To find these covid snitching threads terrifying

[CrotchBurn]

Student house party. 75% voted for OP to call police.

Really?

I think this thread is chilling proof at how far we've fallen in a society within such a small amount of time. Less than a year with constant media brainwashing, all of us essentially under house arrest, and look at us. Clearing out supermarkets and calling the police because "it's the right thing to do" and "they're putting society at risk".

Who else would you have turned in?

At what other point in history would you have colluded with the government to "do the right thing", without any thought for your fellow humans just being people?

They are students. They are broke, they have been confined to their box rooms almost a whole year. Have some heart for christs sake.

And by the way, I do believe in covid. I believe in staying home and wearing masks and doing the right thing. I would never grass though. Ever. And that goes for covid antics, benefit fraud, whatever. I believe people sometimes do what they need to do to survive physically or emotionally.

I think its terrifying what society has become in less than a year.

Who would have thought we would be living on a world where you would be standing in a little yellow circle traced out on a supermarket floor, and not an inch over if you please, else you'll be reported as a health threat!

Is this our world now? In which young lonely people are turned in and fined for spending time together?

I'm not advocating for student parties, I'm advocating for looking away when you see one.

I’m a student and this thread is making my blood boil. Everyone I know is being really sensible. We’ve been sorted into households and if one person in the household tests positive (we’re tested every week) then everyone in the household will have to isolate for 2 weeks, even if we’ve not socialised/been in contact with this person. This has given us all a shared responsibility to be careful and avoid flouting the rules so that we can avoid as much as possible causing other people to be locked up for 2 weeks. This has created a basic sense of compassion and empathy which means that everyone I know isn’t having parties etc. I would report a (more than 6 person) party (to the university, definitely not to the police) because it puts other people at risk and as such is unbelievably selfish. It’s so frustrating that we’re trying so hard to keep other people safe during a pandemic and so many posters are defending selfish students who simply don’t care about the consequences of their actions on others, be they students or other members of society. I’m not saying that students shouldn’t meet up with others or spend time together inside (we do!) but a party with large amounts of people is too far.

I think people comparing snitching on students having a house party during Covid to people snitching on Jews during the haulocast is an ill informed uneducated view. There’s no need for the drama - we have several vaccines being rolled out as we speak. Just lets get on with following the rules and wait for normality to prevail, which will be soon.

What I AM saying is the impulse to report, to control and punish others because that's what the government has told you to do, which makes you 'good' and others 'bad' is the same psychological process

I agree with this

Not the reporting jewish people, but just that I thought it would take us longer to get to the ‘reporting your neighbour/family’ stage and its taken no time at all...

For all those shocked by “snitches”; would you tell on a family member do committed murder or rape? I’m just wondering where that line sits as so many think we should all turn a blind eye to law breaking.

Just lets get on with following the rules and wait for normality to prevail, which will be soon.

Know that for sure do you?

Having a house party is going to be pretty far up Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I'd imagine the people doing it aren't being particularly considerate to their neighbours either, which may influence whether someone is driven to report it.

@user1496436814

I’m a student and this thread is making my blood boil. Everyone I know is being really sensible. We’ve been sorted into households and if one person in the household tests positive (we’re tested every week) then everyone in the household will have to isolate for 2 weeks, even if we’ve not socialised/been in contact with this person. This has given us all a shared responsibility to be careful and avoid flouting the rules so that we can avoid as much as possible causing other people to be locked up for 2 weeks. This has created a basic sense of compassion and empathy which means that everyone I know isn’t having parties etc. I would report a (more than 6 person) party (to the university, definitely not to the police) because it puts other people at risk and as such is unbelievably selfish. It’s so frustrating that we’re trying so hard to keep other people safe during a pandemic and so many posters are defending selfish students who simply don’t care about the consequences of their actions on others, be they students or other members of society. I’m not saying that students shouldn’t meet up with others or spend time together inside (we do!) but a party with large amounts of people is too far.

This needs highlighting throughout this ridiculous thread

I agree with OP. The parallels with Nazi Germany are depressing.

I think using words like 'snitch' and 'grass' insidiously creates a them and us scenario. Sorry if I'm not 'all in this together' with a bunch of selfish bastards out partying in the middle of a pandemic. Of course students want to socialise and have fun, but surely they should also be learning life lessons about responsibility, consequences, empathy and consideration. This isn't reporting someone for working while on benefits or blaring their car horn every morning. It's reporting someone for potentially spreading a virulent disease among the population, some of whom will not survive and some of whom may be impacted for life.

I wouldn't report every person I see not wearing a mask, because I don't know their medical history. I would not report someone visiting a family member because I don't know their personal circumstances. But a bunch of students, or indeed any other adults, having a wild time? Certainly.

Yabu.

Of all the issues covid has raised, I find the outcry about students being shut in, unable to socialise the most odd.

They are at university so must be adult and presumably intelligent so they should be able to grasp the need to isolate. Plus they are there to study, so being in their room with a heap of books/the internet is what they are supposed to be doing anyway. And most teenagers I know spend large amounts of their time in their rooms on-line, so it is hardly a massive change in their habits.

