To think think here we go again...UK and US up in arm's meanwhile the Irish and other countries just get on with it!!

[janeymacaronijoanie]

As the thread says...U.K. and USA are all up in arms about wearing masks! Meanwhile here in Ireland and in other countries ppl just do what is asked and wear the bloody masks!! I mean WTAF do they think makes them so special? Do the numbers not speak for themselves!??

I mean they are not that bad most medical professionals wear them ALL the time pre Covid and you never heard them complain

You’ll be meaning England rather than the UK I presume? Masks are mandatory in Scotland. People are wearing them. A few grumbles that they’re hot. No morning or gnashing of teeth. Kids and adults alike just getting on with wearing them in shops and indoors. No big drama.

Right wing politics means not liking the government telling you what to do, even if it's for your own benefit, everyone else's benefit or the planet's. Partly why everything is such a bloody mess and not going to get better.

i agree op just get on with it all im reading is i dont want to do this and that well stay at home then

Another Scottish voice here, everyone I know is wearing their masks and getting on with it.
So op, change your thread title from UK to England.
@ssd ODFOD. I work on public transport, compliance on trains from passengers travelling from Cheshire/Manchester is around 90%. The compliance rate for passengers joining at certain towns in North Wales on the other hand is much lower. Yes, they aren't yet mandatory (thanks to our useless devolved government) but they are mandatory if you cross the border and people aren't rummaging for a mask as soon as we cross the Dee. I'd like to bet that the English levels of compliance are similar to those in Scotland and from the OP's posts it's certainly no better in Ireland.

I'm quite fed up with the xenophobic attitude towards the English held by a significant minority on Mumsnet. It wouldn't be acceptable towards any other nation (bar the USA).

Oh, and you can stop lumping the United States together too. Attitudes might be poor in some states (particularly but not exclusively the southern ones) but others have succeeded in getting the R rate down.

If everyone outside the UK is so happy to wear masks, why have several countries made them mandatory?

I mean they are not that bad most medical professionals wear them ALL the time pre Covid and you never heard them complain
Don't be ridiculous. Unless you are dealing with surgery or specific other areas of medicine Drs and Nurses do not wear masks all the time!

I am in Scotland and I can't say everyone is wearing masks either. Many people aren't. 'Scotland' is not one big homogenous mass blindly following NS's every uttering.

Where I am in the south east of Ireland, there are not many people wearing masks out and about in the shops/town etc. I actually think less now are wearing masks than back in April/May.
I havent worn a mask and dont want to wear one either.

I'm quite fed up with the xenophobic attitude towards the English held by a significant minority on Mumsnet

Me too - I 'd love to see how far I got starting a GF thread about "The Irish" or "the Scots" - no doubt that wouldn't be in the "spirit of MN" and would be taken down.

@Hingeandbracket you do realise that “English” isn’t a race don’t you?

I'm in Scotland, masks have been mandatory here since last week. As far as I can tell most people are just getting on with it. The main groups of people I have noticed not complying are those who have just left the pub.

I went into town for shopping yesterday and I admit I was hot and uncomfortable but it's only for a short while - you can remove it and have a breather as soon as you're outside again.

I don't understand why people are so whiny about wearing masks. It's really really really not a big deal, and some people are acting like it's the end of days. They possibly just like to be dramatic

Completely agree with this. But I imagine once it's mandatory people will comply even if they whinge on MN about it.

@ConstantlySeekingHappiness

Absolutely no-one is bothered?? My friends in Edinburgh are bothered, and actually I clicked on this thread after scanning through this which was in Active threads last night:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/scotsnet/3956359-From-the-random-box-of-covid-restrictions-we-now-get?msgid=97975061

So you cannot speak for ALL the people in Scotland...

you do realise that “English” isn’t a race don’t you

I imagine that's why she said xenophobic and not racist. You do understand the difference?

Anyway disliking the "English" just comes down to accent, as you can't tell who's Irish and who's English and who's Scottish just by looking at people (at first glance, anyway, if you had all 3 in front of you and were asked to guess you could probably make an educated guess - my DH has a theory that the accent shapes the mouth and you can tell from that). Hating people based on accent is ludicrous.

