Is no one even a little concerned about the intrusion and removal of freedoms?

[DoubleAction]

I know needs must and we're in a real crisis situation but it does make me a little uneasy to see how easy it has been to remove all freedoms.

The real shocker for me today was the text messages. I've spent the last year or so working on GDPR stuff and all the "threats" associated with that. Who gave the government all our numbers?!

I know it's insignificant in the scheme of things now but is it right that it's so easy?

I am very very worried about this. There is so much control over us now and I can't imagine us ever having our previous lives back.

Once you've been locked away for a while nothing outside of your bubble feels real. They could tell us anything. How are we to know whether it's true or not?

Who trusts the government?

I would advise people look at the thread from the nurse about ICU beds , and the expectation of using them because people flouted the guidelines on mothers day.

That's why we have these restrictions and they are needed.

@angell84

No virus? Blindly believing government?

Guess this post wasn't you then

I find it concerning in the sense that it’s alarming just how eager sone people are for really draconian measures but equally there really isn’t much else to do in this situation, it’s what happens when you have a crappy healthcare system and a population that refuses to act accordingly, even in countries with good healthcare social distancing is being pushed, here a lockdown was fairly inevitable without public cooperation.

but what concerns me more is what this has revealed about the lack of social cohesion and so many people's unwillingness to change their habits for the sake of a common good

Some pages back @FromIbizaToTheNorfolkMaud said the above
And she was so right. This country has spent the last 75 years harping on about the Blitz spirit, yet when this national (international) emergency comes along, suddenly there’s a whole load of ‘special’ people who don’t want to take part in an effort to minimise it.

No I'm not, and if you knew Boris' politics, you would know that he probably really didn't want to do this, but twats left him with no choice.

I predict that the measures we have in place now will never be rolled back completely.

However, there is no option right now. The virus is real however it got here and the vulnerable deserve our protection.

No. It's people like you who frustrate the crap out of me. Get over yourself and your precious 'freedom'. Think of those in the NHS fighting this - I don't care about your 'freedom' right now. Incredibly self centred view.

This country has spent the last 75 years harping on about the Blitz spirit, yet when this national (international) emergency comes along, suddenly there’s a whole load of ‘special’ people who don’t want to take part in an effort to minimise it.

Well, maybe that's because we've had a government in power for the last 10 years who thinks disabled people are fair game to be called benefit scroungers.

This is a human rights question.

Every citizen has a right to quiet enjoyment of their life. No one else has a right to deny them of that - hence such strong penalties for murder and manslaughter.

The right of the majority not to have the stupid, entitled or bewildered endanger or end their lives trumps the freedoms of the aforesaid to act recklessly and selfishly where the common good is concerned.

That’s where your focus should be right now.

Yes

@KimchiLaLa don’t you find it concerning that pressure from random people on the internet could force someone like Boris to do this?

TiredofWinter You obviously value life over freedom, but some people value freedom over life at all costs. This shouldn't come as a shock, surely you're aware that some people would rather be dead than live as a slave? Valuing freedom over life is also the basis of the pro choice argument which is hardly fringe. If you don't care about someone's freedom, why would you expect them care about your life?

For decades 'individualism' and 'free markets' have been the political mantra. If you fall by the wayside (because prevailing political theory believes there's no such a thing as a 'common good'), it's just hard luck. We rolled back 'society' and shed the idea that some common needs are too vital to be subject to free markets. We privatised public utilities (which were previously 'owned' by the public) and sold them off to companies who largely have no investment in keeping these utilities running in the UK when things go wrong.

It astonishes me how quickly 'individualism', with the freedom it entails, and relying on free markets to carry the economy through (with the freedom that entails), has been wiped out overnight. Much as I disagree with the government(s) we've had over the last 10 years, I would far rather have that than the government being able to upend everything at the stroke of a pen.

I'm very glad there are 6-month clauses so these powers can be reduced or rolled back when possible. I'm also very concerned about changes to the sectioning procedure and I hope these will never be used and will be changed back as soon as possible.

When this government was voted back in - people were worried. With Dominic Cummings in control - prorogation/changes to law courts etc there was a strong feeling that they were after autocracy.

There is a (seemingly) real reason for this emergency act and the sudden control they have over us now. But if you fit it together with the concerns that were ongoing before - it's no surprise that people are worried that our freedom will never be the same again.

• @KimchiLaLa don’t you find it concerning that pressure from random people on the internet could force someone like Boris to do this*

No, because it wasn't just random people on the internet - it was renowned scientists the world over, the WHO, and yes, many voters

I'm more worried he has someone like Dominic Cummings in his close circle, who championed "herd immunity", ie what led to this coming so late.

@angel84 There is a virus. I had a family member die from it this evening. Don't be a fool.

@HandBellender It's not mild. A member of my family died from it this evening. Reach what the doctors and nurses are saying. It's not a fucking cold.

No. Read the post - This is our reality. And then think about if freedom is worth the risk to someone else's life.

I fully agree OP. We'd save hundreds of thousands of lives if we permanently closed all pubs, but that would not be appropriate in a free society.

I agree with the closure of shops and bars etc, but I think restricting when people can leave their own homes is totally inappropriate on the part of any government.

I think the whole reaction is overblown when the vast majority of people who will be saved would have died of other conditions soon after.

No

@Moomin8 I don’t get your logic there, but that attitude towards the disabled started with Thatcherism and its need to reduce everyone to a productive economic unit.

think the whole reaction is overblown when the vast majority of people who will be saved would have died of other conditions soon after

I’m finding it hard to believe I’m reading this...

I am concerned.
But this is all part of the global script and we have been warned about this for a long time but not many are listening.