As for "snitching" (are we back in the playground?), I wouldn't even notice if my neighbour had a friend visit, but if there were 15 cars in the lane and there is obviously a party going on, yes I'd put in a call.

Personal rights do not outrank community responsibilities when lives are at risk.

@m0therofdragons

For all those shocked by “snitches”; would you tell on a family member do committed murder or rape? I’m just wondering where that line sits as so many think we should all turn a blind eye to law breaking.

If you think both are comparable you need to go and have a lie down in a dark room.

Going to see your friend really isn’t on the same level as raping someone, are you prone to hysteria?

And just to say, I realise the numbers of students out partying are far outweighed by those who are being sensible and following the rules.

I don’t want to live in a society where people turn a blind eye to others breaking the law be it covid, physical harm, theft etc.

Covid is mild for some, for other it leaves long lasting damage and ill health and some families have lost multiple members to it. Anyone who puts others at risk of that should be reported.

@user1496436814 what a sensible post, lovely to hear some students get it 👏

'YABU. I work in a university, some of our students work in hospitals and care homes, they travel using public transport, the behaviour of groups of students partying and ignoring guidelines is putting the whole community at risk.'

Exactly. Fgs tell your entitled kids to show some awareness and intelligence. I bet there's a direct correlation between parents who say 'snitch' and their awful offspring who do what they like.

Interesting split!

I think people are being unreasonable if they phone about someone having one person come over, because they don't know what the circumstances are, it could be a bubble, support arragement etc.

I don't think it's unreasonable to call out a big party because that is dangerous to everyone there and others and it really bothers me that some people treat this as 'being a government toady'

No one does that 'to help the government' they do that because they want to stop behaviour that is putting people at risk. They're not doing it because they believe 'I must obey the government!' Yes, I'd report a big house party, but if the government announced tomorrow that we should report anyone we see or hear criticising them, I'd never do that in a million years. They are two totally different things and it is putting people at risk to make this a 'political' issue and treat dangerous behaviour as some kind of justified protest and not just selfishness.

YANBU

I find it insane how the world seems to have been divided into two camps - the "selfish" and the "non-selfish". And the definition of both is extremely narrow and entirely related to Covid.

Even if the "selfish" people were model citizens up until March 2020 - if they helped in foodbanks, if they volunteered on beaches and in parks to clean up other people's litter, if they did whatever they could to reduce their carbon footprint to you know, help the environment and other people, if they did whatever they could to reduce plastic consumption - if they did all these things and more, if counts for nothing if they spent some time last week with their sister and her family because the loneliness and depression was breaking them. Selfish selfish selfish.

It's so fucked up.

[quote OverTheRainbow88]@TinySongstress

I totally agree.

Also, these parties impact others. We’ve had to send home all 275 year 11 students because a handful of them went to a party, which turned out to be a covid party basically.

So because 10 kids had a fun eve; 265 are now home for 2 Weeks.

Some of those students at that party would have face to face lectures, going into local food shops, etc etc[/quote]
Yep this is it for me. A friend’s daughter is having to self isolate for a total of six weeks this term. She is in her GCSE year. Every person who is breaking the rules is contributing to that. Students knew what the rules were at the time they went to university. There will be a quiet group, possibly the majority, who were willing to abide by this in order to get an education. This has been ruined (as well as people’s lives put at risk) by those who think their right to party trumps all other rights. Not to mention all the businesses which have worked so hard to put in COVID compliant measures, only to have to shut while people party in homes or in the streets. Do I have empathy even for the most selfish rule breakers? Yes, because it is hard. But actually I am starting to think that if I don’t report or at least call out transgressions, then I am also part of the problem.

You don't believe in what you call snitching?
But I am sure if someone stole something very valuable or hurt someone close to you and someone had the information which would return your property or have the person caught,you would jump at the chance of them snitching.
Very comfortable there at the top of the moral heap is it

@user1496436814

I’m a student and this thread is making my blood boil. Everyone I know is being really sensible. We’ve been sorted into households and if one person in the household tests positive (we’re tested every week) then everyone in the household will have to isolate for 2 weeks, even if we’ve not socialised/been in contact with this person. This has given us all a shared responsibility to be careful and avoid flouting the rules so that we can avoid as much as possible causing other people to be locked up for 2 weeks. This has created a basic sense of compassion and empathy which means that everyone I know isn’t having parties etc. I would report a (more than 6 person) party (to the university, definitely not to the police) because it puts other people at risk and as such is unbelievably selfish. It’s so frustrating that we’re trying so hard to keep other people safe during a pandemic and so many posters are defending selfish students who simply don’t care about the consequences of their actions on others, be they students or other members of society. I’m not saying that students shouldn’t meet up with others or spend time together inside (we do!) but a party with large amounts of people is too far.

This is interesting. Are you an older student staying at halls? How old are you if you don’t mind me asking?

I think YABU

Your use of “snitches” does sound quite juvenile. I think there is an awful lot of “looking the other way” and the damage caused/the problem not prevented is quite often not insignificant. For instance, whenever enquiries are carried out into children who have been abused, or even killed, it’s quite common to find many people have had “concerns” but found a way to explain those concerns (“just a bad day”), possibly because they don’t want to be seen as “snitches” or causing trouble.

