Am I OTT or do other people just not care?!

[Lou0808]

Tonight on social media, I've seen several posts from "friends" (and by friends I mean Facebook friends, people from school who I've not actually seen or spoken to in a long time) who are having parties with absolutely zero social distancing.

One particular person has posted videos of people in her house, easily 20 people.
All doing karaoke, drinking shots, dancing.

Another post from a separate person is a picture being in a pub hugging three girls captioned "missed my besties"

A work colleague posted a picture of her young niece saying she's staying over at her house, again hugging her.

I don't mean to sound like the "fun" police. I know we've all desperately missed our friends and families, but the situation is never going to improve unless we follow the guidelines.

I have a 4 month old DD and I've love nothing more than for her to have a cuddle with my mum and her other grandparents, but I just wouldn't allow it.

I desperately miss my friends, I'd love to have them over and hug them, but I wouldn't do it.

Am I being over the top? Am I right for feeling pissed off at people just not following the rules?

I just feel like it's going to drag things out even longer if people just do as they please 😔

Oh good, @EnlightenedOwl is here to post the same things you post on every thread about this.

Have you ever considered that at this point it’s your obsession with complaining on MN that’s ruining your life? I don’t know how you find the time.

You’re not being OTT.

The problem is posters saying it’s nothing to do with you. It IS! We will all be affected by the idiotic behaviour of others and frustratingly, those of us following the rules will have to wait even longer before we can hug relatives etc.
It’s selfish and entitled.

..... and just downright ignorant really.

It’s not hard to stay within the rules and SD.

I don't think you are being ott. Lockdown has been hard but there are now plenty of ways to see friends and family without breaking the rules.

The thing that fucks me off is if you are concerned.about the negstive effects if Lockdown then socially distance. Sure go to the pub, have some friends round, but socially distance whilst you do it. Otherwise we will be like Leicester you selfish twats.

No you're not, I'm really upset about it all - it's scenes like this that are going to prevent businesses like mine reopening in a few more weeks' time (at the moment we can reopen with restrictions when schools close). I know I have the full support of my customers with 95% of my students wanting to return over the summer holidays and we have made huge changes to the way we will operate to enable this to happen and at a hefty financial cost, but any significant increase in cases will delay our reopening. Children who were so looking forward to their own recreational hobbies will have the opportunity taken away, all so adults can get pissed in the pub.

Not over the top. Having parties is ridiculous and exactly the kind of that will escalate the spread.

We need children to be back in school and we can’t do that if they close due to lots of discovered cases.

People will do what they want and there's nothing anyone can really do about it so if it was going to annoy me I'd step away from social media and the news.

Everyone is going to be in a different 'camp' about it therefore take different risks.

Stay in and judge all you like but please spend some money as otherwise the economy that provides eg health care for your baby will go busy and we'll all be screwed.

Remember where the money that pays for the NHS comes from.

@Literallynoidea

Stay in and judge all you like but please spend some money as otherwise the economy that provides eg health care for your baby will go busy and we'll all be screwed.

Remember where the money that pays for the NHS comes from.

I personally do that but it’s a tough ask when many are facing redundancies.

It’s a destructive cycle sadly.

@BusterGonad

Whatever you feel about lockdown:

a) how exactly would hospital treatment have been any better had we not had it? You can argue that lockdown was too great a price for business etc to pay, but the price for not locking down would have been a completely overwhelmed hospital system, not one that continued with all treatments!

b) Lockdown has happened now, whether you thought it was a good idea or not. Surely if you’re interested in addressing all the areas of life that suffered as a result of it, the very worst thing people can do is behave in ways that risk jeopardising the re-opening and getting back to normal! That’s not just selfish, it’s stupid, very stupid! Look at many US states where it seems many people did take the attitude of the OP’s “friends”, where even the Trump loving Republican Governors have rowed back on re-opening being desperate not to.

Cases are low in the hospital I work at yet cases are rising in the community, my hospital is not empty. It’s actually on the alert system classed as Red which means we are pretty bloody busy, not just covid around....

When cases rise it takes a good couple of weeks to see the impact on hospital so after some of the antics of people last night let’s just see in 2/3 weeks eh?

Places absolutely have to reopen the economy has to restart. However throughout this I’ve learned some people are dickheads. They can’t be careful and have fun, they have to bend and shake any rule to their own end.

Make your own rules for your own family. Covid while lying low hasn’t gone away and will be back throughout the year. We have to live with it. Do your own thing and make judgements on who/what is safe and best for your loved ones.

OTT

I think you’re being Ott too, frankly the people you mention are adults and they can assess their own risk factors, as can anyone vulnerable who knows them. It is not your place to judge and be pissed off at others.

I think that the government have left things far too open to interpretation along with displaying their own ‘fuck the rules’ attitudes and doing whatever they please. It doesn’t feel like things will end well.

Personally, I think there’s a big difference between making small judgements based on risk, such as letting grandparents cuddle their grandkids, having an extra friend round, letting children play together, deciding whether or not to wear a mask at the supermarket. Then there’s just plain stupidity - hugging a ton of people, getting drunk and having a party etc. The latter will be our downfall.

