To think there should be some kind of national reflection on the pandemic?

[23rdmarch2020]

It’s coming up to three years since the first lockdown. In many ways, it feels an absolute age ago. From personal experience, my life completely changed in the space of a week and so many things happened in my life that never would have because of the pandemic (some good, some bad). For some, it has been an absolute tragedy. In the space of a few weeks we went from being in our normal lives to it being a criminal offence to step outside our homes without a valid excuse. Obviously people are keen to move on but AIBU to think there should be more reflection on the pandemic than there has been?

We need to look forward now. Have the inquiries and move on.

Also for those badly affected, some shocking personal impacts whenever this is discussed.

This

I could say a lot more but it would be talen down.

We need to reflect because it is very very likely to happen again in our lifetime. The vast increase in global movement means big changes in how new diseases move around and change. Many people died from covid but it could have been much much worse. If for example it had mutated to have the transmission rates of omicron with the severity of some of the early strains before we got vaccines. If bird flu makes the jump to human to human transmission we could be back in the same position.

I'm vaccine injured. We're the forgotten people. But yes let's bang on about Boris and his 'parties'.

The panic about covid, much of it honest terror initially, led to truly insane and inhumane decisions being made.

My friend's baby was born in the first few weeks. She was sent home immediately but baby basically couldn't feed. They were desperate for help but were banned from going to medical settings and told to keep an eye on how she fitted into her babygrows!

DH's gran was locked into her care home and not allowed to leave even when restrictions on the rest of the country lifted. We were told if we tried to see her to check how she was doing they'd call the police.

Even on a relatively minimal level - I'm about to go on mat leave soon and realised there are places I can go every day that are designed to help new mums. When I look back on the isolation of being home alone with a newborn, I can't believe how different it's going to be.

Conspiracy theorists everywhere these days. Common after events such as this.

I'm definitely NOT a conspiracy theorist but I know some things through seeing it with my own eyes.

You didn't see it made in a lab but that's what you choose to believe.

What? I'm not talking about it being lab created, I'm talking about the EFFECTS it had on my work and family and that I did see. I can have my fucking opinion.

I disagree. Reflection? There already an enquiry set up. We all already know most of what went on, including the bad bits that were poorly managed. So what are you hoping to achieve?

I think as well as the loss of life we mustn’t forget how easily we (as a society) lost our civil liberties or how willing we were to give them up. Snitching on our neighbours for taking two walks a day. Local authorities shutting car parks for outdoor areas and taping off benches. People being fined for taking a walk with coffees. A lake being dyed black to dissuade visitors. That police chief giving a speech about how they may start checking people’s shopping trolley to ensure their shopping was essential.

I say this as someone who obediently followed the rules (although I didn’t reach neighbour snitching levels). With hindsight I find it terrifying.

And not once have I said on here I knew it was lab created so get your facts right. Don't tell me what I believe.

@jays

I'm sorry for your loss. The same thing happened here as well. It happened in my family.

This is my point- what good comes of comparing and sharing it.

I'm not over it and can't be. A lot of children in my dc class and my dc have social communication delays. They were 1 years old when all this started happened. My best friend can't get over it where her mother died of covid but couldn't go to her funeral as flights were suspended. Family friends can't get over it because some have lost their businesses and are rightfully now depressed now how covid was the main factor that contributed to this. My uncle died 2 weeks after having his very first vaccine when it was first rolled out. The pressure, the bullying to get the vaccine. The extortionate prices we had to pay for testing and then to isolate because my dh's family live abroad and those who had to pay thousands to stay in covid hotels. I get anxiety every time a news article pops up mentioning a new disease and reminds me of covid times. Relationships, marriages were tested. Children, women being forced to live with their abusers. A couple of my friends gave birth on their own. People couldn't access health services missing out on early diagnosis or those that had their surgeries cancelled. Wfh with small dc in a tiny flat with no access to outdoor space was very very testing and depressing for me. The loneliness, not having anything to look forward to, no end date and how all of this was managed heavy handed still sends shivers down my spine.

Exactly. I remember the mad threads on here by the Covid police and the shopping washers

Yes it happened. It was when parents started protesting and charities etc got involved, it eventually stopped. A local woman, 26, who had Down's syndrome was left to die, her parents were on our local news telling their story. She competed in gymnastics for the disabled. She led a full life, again she was on her own until death from the moment the ambulance arrived. There were people left with no intervention, despite them being in work etc just based on what their medical notes said re LD's etc. It's scary that they can block our access to our children and allow them to die.

www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/13/new-do-not-resuscitate-orders-imposed-on-covid-19-patients-with-learning-difficulties&ved=2ahUKEwj-rInGuOz9AhUIQ8AKHdQ3As4QFnoECAoQAQ&usg=AOvVaw21bFE8dGkirR2v4XZxpgbs

@derxa I don't want to bang on about the parties. I want Mr Johnson to be treated as someone who caused more suffering than Harold Shipman and face justice.

I have opposed the death penalty all my life, otherwise I would be comfortable with hanging Mr Johnson.

Keir Starmer would have locked us down for longer

The government can't even admit their wrongdoing over the lockdown parties, nevermind the PPE, the missed cobra meetings or the many other failings, so they aren't going to lead us in any meaningful reflection.

I'm not sure general reflection serves a positive purpose either. By all means we should remember those who died or are suffering as a result of COVID and the lockdowns but more importantly we should be considering how rapidly we allowed our civil liberties to be taken from us and how vulnerable we were to a corrupt government, and a police force hungry for power. We should be taking steps to ensure that we learn from and prevent a repeat of those things.

I think an uptick in conspiracy theories is an inevitable response when populations have been subjected to the level of behavioural manipulation and gaslighting that we were. Public trust is eroded. And there ere are always going to be some people who have an awareness that they were on the receiving end of this behaviour and fill in the blanks wrongly, construct alternative and sometimes easier explanations.

@derxa I remember the first time I was in a supermarket and literally my toes were overstepping the 2m line as I was pushing my trolley and some woman came shouting at me for getting too close to her. I have never in my life been in a situation where I couldn't stand up for myself because yes my toes were overhanging so I couldn't say anything back other than nudge a couple of cm's back. The way covid gave some people the right to humiliate, bully and spy on people. As you say some of the threads back then were batshit crazy just like the woman in the supermarket. The food and loo roll hoarding was another thing and brought out the worse in people but who allowed this to happen? Our government, our newspapers who actively encouraged covid Marshalls. It was literally like giving guns to Joe Public to police and enforce people's behaviour. To dictate where you should stand and count heads and make sure their wasn't a 7th head in your garden gathering or whether you have left the house the second time in a day or whether the toy you got for your bored little one from your supermarket trip was "essentials".

Bloody grim

And if you’d have posted about that at the time, all you’d have got in response is ‘you shouldn’t have had your fucking toes over the line then. Do you not understand what 2m means? If you can’t follow the rules you shouldn’t leave your house’.