To wish we had been completely wrong

[Wehttam]

Many of us were trying to warn people to mentally prepare for what was coming at the end of January, early February. Watching with horror at what was unfolding in China it was inevitable a pandemic was hurtling towards us like a freight train, only it was coming at 10mph and was still somewhere off in the distance. Nevertheless it was coming, and nothing could stop it. Any suggestion of this was met with accusations that we were revelling in the drama and being hysterical. The mention that it could linger in the air, was highly contagious and affecting millions was ludicrous and again we were berated and reported because what we said didn’t match the narrative from the news here in the UK.

We were sneered at and accused of scaremongering for even suggesting the possibility of a lockdown or that we would face living with this virus indefinitely. I think I can speak on behalf of all of those when I say we were hoping none of this would happen and that the sneers were for good reason, though this wasn’t meant to be.

This is now our new normality, a new world, again something I had posts reported for because it was a ‘fantastical’ ideology, that we were some frenzied lunatic fringe spreading conspiracy theories and talking about new normals as if we were disciples of David Icke.

How we move forward now will define our civilisation for generations, we are taking tentative steps towards a new set of rules and behaviours. What comes next no one can be sure of, it’s a new lifestyle we must learn to live in and accept. One day there will be a vaccine, a cure, a therapy, a way out. Until then, we carry on, stay safe.

Please do not label those with worries, fears and concerns as Dementors, yes I see those threads and frankly they are despicable and I am embarrassed for you that you openly mock those who have concerns, questions or fears about this virus. Your motivation for having to resort to name calling or compartmentalising us I will never understand, it says a lot about your character.

To those who were mocked, how do you feel now we are over the first wave? I am very relieved that society has stayed glued together for the most part, we are far more resilient than I first anticipated. The deprivation and societal impact will surely unfold as we go on, the economic damage will be immense, the mental health impact will be just as devastating.

I just wish in this instance I had been absolutely wrong and we would all be carrying on with life as I am sure everyone else does. I miss my family, interaction with people at work, being able to walk into a shop straight away and so much more.

There are those who are worried. Most are.

Those raising concerns in January are not necessarily those being called dementors. That’s only when all rationality and common sense has left them and they shriek increasingly ludicrous claims at anyone in earshot or on their timeline.

THOSE are the dementors. They are hysterical and are making everything way worse for everyone than it needs to be.

Thank you OP

The grief I got from family and friends "oh you want to spend less time on twitter Manners" "oh manners why don't you speak to the GP you sound hysterical are you sure you're not depressed again"

Yeah, fuck you family

They've all been rather apologetic since then. Tossers.

Even now though, I have a thread currently where I'm being called all sorts for being conceded at how useless the local police are being after knocking and asking a few of us on the street to report a neighbour in the act of having big gatherings. Did so last night, no one showed up.

The R number is going to go up again, mark my words

And the chance of an absolutely effective vaccine? Slim.

We have to manage this risk going forward until our immune systems catch up.

We can’t go on in this hysteria. We have to help those most at risk to protect themselves and the rest of us have to live a life with cv as well as we possibly can. Back to work, back to school, back to the gym, theatre, cinema, socialising.
It won’t always be like this, we do need to get as much of normality back as possible but it won’t be the same as before.

You're terribly dramatic OP.

You seem to be wilfully misunderstanding the term 'dementors' as used on here.

And I say that as a die hard brexit/covid prepper, who still has a wary and resigned eye on December.

@Unshriven Dramatic? I’m not sure how that is but thank you all the same.

@MzHz I was labelled hysterical too throughout the long running Corona threads.

@LadyofTheManners Luckily I was able to persuade most of my family and friends quite early on. The apathy in the main was on here for me.
Sadly.

This thread is like a dementors wet dream

The R number is going to go up again, mark my words

It’ll wobble initially, sure. But it’s not about stopping the virus, it’s about slowing things down so the situation can be better managed.

The situation being the slow spread of an illness to those who aren’t most at risk, while doing everything possible to help those who are to protect themselves and make the decisions they need to make to stay safe.

We now have an effective machine in place that can be mobilised instantly to put brakes on if needed.

The MAIN thing is to keep perspective, or try to police others, they are responsible for themselves ultimately. Focus on what you can do, not what others are doing.

I swear some people want a second wave, rubbing their hands in glee
The R number will go up as lockdown eases
What do you suggest?
We all stay indoors for ever?

@Hobnobswantshernameback how lovely to see you 😘 I hope you are well my friend.

But things will go back to normal.

There’s also the threat of global warming, famine, wars etc.

