Where are those who predicted 18 months lockdown now

[AfterAte]

Firstly I realise that the lockdown in England is only being eases not ended. I am also aware that it is entirely possible there will be a second lockdown necessitated by a second spike. Finally, I am aware of and grateful for the sacrifices of those frontline workers, sad for those who have lost loved ones and both aware and grateful for the sacrifices of those who died in the 2 world wars and in other conflicts.

On 21st March on this website a thread entitled "How long are you expecting this to go on for?" was posted. Several posters speculated that "this" would last 18 months or longer and others also said there would likely be a war as well. I realise there has been terrible suffering and my mental health has been I impacted. However, rightly or wrongly, the lockdown is significantly eased and plans are being made for a near future which can in no way be described as lockdown. I wondered if any of those who predicted 18 months would like to comment here and perhaps admit that they were wrong. I'm afraid I still see their motivation as primarily to drag others down, so I'm not holding my breath, but neither am I prepared not to call them out. They've ruined MN, and they made an awful awful time worse.

@Teateaandmoretea

It was covered by Panorama.

Who are well known for their balanced, non sensationalist reporting

I'd agree with that, but it was also reported elsewhere in the media and on the BBC. It wasn't just a panorama thing.

You can't dismiss it as being purely sensationalist 'cos it was on panarama'.

I think I was on the thread in question and I said I thought it would last till summer 2022 if there is no inoculation against it.

I still stand by that date.

This wasn’t about lockdown but about getting rid of this virus which obviously would mean the threat of lockdown would be gone.

@Cheeseislife2020 you'd think so

Also why does it have to be total lockdown, sky high anxiety fearing for your life versus corona denying anti-lockdowners? Why so extreme ? Can’t people have an opinion that it is good to cautiously lift restrictions whilst keeping good hygiene and awareness in place and hoping for the best whilst knowing it could potentially not work out for the best ? Or is rational thinking not allowed ?

No nuance

Well if you want to be a real doom mongerer, you need to accept that a lot of people - especially in the US, and to some extent here, won’t want the vaccine at all (and I mean A LOT of people won’t have it done, look at the amount of people who won’t even wear masks) plus the poorest countries who won’t even get access to it for the majority of their populations, plus added cultural fear of western medicine in some countries, the virus might never go away at all? And then another one might just appear anyway.

When & how should we have started it earlier?

There was a time period where there was denial you could possibly have it if you hadn’t been to China or northern Spain (or possibly a couple of other examples). This at a time when retrospectively it was growing quickly. In retrospect we could have taken growth in the UK more seriously tested more and then locked down sooner while we worked out what to do.

@Teateaandmoretea I'm not disagreeing that doing it earlier might have been better, I'm just not sure how that would have been achieved in reality. We didn't really "enforce" lockdown, to some degree the public chose & accepted it. I don't think they would have been so willing to do this until we saw footage of Italy etc.

@youhave4substitutes

They weren't the only one and as I said, not just on those threads. I just think it's unfair for people to suggest OP is making things up when it was predicted by people on MN. People now saying 'oh they didn't mean lockdown would last that long' on a thread when the question was 'how long will lockdown last' is just..

I don't agree with a lot of what the OP says but it's unfair people now rewriting history to suggest things weren't said or weren't 'meant' that way.

I saw numerous catastrophic posts like the ones being referred to now. People can now claim no-one said there'd be bodies on the streets of England or that in a way, they were 'right' because there was an overflowing mortuary in the US when we know that people were predicting that in England, usually on a thread about someone wanting to see their Mum or similar.

MN has calmed a huge amount about CV thank God but in the first few weeks of lockdown there was a huge amount of histrionics and scaremongering which really wasn't just people being anxious, it went way beyond that and was often just an excuse to abuse others and whip up pile ons.

And it is noticeable that there were some very visible posters whipping this up on numerous threads for weeks and weeks that seem to have disappeared (or name changed) now that it seems they were a bit OTT (at the very least).

@Cheeseislife2020

Ah I see, in Ecuador, ok then. Well if a poster had started their thread by stating they were in Ecuador and explained the circumstances there, I’m sure no one would have told them their fears were unfounded.

But to worry about those things from your four bed detached in Hertfordshire is a bit different, no?

Tbf, not everyone is in a 4 bed detatched in Hertfordshire are they?

There were bits of London were there were multiple deaths on the same street. I remember seeing the same reported about a particularly bad part of Liverpool.

The risk isn't equal at all, depending on what your socio-economic status is and what your age / health are.

Going forward we are much more likely to see localised outbreaks in provincial areas with higher levels of depreviation, because of economic factors and the decision of government to centralise testing facilities in places those without a car can't easily get to. This leads to delays in testing and processing tests. Tests that are sent out via post take longer to process and return a result, so its not an ideal solution.

These areas have already been identified as places least able to cope with an outbreak because they have the least in terms of health care resources and social service provision.

