To feel like the only person following the f***ing rules??!!

[Stressingismyhobby]

I know the social distancing rules are contradictory, confusing and mostly bollocks but I don't think I'm above them and follow them as closely as possible.

But hardly anyone else I know does. I've just seen a picture of a friend wearing a mask in a taxi...to go to her friend's house with a load of other friends. All pictured together huddled on the sofa.

A family member keeps posting pics on FB with her kids gathered with all their friends.

And I've been invited to a party in a week's time at someone's house with lots of other people.

Videos of kids running to hug both their grandparents (my kids would love to do that!)

We met with some friends outside a week or two ago who also (without us knowing) invited other people so our group was bigger than 6.

I had to say no to giving someone a lift in my car the other day.

And so it goes on.

I feel like I'm the boring, goody two shoes who's always having to decline invites or say things like "I'm not really sure we're supposed to do that yet" etc only to be met with sighs or rolled eyes. I'm constantly being put in situations that make me feel uncomfortable. I'm made to feel like the bloody fun police who is making live difficult for everyone!

Anybody else feel like this???

It certainly says a lot about them and I do hope that if Stressing (and those like her) do catch Covid they crawl back under the stone they came from and don’t expect to be looked after by those she is “sick of hearing” about!
What a shocking attitude to have. You are one nasty person. You'll be there first in the queue for the knitting at the public beheading of all those you have deemed to be wrong

Ugh, just saw the post on numbers going up in some places... That bit is concerning, and I wish we could at least understand why. I suspect it's more likely to be unsafe workplaces than individuals not doing their bits (if it was individuals, the trend would be more widespread. Local spikes suggest more "it's that factory where they don't do social distancing")

Someone on TV said yesterday “now that coronavirus has gone......” IT HASN’T GONE! I am still keeping my distance in shops. Only have single DM in our family bubble and still only meet the odd friend and my DSis at a 2m distance. As I’ve gone back to work I’m wearing marks every day (as are my clients) and cleaning down and spraying the air in between each client. I see it as keeping myself and my family safe. Most people in Aldi are keeping the 2m distance still

YANBU. Number of infections is rising again. The responses on this thread make me want to keep to the rules even more.

To those that have said that they are just guidelines, not law, here is an extract from the gov.uk website;

"1.5 What is a criminal offence?

It is a criminal offence to:

meet indoors with anyone who is not a member of your household or, from 13 June, your support bubble, except for specific exceptions set out in law

meet outdoors in a group of more than six with people who are not in your household or support bubble, except for specific exceptions set out in law

incite others to break the rules by e.g. inviting people to a party

threaten others with infection by coronavirus, for example by coughing or spitting in their direction"

Yanbu

I'm very grateful as my youngest can now play with friends almost as normal as we are in Scotland:

However people don't seem to understand future outbreaks / spikes are are controlled my the rules - the numbers haven't magically reduced

@Destroyedpeople

It's been nearly four months.... Are there really still.people going on about 'the rules'?

Those of us who are sensible don't necessarily refer to them but we are doing them, yes.

Yes well exactly. I am 'sensible' too and have been in my house for weeks . Being a good citizen and all.
I just don't feel the need to bleat about that or 'the rules' or about what my neighbours are doing on fb or mumsnet.

@Destroyedpeople

Read it back. You were really rude. If you don't even see that then perhaps your problem is your attitude to other people, not 'the rules '.

How about you read back your first reply on this thread.

Just as a gauge on rude

@thaegumathteth

Yanbu

I'm very grateful as my youngest can now play with friends almost as normal as we are in Scotland:

However people don't seem to understand future outbreaks / spikes are are controlled my the rules - the numbers haven't magically reduced

This!

I'm in Melbourne, we were doing so well until all this 'l can think for myself' malarkey, and 'we're not like the US/UK, we're fine' brigade hit.

And now 6 more weeks of lockdown.

It's not going away people. It's going to be up and down until a vaccine so if everyone just tried a little to follow the rules the spikes will be further apart.

@xtinak

I no longer know what the rules are. I've really let go of trying to follow. It just seems like something from another world that I don't live in.

Same here. I can’t even be arsed to follow government briefings anymore and haven’t for weeks as each one just became more absurd than the last.

Lockdown has been very hard on my family with shielding elderly parents having serious health issues and being rushed into hospital (not Covid related). Thought I wasn’t going to see them alive again. Crisis over for now, but I am going up there in the next couple of weeks.

As if that weren’t enough, I have been made redundant and at the age of 54 I am now back in the disillusioning hell that is the job market at the moment, which is shit and is like groundhog day.

So I am not as fussed as I once might have been about following some unnatural and completely made up bullshit rules. We’re not big on social gatherings, but I sure as fuck will no longer be dictated to about how to behave around my own family because it has been brought home to me very clearly that time could well be very short now and every moment is precious.

If anyone doesn’t like that then tough.

I know some posters have given you a hard time on here OP but I feel like you make a lot of valid points

On the one hand government guidance and regulations is clear that you should still socially distance inside or out unless you are in a support bubble. However if you point that out you will be accused of being a dementor.

