To think some people are ‘enjoying’ the pandemic

[Flynnqwer]

I’ve noticed an attitude amongst some people where they’re nothing short of praying for a new, more lethal, variant.

I’ve noticed it amongst people I work with and people I do a hobby with. Any discussion about going back to our workplace (we can work from home but not easily or particularly effectively) once the Government ends the restrictions on waiting from home, or back to our hobby in real life instead of on Zoom (the hobby is controlled by a central board who are following the WFH advice until it is lifted) are met with cries of ‘No! We can’t do that! It’s dangerous!’ and it anyone points out that, thankfully, it looks like the vaccination programme is working and Omicron is less severe, they come back with ‘but what if there’s a more lethal strain that appears and kills millions?’

My workplace has one element which has legally got to be done in person. I have had emails today from managers begging us to cancel said work thing and do it online. We cannot do it on line lawfully (it’s along the lines of witnessing signatures). We have told them no, we must go into the building for an hour to fulfil this function. They are saying that that is breaking the working from home directive, that it’s unsafe, and what if a deadly variant is discovered? Then we’d have to find a way around the law.

AIBU that some people are actively hoping that the situation worsens and we are locked back down? Why would anyone want this to happen?

And could well not happen (and given the nature of viruses is to develop weaker, more contagious variants probably won’t.)

I can't wait to get back to normal again...... but i take issue with the above.
what viruses become weaker over time?

I think there's a vast difference between enjoying the pandemic and being very anxious that things will get worse again. It sounds like they are traumatised, which is a legitimate response to the past two years. For some people this manifests as 'Fuck it I'll do what I want'. For others it's 'But what if X happens and we go back to the beginning again'.

YABU. I have not suffered one jot during this pandemic in fact my life has got immeasurably better. That doesn’t mean I wish a worse strain of covid on the world. What utter batshit.

Okay, you don’t. But are you attempting to keep everyone from returning to their workplaces and hobbies? If you aren’t then this post wasn’t about you.

All businesses have business continuity and disaster planning, doesn’t mean your business permanently runs as if a disaster has happened!

Oh yes, there are some people who desperately want the pandemic to get worse. Just take a look at Twitter. Luckily those people are getting fewer and fewer and are just a type of lunatic fringe now. It seems to have brought some sort of weird meaning to their life and they get very angry when they see people getting back to normal.

I got accused of this in a Boris thread just before it filled up.

Boris supporter thought that Boris shouldn’t resign because, even if he’s lost authority to lead on the pandemic, it doesn’t matter because “we’re coming out of it”. I disagreed, as I think it’s premature to declare the pandemic to be ending, and that a new variant could be just around the corner.

Which prompted a reply along the lines of “you’d absolutely love that wouldn’t you”.

No I fucking wouldn’t; notwithstanding that it’s shite for everyone, I haven’t seen my family or many of my friends in over 2 years (I live abroad).

But I just don’t think presenting wishful thinking as fact is helpful (it certainly isn’t to me). Back at the start of the pandemic, some posters would get angry if anyone suggested it might last for more than a few months, but look where we are now.

Being realistic, or even pessimistic, is not the same as enjoying the pandemic. It’s just a different way of coping with it.

@Alexandra2001

And could well not happen (and given the nature of viruses is to develop weaker, more contagious variants probably won’t.)

I can't wait to get back to normal again...... but i take issue with the above.
what viruses become weaker over time?

To be fair I’m not a scientists so quite happy to be told I’m wrong by those who are, but it’s what I’ve picked up from reading about it in articles such as this:

‘The pervasive claim that a virus will mutate to become more virulent during an outbreak is particularly illustrative of this phenomenon, even though this spectre of a ‘super killer’ virus is baseless.’ - www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7095397/

Yep, some people are positively frothing with excitement every time there’s even a hint of a new variant

@Pippa12

‘If I never have to hear “I’m a key worker” ever again I’ll be happy’

100% and I’m a icu nurse! Bloody grates me to the core that phrase! Absolutely embarrassing watching nhs staff March to the front of supermarket queues gripping there ID badges for ‘priority entry’… clearly on your day off!!!

Me too. I'm a midwife and I'm sick to the back teeth of bloody covid.

I'm sick of masks, aprons, hand gel, gloves, social distancing in labour rooms (what a joke that is) green theatre, red theatre, ever changing rules on a daily basis. Sick of arsey relatives and partners who either won't wear a mask when in the ward or labour room. Yes we still get them arguing the toss even in the hospital.
Just sick of the whole bloody lot if it.

If you know people "happy" to be in a pandemic and wary of a new lethal variant of covid well come swap jobs I will happily work from home.
We cannot keep living/working like this. It's no life.

YANBU

Some people who feel “small” in life compared to others are using it to feel bigger as it reduces other people’s worlds

@CharlotteGoldenblattYork

Yep! I've noticed on here some people seem to absolutely delight in being in the 'shielding category'

Lovely and very untrue. People in the shielding category may never live a normal, carefree, restriction free life pandemic or no pandemic. Lots of us don't live normal lives, we can't do normal things and you really think we delight in that?

