To think that the years of I'm alright jack are now coming home to roost

[eachtotheirownnow]

The tories have eroded public services and promoted self reliance heavily and this has made society into one where people look after themselves and it's every person out for themselves.

We are seeing the impact of this first hand more now as we all think more about me first and sod the rest

Seriously! You're still bitching about history?

Don't be part of the problem. Being bitter about what has gone before doesn't help anyone, and it wasn't the tories, it was the way the whole world has been heading.

Social isolation. Head down, eyes on your phone. Don't talk to your neighbours. Don't talk to someone, text them. Work harder, longer, better, smarter. Childcare, not child rearing.

I have 3 whatsapp groups that have sprung up amongst neighbours, friends and family. All helping each other, quipping and bantering, keeping in contact.
We had the hilarity of teaching my 86 year old mother in law about facetime last night and the top of her head was absolutely delighted to see all her children at once.

Accept that this is the new normal and make the best of it, and stop bitching about what has gone before.

God this is getting boring, I know I should just scroll past and normally I try to only post positive stuff, but the bleating is doing my head in.

I think there is a great sense of pulling together and helping others. If you haven't seen it in your community, then maybe be the first to get something started rather than complaining about others.

Yes, we have some empty shelves but 'the Brits' aren't unique in this - plenty of news footage from other countries with people fighting over loo roll and empty shelves. All the Brit bashing doesn't help - we absolutely aren't any worse than others and it just serves to make us feel shit about ourselves.

I am seeing plenty of positivity and selflessness - it's there if you actually want to see it. But I sense it doesn't suit the narrative of many on here who just want to go on and on about how awful we all are.

Well said @Stifledlife

I sometimes struggle to hear walking next to someone. 2 metres apart no chance.
Walk along with them chatting on the phone? Not ideal but a bit more like human contact...

Oh please, this didn't just begin with the Tories (although they have made it even worse). This started in 1997 by the lovely Tony Blair who ushered in an evil and selfish neoliberalism which made himself and the 1% hugely rich, whilst at the same time destabilising centuries old social structures, communities, the economy and causing untold damage to future generations.

Selfishness isn't affiliated with a specific political party. I have lived in Australia, NZ (as well as the UK) and have friends from various countries around the world and this greed and selfishness is currently rearing its head everywhere, regardless of what political party is leading the country.

I also currently live in Ireland where the tories don't even exist and it's the same story here, I'm alright jack, strip the shelves bare. Also Scotland where I am originally from and where all my relatives are is staunchly anti Tory - same selfishness going on there at present.

So no, I don't think your theory holds up.

Stop trying to use a worldwide crisis to push your political agenda.

Totally agree OP

geekone individualism and individuality aren't the same thing.

So many people with no sick pay, zero hours contracts totally shitting themselves right now. And universal credit will be overwhelmed and food banks won’t have the food to donate if we are all in lockdown. I can see riots in the future if our utterly inept PM doesn’t improve things very quickly.

Also Scotland where I am originally from and where all my relatives are is staunchly anti Tory - same selfishness going on there at present.

I'm in Scotland and don't think this is true. Saw images of stockpiling on the TV but shops in both my little town and closer to the city when I've had to go to them have plenty.

Agreed

I don't think people who are panic buying are doing with with a smile on their face and a "fuck you" to everyone else. They are doing it because they are scared.

Panic buying and hoarding is less about selfishness and more about a lack of trust in the system to be able to provide what you need.

People don't trust that the shops will be re-stocked tomorrow. They don't trust that they will be able to get access to the resources they need and that is the problem.

If there is a failing of the UK government in this situation for me, it is more that they didn't take control of this situation. Leaving it to individual private businesses to introduce rationing for essential goods - baby formula in particular is really disappointing. The WHO has warned for years of a flu pandemic and we had dry runs with swine flu and bird flu but still they seemed woefully unprepared when it came to the societal issues which go hand in hand with this sort of event.

I like to think that I am a community minded person but if I had a baby fed exclusively on formula I would find it very hard not to hoard it if I wasn't confident that there would be more available when I needed it.

And universal credit will be overwhelmed and food banks won’t have the food to donate if we are all in lockdown
Our company is trying to do online supermarket orders to foodbanks

I think there is a great sense of pulling together and helping others. If you haven't seen it in your community, then maybe be the first to get something started rather than complaining about others.

Yes, we have some empty shelves but 'the Brits' aren't unique in this

The 2nd belies the first. And bully for you. But I have no narrative: The truth is that the most able (and most likely not to suffer badly from the illness) and mobile are buying up resources to the detriment of those who struggle to get out. That is bloody selfish.

A few pockets of people doing the decent thing after they've stockpiled for themselves already does nothing for people like myself, for whom getting milk for a cup of tea is impossible because someone earlier brought 6 for their perfectly well selves.

