If you're still sticking to ALL the rules/guidance - why?

[RaspberryCoulis]

Will start by saying I am not sticking to the covid rules any more. Obviously I can't go places which aren't open. But we have had people in the house, kids are going out with friends probably in larger numbers than are permitted, we're crossing local authority boundaries which is supposedly illegal in Scotland. Why? Because we've been in lockdown for a year, cases here are very low, and some things are more important than Covid.

But on every thread there are people claiming that they are sticking rigidly to every single rule and guideline, never breaking ANY rule. They would probably say I was a selfish covid-denier who was hellbent on murdering their granny.

So if you're sticking to all the guidelines and rules, without fail - why? People who are clinically extremely vulnerable (officially) I can understand in part if they're not vaccinated. But the rest of you? Is it because you're scared of Covid, or scared of your neighbours, or scared of breaking the law by mistake?

Conversely, I don't really believe people are so utterly altruistic as they say they are - every sacrifice for the greater good and for the community at large. We're all selfish to some degree, it's human nature. You care about your nearest and dearest far more than you care about random strangers you've never met. That's not selfishness, it's human nature

If it comforts you to believe that everyone else is as selfish as you are, then crack on. That won't actually make it true, though.

My nearest and dearest have all been vaccinated now, with the exception of my dd and my nephew who I have never been worried about anyway. I will still be following all the rules because I do actually give a shit about other people, but if it makes you feel better about your own selfish behaviour to believe that I must have some other more self-serving motive, then by all means, enjoy that little fiction that you create for yourself.

To be honest as l have been working all through this l never really followed the rules. As l suppose stopping for a bottle of wine on way home is not essential.
Also the other day l had 3 work colleagues. At mine...then suddenly remembered we were not supposed to do this.
However we are all completely vaccinated and l can't see point we don't socially distance at work so why not socialise outside work

Because I’m Mrs Covid at work so it would look very bad if I didn’t set a good example.
Because I can see what’s happening in Europe and understand how quickly a virus can multiply again.
Because my moral compass is guided by “ what would it be like if everyone did that?”
Because this is the best way to ensure we can lift restrictions in the future.

I’m sticking to them because I want to get on top of covid....and I’m
Not so up my own arse that I believe I know better than scientists and health professionals.

Plus, we want to stay away from covid spreaders like you?

Because I’m not thick.

Because I’ll look back at all this and know I wasn’t part of the problem.

Because I’m not the sort of person to go on the internet and brag to strangers about breaking the law to bolster my pathetic ego.

have to take the people who say they are making sacrifices for the greater good or people they will never meet with a huge pinch of salt. Because they're not really, they are either protecting themselves, or their immediate family. Nothing wrong with that - but don't dress it up as something it's not.

I take your point. I think what I'm doing is trying to stop the spread, to stop the NHS being overwhelmed. Because if I, or someone I loved, needed it I'd like it to be functioning. I also want to stop the spread because I don't want another lockdown. Another lockdown would be bad for me, and the ones I love, and for wider society which would ultimately impact on me and mine.
I believe it is true that we are not altruistic in nature. Ultimately it comes back to ourselves.
However I'm making a sacrifice now to protect myself in the future (should I need the NHS etc).
However having said all that I also believe the vaccine is the way out and soon enough there shouldn't be a need for any restrictions at all.

Two of my friends didn't observe lockdown late last year, one continued to go out, socialise, the other continued working. Both got Covid and lost one parent each to it. Im just sticking to the rules as much as i can because of this.

I’m not scared of covid. For a start I’ve had both vaccines. But am still sticking to the rules. I’m not scared of my neighbours reporting me, I’m fairly sure I could sneak off to a friends house or have a friend here without being caught.

I’m just been considerate of others and want to do the right thing. That was why I stuck to the rules earlier on when numbers were higher. I wanted everyone to stick to the rules so numbers would come down quicker and we could all get out of lockdown. And yes, I do think people who have ignored the rules are selfish as I think we’d probably have had a shorter lockdown if everyone had done as asked. But you crack on enjoying yourself.

@ClarkeGriffin sorry to be all doom and gloom. I'll clarify:

I had only had the jab 2.5 weeks before infection so I wasn't in the optimum period. Also, my DH hasn't had the jab. He is way more poorly than me, I have got off very lightly and I normally get more poorly than him.

Because

1. It’s the law
2. I don’t want to get it

3 I don’t want to pass it onto my family and friends, or indeed strangers 4 because I am thinking bigger picture, and am prepared to do what’s necessary for the good of all of us 5 because we are nowhere near out of this, and people like you make me cross

Copied from PP. Ditto number 5 especially.