@Flynnqwer

Isn't that just "planning"?

@minou123 But we’ve got plans down to the ground at this point. If we are told to work from home again then we do what we did in December and transfer back online. There’s no reason to stay online forever.

You think the plans are all sorted, but maybe others don't think it is.

We review ours every year. These sorts of plans can change regularly.
I think it is quite sensible for your colleagues to question if there are other options.
If the answer is no, then at least it has been considered.

@mintich

My mum is one of those people! But it's less about being worried about the pandemic and more about enjoying staying in the house. She hates any sort of socialising so is happy to stay tucked away

I have a colleague like this, but he enjoys socialising but wants another lockdown so he can get furlough again . I did point out that he may then not have a job to come back to as I don't know I our company would survive another kickdown, but he isn't arsed. I don't think he's arsed about catching covid either. Just wants free time off!

YANBU OP. People who don’t like socialising but don’t want anyone else to for fear of missing out are especially grating.

And the “wfh is amazing” brigade too! I bloody hate it and if I never have to do another zoom call as long as I live I’ll be very happy!

YANBU. I've also noticed that some people have developed this attitude. What's more, they'll advocate for government measures and further restrictions for others. That's because in order for them not to be exposed as having chosen for example, not to go to the office, they can do so under the guise of responsibility - "complying with guidelines". They'll actively resist a return to normality even when it becomes clear that it's possible (and we're about there now).

This is ridiculous. Surely the number of people who wouldn't happily roll back to before 2019 must be miniscule.

The idea of people positively frothing over new variants is sick.

If the answer is no, then at least it has been considered.

They know the answer is no, we’ve been in this for nearly two years. They’d be very aware of any change to the law.

Yep - non vulnerable people who wear mask outdoors in non crowded areas almost to show off how seriously they take it even though outdoor transmission has been shown to be highly unlikely.

Some people are definitely enjoying being a self-appointed authority on all things Covid-related.

I have a relative who thought being on furlough was fantastic and was annoyed when she had to go back to work after several months off.

I have a friend who works in admin for a confectionary company and was always going on about how she’s a keyworker because her company produces food.

@BogRollBOGOF

Fortunately it's a declining minority but there are people that lap up gloomy predictions and the prospect of further restrictions. Discussions like The Jeremy Vine Show are never short of people demanding lockdowns.

There is a small cohort of people that like having a small world with firm boundaries. They could have created that for themselves but unfortunately they also have FOMO, and they loved being released from FOMO as everyone had to live within the same little world. They don't like being responsible for themselves, and anyone else not willing to martyr themselves to keep these people safe is SELFISH.
Oh the irony.

Absolutely this. X is SELFISH! Y is SELFISH!! if you want to do Z you are SELFISH and want me TO DIE!!!

@FrasierCraneDay

Yes I agree, and the majority of those enjoying the pandemic are the ones that benefitted from furlough and spent lock down relaxing in the garden while the rest of us worked liked dogs.

Ah, a spot of furlough bashing how predictable. Are you a key worker by any chance?

@LizzieSiddal

They want to speculate on what terrible new variant could be discovered

But they are entirely reasonable to talk about something scary that could well happen.

Could say this about anything though….

@LoveaStatementNap

There are things the pandemic has brought about that I enjoy: people staying away from me and working from home.

That does not mean I want a virus to continue spreading. So YABU.

I'm on these lines. I like the fact that the lock down proved to the dinosaurs running businesses that some areas of companies, like IT, can be done effectively from home for the most part. It's proven them wrong. I don't want to change that just because they want my ass in a seat in some stupid building.

But many jobs can't do that and are still restricted in what they can do and how things are run. Although I think the standards in place in the NHS now help improve hygiene, even had a nurse tell me that, so I'm not against the things they currently have to do, even though it does slow them down a tiny bit.

There is a small cohort of people that like having a small world with firm boundaries. They could have created that for themselves but unfortunately they also have FOMO, and they loved being released from FOMO as everyone had to live within the same little world. They don't like being responsible for themselves, and anyone else not willing to martyr themselves to keep these people safe is SELFISH. Oh the irony.

@BogRollBOGOF Absolutely. They don’t have the spine to say ‘no’ to socialising or admit they feel embarrassed that they don’t want to do things, so they’d rather the option was removed from everyone. And not only do they like having a little world, they can’t understand why anyone wants anything different and feel inadequate because that’s not what they want so - again - they want that choice removed from others, as well as the ability to make our own decisions because they either aren’t capable of it or would rather not have the bother.

They can get on with their little lives if that’s what they want but they can get to fuck if they think that that’s how everyone else has to live too.

Some people might be enjoying the drama but others are experiencing being properly anxious for the first time and it’s been going on fucking ages now so they’ve got used to trying to cling on to measures to minimise their risk factors.

It’s what the government wanted to happen, it’s literally how they got us to comply for so long. So you can’t blame people for getting stuck in the mindset of “aaah we’re all going to die”.

I love staying in and not seeing anyone, so I haven't minded the lockdowns