I'm Irish, living in England and yes, I'm pissed at now being told we have to wear masks when in shops - what has taken so long for this to be decided when so many countries have had them as mandatory for ages?
It's like closing the borders at so late a stage, then being slammed by those who want to come into the country freely that they have to be self-isolate for 14 days etc. People are fed up being given half stories and are upset that what has been the norm for the past few months is now being changed again.
As for your comment about what makes them so special... grow up.

English exceptionalism. It’s a peculiarly English pig-headedness. We think we’re better than anybody else. We don’t need help and advice from other countries. We certainly don’t need to follow their public health example. We invented public health you know. True it was a over a century ago, and we’re now the hare playing catch-up and not the tortoise, but WE ARE STILL BETTER THAN YOU. NAH NA NAH NAH NA.

The Japanese made masks compulsory immediately and implemented testing as soon as they could. They had a tiny fraction of our deaths and haven’t needed to close down shops and offices, thereby saving their economy.

It must be all LIES YOU KNOW. They must be fudging their numbers or putting out fake news.

God forbid the foreigners might know something we don’t.

@Hingeandbracket there have been more threads over the last few years with negative ‘the Scots’ tones than I could even start to count. They’re all left up. The minute independence/ devolution/ Nicola Sturgeon are mentioned, there is a flurry of ‘lazy Scots’, ‘spongers’ and ‘we pay your way’ comments. I’m guessing that this is just one of those things you notice when it’s suddenly your group/ country/ nationality which is being commented on.

Com'on every Irish person plus descents would be up in arms with a thread slagging off Irish in the title.
I usually enjoy a good debate with our neighbours but this is goady.

[quote mondaywine]@Hingeandbracket there have been more threads over the last few years with negative ‘the Scots’ tones than I could even start to count. They’re all left up. The minute independence/ devolution/ Nicola Sturgeon are mentioned, there is a flurry of ‘lazy Scots’, ‘spongers’ and ‘we pay your way’ comments. I’m guessing that this is just one of those things you notice when it’s suddenly your group/ country/ nationality which is being commented on.[/quote]
Fair point, well made :)

I must admit I am a little bit bothered because I work in a shop and it means I would have to wear one for hours on end. My biggest problem is I actually have to read dates on products throughout, printed in tiny print, mask continuously rides up into my eyeline and makes it a nightmare, plus I answer the phone line for the shop and talking through the mask makes it far more difficult for people to understand me.
I cannot experiment with more comfortable face coverings either, only allowed to use masks provided for the staff, it's considered part of the uniform now...
My time off starts at the end of July and I seriously am thinking it's the last straw which would make me give in my notice...

Me too - I 'd love to see how far I got starting a GF thread about "The Irish" or "the Scots" - no doubt that wouldn't be in the "spirit of MN" and would be taken down.

You are kidding aren't you? The anti Irish sentiment comes up over and over again on Mumsnet. Constant jibes about their 'ridiculous' names and spelling, how backwards and unwelcoming they are. And if you're talking about the part of Ireland that is actually in the UK, you can throw in accusations of being violent homophobic dinosaur denying religious fundamentalists as well. Oh, and liars. Constant accusations of being a liar if you happen to mention something like your kids being on school holidays when English kids aren't. Or that your car doesn't need an MOT after three years. Or that social services oversee childminder registration. Anything that differs from England and instead of 'oh, I didn't realise that' you're told you are either wrong or lying.

I know. Masks mean we are less likely to have another lockdown. I really dont get the issue. Makes us Brits look pathetic.

Although despite my previous post, I don't think it's fair to say 'the English do this' or 'the English do that'. My post was specific to the fact that I think it's naïve to say that Mumsnet wouldn't allow threads with anti Irish or anti Scottish sentiment.

monday i've got to disagree. I have read so many comments from 'Scots' and I have been shocked.

Perhaps I notice it more because I'm Scottish so expect better from other Scots.

But really I think there are a lot of Scottish posters on here who come across appallingly.

I don't think the "English" are moaning about masks. I do think we have to accept we need to wear them for the foreseeable future in shops / indoor public places etc. My children and I are wearing them.

However, I wouldn't celebrate people just blindly accepting things and doing as they are told. We don't want this to be permanent and we should be angry that we are in a situation where we do have to wear them.

We might be wearing masks in Ireland but we're also letting tourists from the USA. It's crazy.