit bad lately and have been embroiled in a bun fight or twelvetyesque but I’m trying to behave again. Lovely to see you

Ha ha. I also may have had eleventy-twelve name changes inbetween.

Perhaps

This thread is hilarious in a Pythonesque way.

"I can't stand all the curtain twitchers. They'd be the first ones to report you to the Stasi. I'd never report anyone. Well, apart from the bonfire Havers, the party holders, the people who didn't get out of my way whilst jogging - that goes without saying"

How to tell that you are on the curtain twitching and spite side of things. You may not have all of these symptoms.

1. You use capital letters for words in your post.
2. The words 'selfish' and 'idiot' feature regularly in your posts.
3. You say something about people who think 'the rules don't apply to them'.
4. You post the slogans, particularly 'stay home' or 'STAY HOME'.

Spot on

Some might think people are being nosy but surely it’s everyone’s business if people aren’t playing by the rules when in the middle of a pandemic where lives are at stake

I’m stepping away from Mumsnet for a while. So much bile and bitterness, it’s a horrible place to be at the moment.

Missed one.

1. You invoke the threat of death.

As someone just said on another thread, if you saw a neighbour dangling a baby out of the window would you mind your own business? Were ARP wardens in the war curtain twitchers for patrolling in the blackout? What's the difference?

Depends what you mean Darbs76. To what point do you think it's 'your business' ?

What authority do you think has been given to you? By whom? To what extent?

I agree.

My neighbourhood fb group is mental.
People making regular posts to complain about the amount of cars coming and going, amount of times the house down the road has a visitor... all the while knowing absolutely nothing about the particular situation and personal details of anyone involved.
I went out yday bc my child had an unavoidable medical appointment and had to drive down the road and back - I could feel the daggers!!!

ARP wardens had the authority to perform their role and were trained to do it.
You can't compare their job to 'fuming' on an internet forum.

So what?

How about neighbourhood watch? Concerned neighbours who see or hear domestic abuse or child abuse? Is that "curtain twitchers"? If a neighbour saw your house being burgled you'd expect them to mind their business would you?