The whole point of social distancing is that it isn’t about the individual, it’s a collective responsibility to protect wider society and as with the NHS, the healthy have a responsibility to protect the sick and vulnerable. Unless you’re a wealthy Tory tosser, then it’s all about me me me and I’m alright jack.

Unfortunately, there will always be people who dont obey rules or guidelines in every walk of life. I am thinking extremes here, maybe murder,rape, to speeding. There will always be people who dont think the "rules" aply to them, or they just dont think. Last week when an "air bridge" was being disgussed with Portugal, someone there had a party with 100 people and 69 went down with the virus. We are being told to "stay alert". Unfortunately, you cant "see" the virus. If it was a cloud of toxic dust, or smoke you would know to avoid it. Anyeone on here who knows someone (young no underlying health issues) seriously ill with the virus, someone young (30) forced to shield since March, very depressed, and angry at people breaking rules. it puts a different spec on things.

the healthy have a responsibility to protect the sick and vulnerable

Sure, but unless they lack capacity then the sick and vulnerable can also protect themselves, they can socially distance, stay home, wear ppe etc so they can negate any risk to themselves.

As long as those not socially distancing are under 65 with no underlying health conditions then the risk to them is beyond miniscule, and if they socially disctance from anyone sick or vulnerable and those who are sick and vulnerable take personal responsibility and socially distance etc, then the risk to society is seriously tiny

We had friends over last night. We didn't hug. All of us had Covid in March. We consider it a low risk. Get off peoples cases. There are multiple reasons why people may or may not behave in certain ways.

It’s not that people don’t care, I just don’t think many understand. This thing will bounce back again and again until there’s a vaccine. It’s easy to be lulled into a false sense of security.

@ChristmasCarcass

I think it depends on the individual risk - the people you are describing all sound pretty young, under 40 if not younger. So if they do catch covid, assuming no other health issues, it’s unlikely they will suffer any serious harm. So they may think the benefit to their mental health is worth the risk.

If they were 70, or had a kidney transplant, or any other issue, I imagine their risk assessment would be quite different.

I have been socialising with individual people from work - we spend 8 hrs sitting next to each other every day, so I can’t see there is any more risk in sitting outside in the park with them. I wouldn’t go to the pub or anywhere I was unable to social distance from strangers, and I wouldn’t hang out with anyone who was shielding. I’ve started seeing DM - she lives alone, so we are in her bubble now. Haven’t seen PIL yet, and they are pretty risk averse so they want to stay away even once restrictions are lifted.

They may not, but the people they spread it to could!!

we'd been lied to about the purpose and length of lockdown .
Yep, just like we were lied to about Armageddon caused by the Millennium Bug, people using mobile phones, weapons of mass destruction: the government and media lie and stir up fear ALL THE TIME. If the government want the public to take them seriously, they'd better stop crying wolf. And Dominic Cummings should have sacked.

I do wonder though why the pubs (proven shining examples of public health and civility) were allowed to open, and not places like swimming pools.

As others have said, lockdown is killing people, and will probably have a much greater legacy than the virus; the government will hide this in their usual tissue of lies.

@Kintsugi16

You’re not being OTT.

The problem is posters saying it’s nothing to do with you. It IS! We will all be affected by the idiotic behaviour of others and frustratingly, those of us following the rules will have to wait even longer before we can hug relatives etc.
It’s selfish and entitled.

This is exactly how I feel about it!!!

@secretllama

Maybe people have realised that at the start we'd been lied to about the purpose and length of lockdown . We were told it was to flatten the curve, ensure the nhs wont be overwhelmed. Now it seems like (in Scotland anyway) that the aim is elimination. We're getting around 5 to 10 cases a day.

Also as we're seeing lockdown being reinstated in Germany, Spain, Leicester etc people will start to think what is the point. You personally can follow all the rules to a tee and the virus still spreads in your community. I've never seen the end goal of lockdown, as long as you have a few cases in the community it will spread again when its lifted so what is the actual point.

People cant and wont live this weird limbo life away from their friends and family indefinitely and its only natural that as weeks go on, more and more people will "give in". I cant blame them. I'm going to my mums today, my sister and niece will be there and I won't be social distancing inside.

People don't want to hear this as they are indoctrinated with virus fear

@wanderings

we'd been lied to about the purpose and length of lockdown . Yep, just like we were lied to about Armageddon caused by the Millennium Bug, people using mobile phones, weapons of mass destruction: the government and media lie and stir up fear ALL THE TIME. If the government want the public to take them seriously, they'd better stop crying wolf. And Dominic Cummings should have sacked.

I do wonder though why the pubs (proven shining examples of public health and civility) were allowed to open, and not places like swimming pools.

As others have said, lockdown is killing people, and will probably have a much greater legacy than the virus; the government will hide this in their usual tissue of lies.

Absolutely true

@Literallynoidea

Stay in and judge all you like but please spend some money as otherwise the economy that provides eg health care for your baby will go busy and we'll all be screwed.

Remember where the money that pays for the NHS comes from.

I'm not staying in and "judging".

I'm following the guidelines.

I just think we've all had to make sacrifices for the last 4 months, and it all feels for nothing if people are now living as if things are back to "normal", when we all know it's not!!