Such is life. I’m going to get a Starbucks.

As far as pandemics go we are felling good. We aren't living in times of proper isolation. We have many ways of communicating with others. I know some people are isolating alone and it's hard and want to hug someone etc... But as far as pandemics go a couple of months of loneliness is a small price to pay to not be extremely ill or dead..... But I'm a half glass full kind of a gal

Well tbh I saw it coming too butt I didn't warn people about it , they have the same access to news that I do and tbh me worrying about it didn't stop it happening so maybe ignorance was bliss for them. Knowing it was going to happen didn't change anything:

I was labelled hysterical too throughout the long running Corona threads.

@Wehttam so did you shriek murderers at everyone? Scream at them that they’re killing people because they look at you in the super market queue? That’s a dementor. If you did that, hysterical is the word.

If you’ve gone to the trouble to find out what’s going on in January and maintain a level of common sense and perspective, carry on.

There are sadly FAR too many who have made a bad experience unbearable and I for one will not forget those who have behaved like idiots in this crisis. It’ll be interesting to see how on earth they try to reform relationships after this has passedz

I know
Starbucks
I'm sooooo excited
And KFC
Had wine delivered earlier in the week and a takeaway curry is planned for tomorrow and a barbecue for Saturday
I am very excited

The dementors thread isn’t about slagging off those who have reasonable worries and concerns. They’re about a haven away from those who are determined to bring everyone else down with them. Any hint of people saying anything positive gets dragged down others saying they’re deluded, they’re naive, they’re insane, people ‘lolling’ at those who have some hope for things getting back to normal, putting ‘grin’ emojis at people daring to say they hope to go on holiday next year. The ridiculing is coming from those people.

I was ridiculed for being angry that an acquaintance returned from Asia and put her child straight back into nursery in February (he then went off sick within the week). I was told I was hysterical and racist. Now that same acquaintance is saying they won’t put their child back into nursery when they open up.

This is one big "Told you so" delight post from you, OP.

Yes, many of us saw it coming and were worried about it, and still are, but managed to avoid the breathless counting of death cases, the dramatic One Nurse In Italy Said Videos, the betting on the numbers, and didn't lecture everybody on the dangers of breathing outside.

To be fair, your writing style sounds extremely exaggerated and magazine article worthy. You are right that we need to find a way to live with the virus long term though - there’s no easy way out of this and there will likely be a lot more suffering before it’s over.

But seriously, maybe rethink how you write. It’s all airy fairy look at me, I can type in long winded sentences. It reeks of attention seeking and drama, which is probably why no one took you seriously

And yes, almost rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of a second wave, or at the thought that we have the worst death toll in Europe. Some come across as relishing in other people’s upset, anyone who has concerns about things other than covid are being screeched at that ‘people are dying’ (because only Covid deaths matter). That’s what the dementor threads are about, and they’re a lifeline for many who are having any non Covid concerns mocked and dismissed.

I’m just waiting for someone to pop up shrieking that I’m going to murder someone for going to Starbucks like other posts that’s I’ve read.

It’s one thing to have legitimate worries. Another thing to be “literally sobbing and shaking” over someone buying a chocolate bar like I’ve read in other posts. Or calling people murderers for going outside.

How do those people get through life sobbing and shaking constantly? It’s normal to be anxious and worried. Not normal to be shrieking at everyone.

The Dementors threads woukd have been called something quite different and less offensive if their aim had been simply to avoid the nasty bits of Covid. Like the threads in the Corona Free area for example.
And it's no surprise to see the same names on the Dementors thread as those who were openly mocking and saying the "worried about" thread posters were liars and scaremongerers.

Ooh, interesting, Matthew - were all the threads where people were mocked for suggesting a lockdown might occur deleted, or can you link to one?

We were told by some people on here that millions would die in the UK and that the hospitals were overflowing and people were dying in the streets.

You're still revelling in the drama, except now you've cranked it up with I told you so's and handwringing about how you wish this couldn't be so.

(of course, confirmation bias is at work too - I'm sure you'd have been back with a thread saying "OK, I was wrong" if nothing significant came of it globally, right?)

I had a wary eye on news about the virus through January, though I was more preoccupied being sad and mad about Brexit, and was prepared for that.

I strongly suspect that there is no material difference between the lives of those of us with an eye on the virus in January to those who didn't, and that few to none had the influence to make a significant change to the government's response.

Except of course that the latter group aren't posting threads like this of course.

Dementor is a light hearted reference to those who delight in bringing other people down... to ‘suck out their souls’. They are fictional.