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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to not understand the outrage over the government’s so-called Christmas party?

778 replies

OneRuleForThem · 07/12/2021 22:33

I feel like this is only an issue if people automatically followed guidelines like robots. We were “told” not to visit our own families over Christmas. Nobody tells me whether I can or can not visit my own family, so I did, and had a lovely and nice normal Christmas last year.

It seems people are up in arms over the fact that Downing Street allegedly (do I have to say allegedly?) had a Christmas party and flounced the “rules” without social distancing. My only reaction is…And? And so? So what? Did anyone expect the government NOT to do something like this? I don’t know why people are up in arms over it tbh. It’s not like this government is brand new to people and they didn’t have prior information that this government backtrack and “do as I say not as i do” ALL THE TIME.

I really don’t get why people are so outraged by this. My main reaction is…why did you listen to them in the first place expecting them to be some kind of moral leaders? AIBU?

OP posts:
Heartofglass12345 · 08/12/2021 00:44

Ooo you're such a rebel Hmm
I followed the rules because I wanted to keep myself and my family safe thanks

SusieBob · 08/12/2021 00:48

My dad was in hospital for weeks last summer, and I couldn't visit him because of the rules the government put in place.

They then proceeded to ignore those rules and have a fucking party at the same time I was telling my kids they couldn't see their grandparents over Christmas.

It really, really isn't difficult to understand why people might be a teeny tiny bit annoyed at those cunts in number 10.

KrispyKale · 08/12/2021 00:48

Op lives In what is mostly a rules based society and is surprised people are following rules.
🤷

JudgeRindersMinder · 08/12/2021 00:49

YABU but if you don’t understand why I’m not wasting my time explaining it

RiverSkater · 08/12/2021 00:50

It seems you and Boris are cut from the same moral cloth so it's not surprising you don't get it. Hmm

SusieBob · 08/12/2021 00:51

@Yellownotblue

Obviously there is security at No 10. As such, the police is very likely to have known about the party. Why didn’t they intervene to break it up? Why no fines and no publicity?

It’s shocking, particularly in a year where the Met police has gone out of its way to tyrannically abuse women. But they’re fine turning a blind eye on fucking Tories?

And yes, of course we shouldn’t be in a situation where we have come to expect the government to lie to us.

This is the other thing.

The met police know, without question, whether there was a party (which there was) and they will know who was at it. But no, apparently they didn't stop it at the time and they can't "retrospectively" investigate despite that literally being how every crime ever is solved.

And then the police have the audacity to wonder why nobody trusts them any more.

KrispyKale · 08/12/2021 00:53

Yes the retrospective thing is a sad cop-out.

Booklover3 · 08/12/2021 00:55

The MET will be made to investigate and then they will say they didn’t breech the laws. Didn’t that happen last time?

Booklover3 · 08/12/2021 00:56

With the Cummings saga?

scarpa · 08/12/2021 00:57

I can't tell if you're deliberately being disingenuous or are just enormously stupid.

The law was in place to stop people catching an illness that was, at the time, killing hundreds of people a day.

Sure, some people abided by that because it was the law, but a lot of people stayed at home and didn't see their loved ones because hundreds of people were dying a day and as most people hadn't even had one vaccination yet, the best way to avoid spreading the virus was not to mix households.

So if people are angry it's because:

a) they abided by the rules at personal cost to themselves because they were told it was the right and safe thing to do (perfectly legitimate reason to be angry)

or

b) they abided by the rules because they saw it as the best way to keep other people safe as cases were ticking upward rapidly, and they are furious because the government didn't see fit to do the same.

Whether or not we're surprised the government broke their own rules (and I'm not, they're dyed in the wool cunts), people still should have been following them anyway because it was the right thing to do at the time.

People who are angry because they followed the rules and the government didn't aren't hopelessly naive and silly to have listened to the guidance. You, however, are acting very superior for someone who also apparently didn't give a shit about other people this time last year.

BashfulClam · 08/12/2021 01:04

I want to slap idiots that use ‘flounced’ instead of ‘flouted’ like you. The law says I cant, can I ignore it? We don’t feel like mugs what we feel is anger that we were told the law is x and they went ahead and broke it anyway.

BashfulClam · 08/12/2021 01:07

@madroid he doesn’t make rules for the uk re covid. Just for England, we have differing rules in Scotland as health is devolved.

bofski14 · 08/12/2021 01:09

How dare you OP? You broke the law and you are proud of it. Then you have the audacity to make out that the people who "did what Boris said" are mugs? I didn't see my family on Christmas because not only was it AGAINST THE LAW but I love them and care for them enough to not be so damned selfish to potentially infect them with a lung eating virus! And you think the tens of thousands of people who missed their Christmas with their families are gullible or naive? We made decisions based on what was scientifically safe and morally right. It's a good job we didn't all behave like you or many more would have died. But as long as you had a nice Christmas eh?

