Is Coronavirus the new Brexit? (Dividing opinion)

[mayoral]

So Brexit caused many arguments/debates amongst my family.

Now we argue about coronavirus. My mum is (quote) "shit scared" of coronavirus even though she's a fit and healthy 60yr old. She thinks schools shouldn't reopen till the new year and if they were open sooner and I was still a child she wouldn't send me in. She said she doesn't see herself travelling on a plane for a long time and is happy for lockdown to be extended until a vaccine is found because the mortality rate is "so high" and "worrying".

I, on the other hand, can't wait for schools to reopen and get on with my life. My DH is already planning some business trips to Asia over the summer to get his business moving again. We both think coronavirus is blown out of proportion and the mortality rate is tiny, and that far more people will suffer from financial issues, job losses, mental health problems etc. That's not to say we don't sympathise with lives lost or underestimate the need for the initial lockdown (to create spare capacity within the NHS).

We are having big arguments over C-19, throwing facts and figures at one another and it's dividing us. Just like the Brexit debate did.

AIBU to think coronavirus is the new Brexit in dividing opinion?

Maybe you are just a quarrelsome family.

You may be right. I don't get along with my family.

NoMorePoliticsPlease 😂

All my family agree with each other about this virus. It's a pandemic, the world economy has been shut down. It's pretty fucking serious.

Noone I know in real life argued about Brexit and I expect the same for coronovirus.

as a family we never argued about brexit nor coronavirus we have just respected others opinions. no point falling outover something you can't change.

It’s not a divider in my family

But I have though this is general

I know people for whom Brexit was a red line; I was okay with either view

I think it’s possibly going to become a red line between me and my friends.

Agree, OP.

I put it down to :

some people believing Government propaganda, and some people not

and

some people being in touch with reality and some people not.

I have also had the whole "we're all gonna die" thing from others especially family. Plus all the screaming curtain twitchers at every corner.

Its massive over-played government propaganda IMO, based on flimsiest science. There's also buckets of virtue-signallers getting in on the act. The more extreme the lockdown you undertake, the more virtous person you are. Bonkers.

OP, I hear ya!

Just to add, IMHO, its a new Project Fear!

I realise this is the new normal.

People are mad and judgmental in equal parts. Everything is a catastrophe - Brexit means economic ruin, Coronavirus means we're all gonna die. People love the hysteria and self-importance talking this shit gives them!

Best thing is to ignore them.

Go my own (outlier) way !

Yes, it’s a form of Project Fear and the scary thing is how well it’s worked.

I don’t ignore but try and point to stats like those from the NHS and other stuff that doesn’t seem to be in the paper much...though it’s starting.

If there’s really an issue that the public are too scared of lockdown being lifted, I feel I have to counteract that to at least try and stop the country “committing suicide” as another poster so aptly said.

I agree. (And I also agree with your stance on things)
You can see it on Facebook on news posts.
It's 'keep lockdown until vaccine' versus 'lets get things back to normal'. I find the latter group are actually the most reasonable in their arguments.

Having two family members tested and diagnosed with it I don’t think anyone in my family is not taking it seriously.

Most people I know recognise both points of view and that there are difficult choices either way.

So lilac do you believe that it was hyped up by governments to get the public to agree to draconian changes and reduce civil liberties? Or as a test to see how people would react? Do you think there are not as many deaths as reported? Or that the number is relatively low?

Meant to add Brexit wasn't a divider in my family either.

Going completely back to normal could lead to millions of deaths in the UK alone.

But its hard to see how society can continue to function without a loosening of restrictions.

And we need to accept that, if there is a worse, second wave of the virus, restrictions may need to be tightened again.

There is a very difficult balance to be struck but one that will have to be found. It is entirely reasonable that people will disagree as to what steps are reasonable and needed.

However, I think anyone who thinks the virus has been blown out if proportion are probably nutty, conspiracy theorist types and I wouldn't give them my time.

My two family members who have been diagnosed.
One of them has been in bed for the last week with very severe flu like symptoms. The other one has no symptoms at all. They were both likely to have been infected at the same time and both tested positive at the same time.