And yes I agree selfishness is not the preserve of one party but if you actively ride on that inherent selfishness and pander to it in order to exact the policies you want then don't be surprised when people carry on in that vein.

The irony of Boris trying to appeal to people to listen to health experts over sensationalist headlines and not panic, keep schools open and keep the country going after he stood next to a red bus promising lies is poetic justice.

@Insideimsprinting I agree with you. Many people have got used to the good life and can't cope when it disappears in front of their eyes. Those who either never had it, or didn't take it for granted, will fare better.

You couldn't be more right. In every aspect of society at the moment.
I've seen it both in person, and online over the past couple of days. It's horrendous and has filtered a fresh load of selfish, inconsiderate, self important and entitled arseholes to the surface.

Oh, I'm not blaming the Tories though. The selfish cretins have appeared from every walk of life.

Some people are panic buying - but the problem is also caused by people who are simply buying a little more than usual, to have more supplies if they need to self-isolate. If people even just buy two weeks' worth of food instead of one, that already doubles the amount of stocks going off the shelves.

I haven't bought any more food than usual - I normally go once a week, and would have something to eat for at least another week after that (no idea how long). I don't have a car to transport huge amounts. I don't want to take other people's online shopping slots when I can get stuff myself. But am I doing the right thing? It means that I am still going shopping once a week - so I am going out more than people who have stocked up. And it means that if the shelves are empty for whatever reason, I don't have much to fall back on.

Looking after yourself also means that other people don't have to look after you. We do still need to look after ourselves.

I live in a village and we have a facebook page which has been full of offers of help for anyone who is self isolating, can't get certain food items etc.

It is noticeable though that just about all the offers of help and even the "likes" they get are from older residents. There are quite a few young families/couples who are fit and able and have cars etc and, so far, not one offer of help from any of them.

Me and DH are in our 60's and have offered help. We spoke to neighbours who live about 10 houses down from us who are in their late 70's. They were so grateful. The neighbours each side of them are in their 30's but neither had asked if they needed anything.

The shops in my local town are apparently seeing fights between customers and abuse to staff. The police have been called a number of times.

I am not really surprised by some people's attitude. I think the majority of people are totally selfish. Apparently people have been taking items out of other customers' trolleys and out of the items collected for the food bank

@CatherineOfAragonsPomegranate On the other hand, my sister is also a nurse and says the hospitals are mostly coping fine. Hygiene practices are all being taken very seriously, wards are being reshuffled to free up quarantine areas and nurses.

She said, even though she is working at a hospital with 5 confirmed cases, she is very unlikely to get it as as a nurse they are automatically very strict on hygiene procedures.

you can’t blame the policy for creating this attitude. If the rich had been raped to fund the poor for all these years instead then it would be worse. What you see is an erosion of social capital. After the Second World War the country had a huge social asset in the form of the patriotism and good will that was born of overcoming the war. This is what allowed Britain to tax the wealthy heavily and put that money into services and benefits for the poor. As people who remembered died and the younger generation wasn’t able to remember this social asset eroded. That’s what caused the problem, what you describe is just a reflection on that. There’s a really interesting book out called ‘The future of Capitalism’. You should read it while we’re on lockdown (don’t worry, it’s written by a socialist so you’ll like it).

The 2nd belies the first. And bully for you. But I have no narrative: The truth is that the most able (and most likely not to suffer badly from the illness) and mobile are buying up resources to the detriment of those who struggle to get out. That is bloody selfish.

Why 'bully for me'? Because I see others trying to help and don't believe that everyone is a horrible selfish person? Maybe some are being really selfish with their shopping by buying up loads of essential items (which I agree is shockingly selfish and it is unlikely they will change), but I think most aren't. Most are buying a bit extra - not to deprive others but because they are worried about this unprecedented situation. This is not a uniquely British trait. If those people then turn to helping others then great.

I wish we weren't in this situation but we are. I am seeing that if someone is struggling and needs help, there are many people (not just a few pockets) who actively want to help and are volunteering. I don't believe that is just my community - from other posters I can see it is not.

If you are genuinely struggling to get some milk, ask for help. If you have ideas of how the more disadvantaged amongst us can be helped, then offer those ideas. I'm sure they will be welcome as I think most people will want to help but maybe don't know how.

It is noticeable though that just about all the offers of help and even the "likes" they get are from older residents. There are quite a few young families/couples who are fit and able and have cars etc and, so far, not one offer of help from any of them.
I get the impression that older people are somewhat more lax about the idea of social distancing (might just be where I live though), and that young people are afraid of passing on the invisible virus to people older and weaker than them.

@Crackerofdoom

Very well said.

Why do some MNers always think Brits are worse than everybody else?

IMO. they are either very naive or haven’t knocked around the world very much at all.
Bashing one’s own country often seems to me to be a more popular exercise among Brits (or at least among the English) than in most other nationalities.