Lots of people feel like they can get back to normal and some have done so throughout. This is justified by discussing that life has to get back to normal risk is part of life and lockdown is doing too much damage etc. The risk is lower than it was in march certainly because of the lockdown and stories about healthy 41 year old spending months suffering in hospital are rebutted with arguments about you having more tm chance being run over than dying of covid if you're under 60 etc. If you point this out your a stasi and a dementor and some other such rubbish.

Yes we have more freedom to go down the pub and cinema and so on as long as we abide by guidance but some people use this as more justification for ignoring the regulations that are in place.

The trouble for risk assessing for themselves is that the people doing so only risk assess for themselves and people they know and not for society as a whole. They may not have all the information or understanding to make a proper risk assessment.

I totally get where you are coming from with the drink driver analogy. Anyone doing so has to have weighed up the risk to of an accident against being caught getting a criminal record etc when deciding to drive after a drink. Often I guess they decide if is not far so they may feel unlikely to be caught or sometimes aren't aware of how long it takes to process alcohol so get caught the next morning.

This illustrates the pitfalls of people making their own risk assessments and it is quite sobering and literally possible that some people who have drink driving convictions are applying those same risk assessment skills to covid as now.

It's similar to if a kid gets caught throwing a pen in school. They will complain that others did it too and so they shouldn't be punished either; but no one would make this argument if they got caught killing someone would they? Much more serious crime but I'm not saying throwing a pen is the same as being a murderer. Drink driving has direct impact on others although people often get away with it; breaking covid regulations might often have no effect and when it does it is less obvious and might not even be known. The fact is that it may jeopardise the progress we've made as we head into winter but we do t know that yet.

Right now the lockdown has reduced numbers of covid and this protects everyone even those flouting the rules. That's all we can do. We can't make others follow the rules and nor can the police.

At the end of the day some people don't care because there is little risk to them and the effect on someone they don't know doesn't matter to them. All you can do is follow the guidance yourself and protect the people you know as best you can.

@Destroyedpeople

Yes well exactly. I am 'sensible' too and have been in my house for weeks . Being a good citizen and all. I just don't feel the need to bleat about that or 'the rules' or about what my neighbours are doing on fb or mumsnet.

Same. We just get on with it so as to protect ourselves.

I don’t agree with those saying the guidelines are hard to understand Go on the govt website and it’s all there. The main thing that is advised still not to do is meeting more than 2 households inside your home. It is also advised to still socially distance itch people outside your household.. When there is so much people can do now I would hope people would still wish to keep to the few guidelines that are still issued.

It highlights how that Stasi was able to flourish and gain control.
Because so many people want to report, tell tales on, keep a strict control over other people's behaviour. It's quite shocking.

Absolutely agree. If I thought that mumsnet was representative of the population, I’d be really concerned.

Be concerned. Be very concerned....

if Stressing (and those like her) do catch Covid they crawl back under the stone they came from and don’t expect to be looked after by those she is “sick of hearing” about!

Why not? I’m assuming that Stressing pays tax for free at the point of service healthcare. Why shouldn’t Stressing be treated? What about people who choose to play dangerous sports, should they be forced to opt out of the NHS too, in your world?

@Destroyedpeople

Over the last few months I’ve come to realise that there is a vocal group of mumsnetters, who think that staying at home crafting and baking with their DC for the next 5 years, is a viable option for all. This is not a view that anyone I know in real life shares.

....they'Re all out there taz.....it's downright scary.
Although I did kind of enjoy the crafting and the baking..

@Destroyedpeople

Maybe I’m just not mixing in the right circles 😁.

All my friends work and most are now more worried about the economy than they are about coronavirus.

Maybe people are just really extreme when they're online and exaggerate everything?
Even My most pro lockdown friend who already had a home office has started venturing out....

I hear you OP and I don't think you were rude. It's not bloody hard to follow the rules. I've had plenty of meet ups with friends including toddler dc and we've all managed to behave. I despair.

I'm with you OP. I'm in Wales so we've been taking things more slowly here but most people in my area are thankfully adhering to the advice. Keep at it, you're not alone and absolutely correct.

It's driving me nuts. Yesterday evening I popped to the small local supermarket. It's opposite the pub. As I got out of the car (with my mask on) I saw a man standing outside of the pub smiling, and then spitting on the pavement. He must have done in 3 times in less than a minute. It's bad enough that they are all packed in the pub. It's bad enough that no one is socially distancing, or no one wearing face masks. But to spit on the floor? What is wrong with people?

It's upsetting, honestly.

I live in NSW but my Dad is in the UK - he hasn't left the house since March, partly because he's not so steady on his feet any more and can't risk a fall -->hospital, and partly because he doesn't think it's a good idea as people's "common" sense isn't that common any more.

Here in NSW, we've just had to close borders with Victoria because of people not paying attention to the ongoing guidelines/rules around social distancing, and viewing any lifting of restrictions as a sudden "free for all". Unbelievably, the day the new cases were reported in Melbourne in the news, the run on toilet paper started again! - but luckily for us the supermarkets re-introduced the rationing for toilet paper after the first day. Victoria have introduced extreme lockdown measures in the initial "hotspot" and the whole of Melbourne is back in lockdown now.

But still people are just carrying on being slack, despite us having a new case in NSW as well (returning from VIC, of course!) which could set the whole thing off again.