Do you want to sit next to my second family member on the local bus? Use the shopping trolley they have just put back at the supermarket or stand next to your kids waiting for the flashing man to cross the road after they have pressed the button that your child, mother, father, brother or sister is going to be next to press?

Lockdown seems like the trolley problem on a grand scale, I wouldn't want to be the one deciding about changing the points when both choices will lead to death and devistation for different groups.

It will only be a divider if people allow themselves to be pushed into tribes, same as what happened in Brexit.

The whole Lockdown forever! Vs Business as usual! Is ...not manufactured. Encouraged, I would say.

In reality, most people know it's going to be a slow creep from lockdown to normality. Sure, debate the details and finer points. Most people are able to understand nuance, and respect each other.ls views.
But most normal people do not appreciate the way social media, in particular, is very good at herding people into 2 tight opposing corners.

Am a victim of this myself. Find myself fighting a corner that's not really my own position, but didnt realise I was backing into it. I'm not much of an outlier in other areas of life, so doubt this is where it has suddenly manifested - I suspect it's a common dynamic.

yes I think there are parallels to the brexit debate. Broad generalisation but I think those in favour of lockdown are typically remainers (naturally more cautious) whilst those wanting lockdown to loosen are more in favour of brexit (more likely to take a risk).

Obviously my theory is quashed when we look at Bojo, but given he’s the pm who has been at deaths door with coronavirus we can probably count him as an outlier!

I feel like coronavirus is the only thing my family and I aren't arguing about at the moment

hope I think the number is low.

There’s tons of stuff out there that can kill you but we don’t close down society. I didn’t even think this % - the figure Ferguson came up with, so the worst case - would even qualify as a crisis - my late father was an HCP, worked with patients who had infectious diseases.

I think he’d find this hysteria and lives going down the loo very distressing.

Obviously individuals make their own choices....I’ve got a couple of friends shielding for no reason. That would be none of my business except one of them told me she was shielded like it was official and I nearly did a very out of the way favour for her.her conscience got the better of her and she told me the truth but it has damaged the friendship.

It’s also hard to respect people who are acting like there’s a gunman outside but think nothing of getting in their car.

Proud “ Do you want to sit next to my second family member on the local bus? Use the shopping trolley they have just put back at the supermarket or stand next to your kids waiting for the flashing man to cross the road after they have pressed the button that your child, mother, father, brother or sister is going to be next to press?”

I’m asthmatic. I’ve had pneumonia twice after the jab. These are just risks involved in being a human being who goes outside. I’ve always been a very thorough hand washer etc just good common sense.

Hong Kong flu didn’t cause a shut down - I suspect because it wasn’t so easy for people to access information. I’m very sorry that information is being treated this way. I fully appreciate this disease might kill me but it was the same the year the flu vaccine didn’t work, or when swine flu happened.

I’m amazed there’s anyone in the army at this rate! Or on the M25.

Or is that many people who aren’t worried don’t speak up because of the “you’re killing my granny” cries?

You both have stronger views than most people I think, which makes it seem more opposing than it really is for the majority. It’s not a straightforward yes/no vote (not that Brexit ever should have been either tbh)

There’s a few people who are terrified despite not being at increased risk, there’s a few people who think we should take it on the chin as the government initially wanted and who will carry on exactly as they were before regardless.

But most people fall somewhere in the middle, scared about people they love dying but also scared about losing their income and their children’s education.

''It’s also hard to respect people who are acting like there’s a gunman outside but think nothing of getting in their car.''

Someone actually used that analogy today (or was it yesterday) on here. ''You'd be hysterical about a sniper roaming the streets killing randoms, so it's correct to be hysterical about CV.'' Or something.

My eyes rolled so hard they nearly fell out of the back of my head!

The bloody point about a novel virus is the exponential growth

Things are manageable now. Because measures were taken to prevent the entire population being infected at once, and 20% of the entire population needing hospital treatment at once, and 1% of the population dying at once.

It's not rocket science.