The assumption that everyone on MN lives in a 4 bed detached in Hertfordshire is a trope which doesn't really accurately reflect its posters either.

@Cheeseislife2020 who (other than the OP) is talking about an extreme "total lockdown"? The posters that have been referred to likely repeated what the scientists told them daily - to expect some level of distancing for 12-18 months at least. Why does that upset you so much?

It's very telling that you zoomed in on Ecuador there, not New York, not Madrid  I wonder why. Is it because you need to make your point fit?

Of course those things happened. I know that @doolallyboo might be thinking this from her 4 bed in Hertfordshire, no? *headtilt but NYC is hardly a distant forgotten land to us here in the UK now is it?

"Oh I didn't realise we were discussing worldwide examples." (Uhuh boo, this is an international thing, the Internet. Mind blowing I know).

I referred you to panorama as you seemed to lack basic awareness of current affairs around the world and it may be a good starting point for you. But there are many other news outlets where you can get your information.

To the poster who believes we didn't witness any apocalyptic scenes whatsoever, it was quite nice to watch the animals venture into the planets completely deserted streets.

@Cheeseislife2020

Ah I see, in Ecuador, ok then. Well if a poster had started their thread by stating they were in Ecuador and explained the circumstances there, I’m sure no one would have told them their fears were unfounded.

But to worry about those things from your four bed detached in Hertfordshire is a bit different, no?

@Cheeseislife2020

Ironically, parts of Hertfordshire were very badly affected and had a high death rate.

I don't think London is very comparable to New York.

Of course those things happened. I know that @doolallyboo might be thinking this from her 4 bed in Hertfordshire, no?

Ha, must try harder, born & raised & live in one of the most affected areas of London. I also have immigrant parents so don't preach to me about the realities of Covid.

To the poster who believes we didn't witness any apocalyptic scenes whatsoever, it was quite nice to watch the animals venture into the planets completely deserted streets.

I mean I'm not a fan of goats myself but apocalyptic...

To the poster who believes we didn't witness any apocalyptic scenes whatsoever, it was quite nice to watch the animals venture into the planets completely deserted streets.

I mean I'm not a fan of goats myself but apocalyptic...

@ICouldBeTheOne I didn't see many of them in the way you describe. Did people really actually think we'd be in strict lockdown that long? Maybe they did. Yes, there were some ridiculous posts and those posters were quite clearly terrified.

Now they are still under attack on this thread and many others. People going the opposite way saying things didn't happen that clearly did. Suggesting that they've been proved wrong......Leicester anyone?

How is that ok? Maybe they accept they overreacted. The real issue for them will be their mental welfare after that stress, they don't need hounding out by head tilters.

We aren’t out of lockdown yet so we will see when we are out of lockdown permanently.

"I don't think London is very comparable to New York." Ok. Who mentioned London? It might not be comparable in your very narrow opinion but it is very well connected to the UK.

If you can't think beyond UK borders as demonstrated earlier, nor have you witnessed apocalyptic scenes other than a few goats in Llandudno we're probably not going to get very far here. Have a great day

And as you completely missed the point. The apocalyptic scenes were deserted streets the world over. Not goats

That's the point though. No-one has any issue with people being worried but there were many posters who seemed to spend all their time posting catastrophic scenarios and we should question that.

Some posters spent weeks of posting scaremongering posts. They seemed to be scouring the internet for articles or Twitter posts to support their stance and going out of their way to post worst case scenarios, often from other countries, which seemed designed to cause panic or distress.

And i'm not convinced that was a genuine wish to share information or spark debate, it was often morbid (sick in fact sometimes) and often, incorrect anyway but they'd seen a headline or Twitter post and jumped on it.

Who mentioned London? It might not be comparable in your very narrow opinion but it is very well connected to the UK.

This poster first

There were bits of London were there were multiple deaths on the same street.

then you said

but NYC is hardly a distant forgotten land to us here in the UK now is

So in terms of comparing UK cities to NYC which ones do you think are the most similar (not the same) in terms of density, socioeconomic differences & BAME mix, I think London?

Oh I didn't realise we were discussing worldwide examples." (Uhuh boo, this is an international thing, the Internet. Mind blowing I know).

Except this was not the topic of the OP, ok boo?

The apocalyptic scenes were deserted streets the world over. Not goats

So why did you bring up the animals? I don't think deserted streets are particularly apocalyptic.

If you can't think beyond UK borders as demonstrated earlier

The irony of the above when calling a deserted high street apocalyptic. Have you ever been to a county impacted by war or famine, etc?

"Except this was not the topic of the OP, ok boo?" What? My username isn't "boo" yours is 😂

"I don't think deserted streets are particularly apocalyptic."

You must be right then.

Of course it went over your head! 🤣



I also never mentioned high streets. A deserted Times Square or Trevi Fountain is certainly unusual though.