Conversely, I don't really believe people are so utterly altruistic as they say they are - every sacrifice for the greater good and for the community at large. We're all selfish to some degree, it's human nature. You care about your nearest and dearest far more than you care about random strangers you've never met. That's not selfishness, it's human nature

Not true. Like I said I’ve had the vaccine, so has dh and so has dd. I have no other family. My 3 best friends have also had the vaccine. We’re still not meeting. We will next week, outside, as per the rules.

You care about your nearest and dearest far more than you care about random strangers you've never met. That's not selfishness, it's human nature.

Setting aside the horrible selfishness and Thatcherite "There is no such thing as society" thinking here ...

Those of us who actually think about it, and listen to the science, realise that caring about "random strangers" is one of the best ways to protect those nearest and dearest to us.

Because we've been in lockdown for a year, cases here are very low, and some things are more important than Covid

We’ve all been in lockdown and yet most of us are able to see why that has been necessary and continue to follow the rules. I do see that sometimes there’s good reason to bend rules but every time someone does that we risk developing a new chain of transmission and someone, somewhere down the line will end up very unwell. Low case rates are not no cases. The impact of rule breaking is felt for all of us. It isn’t going to go away just cos you’re bored of it.

One thing you may not be aware of if you haven't had covid. The second you get a positive test, you get texts, calls and emails asking for more details. You have to specify in an official form all the contact you have had in the last x amount of days to identify who you could have passed it to. You also have to go back further to show where you may have caught it from. I felt much happier knowing I'd stuck to the rules rather than having to say on a certain date I saw these friends, on this date I saw these family members etc.

Because a personal risk assessment is not an appropriate measure for a communally transmitted disease.

And this.

On a tiny handful of ocassions a person has got within social distance guidelines of me and I have felt guilty. I really try.

I think @ThePlantsitter hits the nail on the head in the very first reply.

YABU and a complete arsehole for not following the rules. I personally following the rules to keep myself and family safe my husband is the person who goes out to do the shopping if we need something that I can’t get on our online shop but above all else my reason for following the rules and not being a dick like you because I lost my uncle and granddad 10 days apart to Covid in January first time I saw any of my family in year was at their funerals and it’s thanks to people like you OP that I lost 2 family members so please give yourself a massive cockwomble pay on the back for being the reason why people are getting the virus 👏🏼👏🏼

DH and I are both teachers. We are both under 40 and healthy, with no high risk factors. We are both more ill than either of us has ever been in our lives because we have Covid. We also have a 4 year old at home we are barely managing to look after. Probably because the parents of the kids we teach have "let them play out with more other kids than within the rules".
Grow the fuck up and don't be so selfish.

@ThePlantsitter

Because it's the law and I'm pretty law abiding.

I know it's fashionable to 'use your own judgement' on topics you know fuck all about but I actually prefer to be told what to do when I can't be arsed to do all the scientific research myself (because that would require years of scientific training anyway).

Well put.

People who aren’t following the rules are dreadful, ignorant and to be blamed for the extended and repeated lockdown.

@historygeek, I hope you both feel better soon.

Because I'm not an arsehole.

Knew someone would have to respond with that predictable comment. It was a given.

And yes, FWIW I have stuck to The Rules. This isn't stated out of a desire to be sanctimonious, or to virtue-signal that I'm 'not an arsehole' (sometimes, I am ).

The simple point is that I've no reason at all to break The Rules (mandatory capitalization, if you please). My parents are dead. My friends are scattered all over the country; in fact, I've done more socialising with them in the last year than I have for years; albeit virtually, thanks Zoom. I've been stuck at my desk until midnight most night coping with the huge increase in volume COVID has caused in my job. I've barely even been able to stroll around the garden, let alone leave my coop for a once-a-day walk.

I broke the rules once: to drag my sibling to a rehab facility 60 miles away (and at no small cost financially, which I bore). This was after they bottomed out so severely I feared they were killing themselves. Would I do the same again? Yes. My family comes first.

We also had the kitchen renovated, entirely legally and within the remit of The Rules.

Other than that, life's been so utterly restricted I've barely left the house since October. It's tough, it's all work with absolutely no play, I miss my swimming particularly and I miss my friends desperately. Calls are not enough: I need their physical presence. My dear friend's father is dying and I can't even give her a hug: that hurts.

My other abiding fear is that I'm becoming anti-social and could get too used to this. So no, I don't blame people in the slightest for having had enough.

[quote AlexaShutUp]@historygeek, I hope you both feel better soon.[/quote]
Thank you! Seeing my usually strapping DH in that state has been pretty scary, but I think we are on the mend now.

Because I’m not an idiot.