To think many fell for the Captain Tom scam

[Binjob118]

I never understood all the fuss about Captain Tom. A rich old man walked around his garden and was lauded as a hero. Family then go on freebie holiday to Barbados whilst rest of us were locked down for Christmas. Then it turns out he was part of family scam to pay the family from book proceeds. No wonder so many people in this country are targeted by scammers, we are a gullible lot.

@etopp rant all you like, I didn't blindly follow anything. You don't know me from Adam. I was recounting my personal experiences of the Covid lockdowns and you've just jumped in there insinuating that I'm thick as pigshit, when in reality you have no clue.

I made the best choices I could, based on knowledge I had at the time and so did most people I know. We got by, loosely followed the rules at the time, used common sense and muddled through.

But there is definitely a trend in wider social media for people to go "oh no, I never believed it anyway, it was all a scam, the giver were just trying to control us etc etc" yet these were THE SAME PEOPLE spouting off on Facebook telling everyone to stay the fuck home - I see it on my local town Fb pages all the time!

That's what I mean about people rewriting history, but by all means carry on with your veiled insults as to my intelligence!

the government were just trying to control us etc etc"

he was asked to do this so they could market it!!

Asked by whom? Who are 'they?' What would the motivation of 'them' be? He seemed like he had his own brain to me and I don't see any reason to believe he didn't come up with the idea himself, but being wealthy etc the family did good PR for it maybe.

Fuck me.

Never forget, really. (However much you wish you could.)

I said something similar at the time and was told off for being unpatriotic! 😬I respect that he was an ex-soldier but had a weird feeling about him. He didn't come across as genuine and it felt as though he was fishing for fame/status/praise.

Fair enough. I don't have Facebook or any other social media, so have no idea what revisionist idiots say on it. I do know from my own friends, though, that there is a lot of revisionism going on and people who were all in favour of masks etc are now saying "well I always said it was a waste of time". No you fucking well didn't!

I suppose that, like you @CandyLeBonBon, I made the best decisions I could make based on what we knew - which was that we were being fed a load of bollocks, and the Conservative party's main aim was to try to ensure that the NHS didn't completely collapse on their watch, because that would been a bit of a bad look. It was all about politics, and nothing about what was right for the public.

@CandyLeBonBon People shouldn't say they were skeptical at the time if they weren't. But I think a fair few people have changed their mind. They should be honest about that, though.

Remember, people of the thread.

Many many people died of Covid.
We are the ones who didn't die.
We are the ones who are still living.
It's a bit like history being written by the victors, except here history is being remembered by the survivors.

I really hope if there's another opportunity for ridiculous rules and control like we had, people see right thorough it and refuse to follow en masse.

Survivors bias innit?

Massive cringe. Can't believe so many gullible people were roped in

people who were all in favour of masks etc are now saying "well I always said it was a waste of time". No you fucking well didn't!

Not sure why saying it’s a waste of time is something they’d want to boast about, given that’s demonstrably wrong.

https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/upgrading-ppe-for-staff-working-on-covid-19-wards-cut-hospital-acquired-infections-dramatically

@SequentialAnalyst The next year there were less deaths than average, because people who would've died that year had died a few months earlier than they otherwise would've gone. These were most of the victims of Covid.

Thank fuck I missed that one. Cringe with a fucking flake on top 🤢

Just a few little things initially. He didn't actually mention the NHS much and, I know this sounds petty but in the first interview I watched, he was asked which was the best decade, in his opinion. Without missing a beat, he said 'this one', and the interviewer asked him what his reasons were.

I naively thought he might talk about technology, or people pulling together In a crisis or some such shit. But no, it was the best decade for him because he had become famous, and was meeting VIPs, and was on the telly. Didn't even occur to him to lie.

@porridgeisbae do you have a reference for that? A link to some figures provided by a reputable source?

As to survivors bias, there is no avoiding that! But we do have the memories of those whose loved ones died, I suppose. And their memories of what those loved ones did and said in the year(s) prior to their death but after Covid began.

Even scammers can serve some purpose, and certainly I think the whole episode had its positive side. Perhaps we can guard against similar scams in future? Not sure how, though...

I don’t think anyone fell for anything as the man himself was more than likely genuine and honourable.

@SequentialAnalyst This is the average age of those who died from Covid, according to the Office for National Statistics themselves https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/averageageofthosewhohaddiedwithcovid19 It's around the age people usually pass away.

Thanks. I don't think average age alone can tell you much? But it's late, my brain doesn't want to think about mortality statistics. (Sorry, I know I did ask)

The WHO are proposing to have total control and power over all their member countries by April next year for as long as they deem fit. Meaning they could dictate what people must and must not do for health reasons. Everyone should be voicing their objections to this.

The whole time with people doing this and being obsessed with things/ people because they couldn't go out- that kids fitness bloke who became a massive craze also springs to mind. And fecking banana bread. It seems people were desperate to jump on any pit banging, old man walking in his massive garden band wagon they could!!!

I'd much rather know about the 38 million in dodgy PPE contracts, where's that?

Much more than the £38 million in dodgy PPE contracts

“The government spent a total of £7.9 billion on 37.9 billion items of PPE since the start of the pandemic. Around £3.8 billion was spent on contract VIP Lane suppliers – firms that were unlawfully fast tracked after being suggested by government officials, ministers’ offices, MPs and health staff, many of which had links to the Tory party.”

This

It was the proceeds from the books not the donations he generated for the NHS. His daughter trousered a significant slug of cash from these publications and claimed it was her fathers intention but of course he’s not around to confirm that. She also carved herself a nice earner from being a director of the charity but then that is common practice.

The guy himself was 100 years old. He wasn’t gonna be around long to benefit from any of it.

Didn't they build a spa?

Delusions of grandeur.

Wonder where the water is coming from at a time of climate change.

If I'm alive by then, I would love a walk out for the fresh air.

Everyone took advantage of him for their own ends, media etc. Sickening.
Poor guy, probably doting.