If I was sure about the circumstances I would report benefit fraud- it’s quite often organised crime or people looking to pull a fast one to get more than they are entitled to. I don’t think the majority of it is people struggling to get by. Besides which, if it’s ok to commit benefit fraud then presumably you are also ok with individuals fiddling their tax?

Students might want to have parties and socialise- of course they do- but at the moment they can’t. They are adults and so responsible for their behaviour. Having a party is not a right and it’s not as though there are no other ways to socialise. It’s not that I don’t feel sorry for the students, I do because it’s been a rubbish year for them- and us all. That doesn’t mean they can do whatever they want with impunity. What they are doing does put others at risk, including the wider community. They know this but decided their want for the party was more important. Others feel the party is wrong, as they think the risk outweighs the students’ wish for a party. I would agree with the latter. It’s not that o would ha

It’s not just about the risk of people dying, there are risks of long covid too. It is also true that many people are having investigations and treatment delayed as the hospitals try to cope with the consequences of the first wave (huge back logs) and the prospect of this winter. Their will be people who suffer and die because of these delays. If transmission rates/infections remain high then lockdown and restrictions will last longer, and all the misery that brings. Then look at the damage this is doing to the economy- we are in for a significant economic shock. There will be many more job losses, businesses going bust and people losing their livelihoods. The longer this goes on, the worse it will all be.

So you see, I do not view “students just having a party” as inconsequential. One individual party may or may not cause a small outbreak amongst attendees and possibly the wider community they live in. But lots of similar parties (held by anyone, as well as other flouting of restrictions) will add up and could increase the damage- in the widest sense, not just due to deaths and ill health due to long covid but by prolonging tighter restrictions/lockdown which in turn has wider implications: deaths and harm from the pressures on the NHS/delays in care as a consequence; impact due to restrictions and lockdown on mental health and physical well-being; the negative impact on our children’s education; the huge economic damage and job losses.

As for comparing those who report student parties to the situation in nazi Germany, I think it is pretty ignorant. Reporting someone to the SS was known to have serious ramifications. It is true that some did not know about the concentration camps, though a significant number did and many more suspected something untoward, but quite likely due to self-preservation did not question much further. Most people were aware that Jewish people/families were “removed”- I doubt that they thought they were going somewhere nice. They certainly knew that Jews/those who opposed the nazis would lose their jobs, their children would lose school and university places and their assets often seized. Their businesses were taken over in many cases. People knew bad things were happening, even if they did not know the full scale and horror of it all. Many knew about the Jewish ghettos and that conditions were appalling, for instance. Therefore, there is an obvious and quite striking difference between the ramifications of reporting someone for being Jewish/harbouring or aiding Jews/anti-Nazi views to the police/SS in Nazi Germany or the occupied countries and reporting students having a party against covid restriction in this country at the present time. Any comparisons between the 2 situations are, as such, spectacularly crass and woefully ignorant (in my opinion). I think using the analogy as “the psychological drivers” are similar is also mistaken- reporting something where the outcome is that the people involved will come to significant harm for the “offence” of being Jewish or having different political beliefs is an entirely different thing to reporting a student party- the outcome for the latter is that the party will be broken up and the organisers might be fined.

'A friend’s daughter is having to self isolate for a total of six weeks this term. She is in her GCSE year. Every person who is breaking the rules is contributing to that'

Its awful isn't it. The vaccines is coming, the end is in sight. Students can cope without parties for now.

What's missing on this thread is the acceptance that everybody is different. Some thing the law is crazy and break it, some think that breaking it is crazy. Everybody has a different perspective because of their different experiences and personalities.

Some report law breakers, some protest against the way that laws are being made, some follow the laws quietly and expect that things will eventually return to normal once a vaccine has been found. Some minimise the deaths because it's only x% Some think it's all a lie.

I don't understand where people are getting the idea from that there's been a massive shift in attitude, and we're suddenly all lambs to the slaughter under the new laws. There have always been laws that people don't like. There have always been lawbreakers. There have always been people who report lawbreakers. The situation is new; the attitudes aren't.

Honestly there is no point reporting it. Police do nothing.

We had a party in our street in the first lockdown. At least 40 people. Loud music over the whole weekend. Police were called by other neighbours. They came round a d said the music needs to turned down and people go home. Did it heck, went on until 7am that Sun morning.

100% agree with all pp who said they are just prolonging this pain of lockdown.

Tbh I don’t believe in lockdown either if people just blooody socially distanced we wouldn’t need to!

People in my family are very vulnerable. Do I think a few students having a shit year give them the right to gather in huge groups and put those family members further a risk? Like fuck do I. Yeah I'd snitch on a party. A neighbour having their mum round, no I'd keep quiet but a massive student party? I'd go round myself and kick their fucking selfish entitled heads in if I thought I'd get away with it. They have no right to put others lives at risk because they've had a shit year. We've all had a shit year. They forfeited the right not to be snitched on when they decided to behave like entitled, selfish, stupid little cunts.