The government have made fools of people who sacrificed their Christmas for the greater good. This is NOTHING to do with trusting the Tories. It was about doing what was right for your friends, neighbours, the NHS and our community. And I can't speak for others but MY outrage is that the people who were finding it difficult to keep following rules will see this blatant flouting of laws by the government and think "Sod it" and now many more will now die. And if things get worse with a new variant or tougher measures need to be in place it will be a case of "the boy who cried wolf" because people won't take them seriously anymore. This could be catastrophic for our society.

We need leaders. We need a government we can trust in times of crisis.

I had to watch two funerals over sodding Zoom last year. I don't want to do that again so if you could not be a selfish idiot, that would be great. Thanks.

DdraigGoch · 08/12/2021 01:11

There were a lot of people joking on social media about "business meetings" they had planned for the 25th.

Booklover3 · 08/12/2021 01:13

@DdraigGoch joking, yes. Actually doing it… probably not.

Stompythedinosaur · 08/12/2021 01:15

The people who stuck to the rules saved lives.

Idiots like the op and Boris Johnson endangered others.

westofnormal · 08/12/2021 01:20

The NHS would not have "collapsed" lmfao. Also, what about the Nightingale hospitals? Also never heard anymore about them. People with Coronavirus don't even do anything. Go watch Contagion.

Yellownotblue · 08/12/2021 01:23

@westofnormal

The NHS would not have "collapsed" lmfao. Also, what about the Nightingale hospitals? Also never heard anymore about them. People with Coronavirus don't even do anything. Go watch Contagion.
It must be nice living in your little world, sheltered from any actual information.
Paquerette · 08/12/2021 01:29

@ComtesseDeSpair

Was it “the Government”, or was it various No. 10 staff and aides who had most likely been working together in close quarters in the preceding weeks anyway? It doesn’t seem that Boris or any MPs actually attended, and I really can’t get worked up about the latter.
This.

“The Government” didn’t have a Christmas party.

Notatwite · 08/12/2021 01:29

I dont believe a word that comes out of Boris Johnson’s mouth. I have listened to medical and scientific experts though and last Christmas the risks to vulnerable people and the absence of a vaccine made the laws around covid seem the safest course of action.

Do I care that Johnson and his government broke the laws they made while issuing fines to those of who were found to have broken them? I really do. A lot. Do I care that the prime minister is a piss taking, flippant , bollocks talking idiot with no moral compass? Also yes.

If the law makers break the law then they should step down. But there appears to be nothing that will have the Tory party throwing up their hands in horror and giving a vote of no confidence. Johnsons hubris is truly monumental and too many of his party are allowing him to go unchallenged. Grim.

Notatwite · 08/12/2021 01:32

People with Coronavirus don't even do anything. What like? What do you think they should do?

Unloved21 · 08/12/2021 01:39

@MasterBeth

Should someone break it to the OP about Covid?
Depressing that after all this time that some don’t understand (or don’t care) that spending time indoors with close family and friends is probably the riskiest activity that any of us can do. That is why the restrictions were imposed in December but too little too late to prevent the massive spike in January. But I truly believe the January spike would have been much worse if there had been no restrictions.

I also believe the majority of people complied because they felt it was the law and the socially responsible thing to do and not because Boris said so.

Dontbeamugallyourlifesucker · 08/12/2021 01:47

Op.. It because of morons like you and the tories 'party' covid spread and killed like it did! You are bloody very unreasonable not to understand this.. Shameful!

Unloved21 · 08/12/2021 01:48

@julieca

This time last year a work colleague who was only in his fifties died of coronavirus. He was outgoing and popular. Normally we would have all gone to his funeral, none of us could.
Same. A guy in our team died a few days before Christmas. Only 49, fit with no underlying issues. Left two young daughters the youngest only 6. I was lucky that I could spend a day with my support bubble and other family but if I couldn’t have, it was one day. Those wee girls have to grow up without their dad. Boris can fuck off to the far side of fuck ….and you know the rest. He is completely unfit for public office and if he had an ounce of decency he would have resigned long ago.

But just because he was the mouth piece saying don’t travel etc etc doesn’t mean that it wasn’t the right thing to do

Unloved21 · 08/12/2021 01:52

@BeaMends

Forgive me if I missed it, but all these people at this party - were they all staff who were normally all working in the building together, and they just all had a bit of a piss-up when they finished work? Or were there separately invited guests?
It doesn’t matter . At work they should have been social distancing. At a party with alcohol thrown in most folks are likely to stop observing what were the usual COVID secure measures.
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