I'm so angry...

[MaryShelley1818]

We are in an area with local restrictions so high transmission rates in the North East of England.

Someone I know had her 40th at the weekend and photos on FB of her having a party in a pub, cake presents, her and kids, her parents, her sister who works at a local University in a very high position, and about 4-5 friends. No Social Distancing, drinking, cuddling, shots, photos.
How are people just carrying on as normal??!! How can you be so bloody thick as to post all the photos on FB. Am I missing something?? I'm furious.

We've followed every single rule but seems I'm in the minority and the longer people just do whatever they want for, the longer I'll have to go without seeing my friends and family.

@Dairyfine

These are not my words, I just read them the other day, but they seem quite pertinent - " You are being conditioned to view you freedom as selfish ".

It’s the absolute disgust and abuse that people dish out too. See the poster Cruachan, basically calling me a Granny killer because I won’t judge. The irony is, if anyone is going to kill anyone. It will be the government telling me my workplace is safe, it’s not.

I’ve not broken any rules. The two suicidal breakdowns I’ve seen, the two cases of terminal cancer I’ve seen. All the time people are able to sit in their dystopian towers, screaming law, selfish, killer. It makes me sick.

You might not like it but friends and extended family are going to be more of a virtual part of life now.
Life has changed for good -what you consider normal human things are no longer normal human things. It sucks but you will get used to it.

Fuck that for a bag of soldiers. I won’t accept that and neither will billions of people around the world. Normal human things do not change overnight. They are normal human things because they’re part of our nature. That can’t be erased, and shouldn’t. The idea that we write off the things that make life worth living for most, for a virus with a fatality rate as low as this one is a nonsense. People will bear it for a period of time if they can see hope at the end, but they won’t bear it forever and nor should they.

@vanillandhoney

Schools, most jobs and social lives are normal though. Isn't that more important than travelling?

Depends if you have family overseas that you can't see for the foreseeable future, I guess.

Not all foreign travel is for people to go and lie on a beach and get drunk.

Or if you're one of the millions of people whose income depends on travel and tourism.

@TheDailyCarbuncle

People have been handed the responsibility of protecting people from a virus that they may or may not have. They have been told that if they, without any malice or intention, infect another person while going about their everyday life they are personally responsible for that. And in order to prevent it from happening, they have to deny themselves a job, a social life, the potential to travel and meet new people.

Where does that responsibility end? When does it end? When does my being a human, one that can get sick and can pass on illness, stop being a problem? Perhaps everyone should isolate indefinitely to prevent the many millions of other deaths from infection that happen every year? Why don't we care about those deaths? Why don't they count? Why was it ok for me to pass on flu last year and potentially kill someone, but not ok for me to pass on covid this year?

Beyond actual actions I take to hurt you, I am not responsible for your health and you are not responsible for mine. Living means risk, and some of that risk is getting ill. I will not stop living my life to prevent a risk that I can't help posing as human being. I will NOT.

I've not posted on any Corona threads because I haven't been able to articulate what I want to say - but this says it perfectly for me.

Brilliant post, TheDailyCarbuncle

@everythingisginandroses

Indefinitely? It's been 6 months.

Plus another 6 coming. And then what?

I don't have a crystal ball but it's clear the government's control over the virus and the population is breaking down. Increasing numbers of people no longer give two sh**s, having carried out their own risk assessment and concluded, rightly, that life without seeing family and friends isn't worth having long-term.

@TheDailyCarbuncle

I find the idea that if everyone followed the rules everything could go back to normal utterly incomprehensible. Is it the case that people really believe that we can follow rules for a while (how long?) and covid will just disappear or something?

The idea is there is a big possibility a vaccine or therapeutics may be developed by late spring. For this reason it is worth trying to keep community transmission levels down until then as as well as the small risk of dying there are still a lot of unknowns on the long term health complications for others and how many that will be.

My view is if by late spring it seems they are no nearer in developing a vaccine or therapeutics then it is perhaps time to consider that we will have to live with the virus and it’s bad consequences for some. However, as we are at a stage where they will know in 6 months or so whether a vaccine could be possible it’s worth waiting until that time.

It’s a lot easier to sit back and follow the “law” if you’re in a happy relationship, in a comfortable home, etc.
My mother is terminally ill, my ex continues to be abusive every chance he gets and my partner lives just 4 miles away but in a different country with different rules so we can no longer see each other.
Lockdown sucks and I’m drifting deeper and deeper into depression. The whole thing is really hard for a lot of people. I couldn’t get angry about someone celebrating their birthday with their nearest and dearest.

Of course we’ll get back to normal at some point. There will be an effective vaccine and/or the virus will mutate and weaken or herd immunity will limit outbreaks just like measles, flu and all the other diseases that are always around. People will then quickly forget how things have been during the pandemic and go back to normal apart from those who have been so traumatised by fear that they will find normality hard to embrace. Honestly, I think some people are just revelling in predicting never ending doom. Why?

Completely see why it's frustrating. I have followed every stupid rule, I think they're all bollocks, but a) I follow the law, and b) I don't want my kids to learn that adults can just do as they please.

@angstridden2 totally agree

I hate this way of living, but find some of the comments on here exasperating. I wonder how all of you who are not following the rules would feel if someone died because of you. If it were possible for you to see the suffering. My MIL died because one of her carers bought the virus into her. It was terrible, not only for her, but for the family who could only see her via video link. It’s nothing to do with “ fuck Boris “, it’s about protecting each other .

I agree that the woman mentioned in the OP is selfish because having a party is unnecessary at a time like this. If the position is local lockdowns will be lifted only when infection levels reduce, then people who break rules and keep them high prevent these local measures being removed.

That said, although following the rules myself, I can’t judge those who say they will see their families. That is totally different to having a party and I can sympathise with why people say it is a step too far.

I also can’t stand the sanctimony from some people on this thread, many of whom probably have a carbon footprint the size of a planet and a wardrobe full of clothes made in a sweat shop, and totally fail to appreciate that the possibility of making sacrifices for the benefit of others does not start and end with covid.

I wonder how all of you who are not following the rules would feel if someone died because of you.

Do you drive? Air pollution caused over 60,000 deaths per year in the uk in the mid 2010s. Nice blaming of your MIL’s carer there, btw.

@Runmybathforme

I hate this way of living, but find some of the comments on here exasperating. I wonder how all of you who are not following the rules would feel if someone died because of you. If it were possible for you to see the suffering. My MIL died because one of her carers bought the virus into her. It was terrible, not only for her, but for the family who could only see her via video link. It’s nothing to do with “ fuck Boris “, it’s about protecting each other .

I'm sure the carer didn't intend to bring the virus to your MIL - she was doing a vital job and she happened to be carrying a virus without knowing, like the billions of other people throughout history who have unknowingly passed on an infection that killed a person. How are we supposed to protect each other indefinitely from a feature of being human? The carer wasn't out to hurt your MIL, she was there to help her, it wasn't her fault that she was carrying a virus. Equally, any of the 11 million people who die every year due to infection don't die 'because of' whoever passed that infection on, they die because humans are susceptible to infections, it's just a sad fact about who we are as beings. Making people responsible for it, implying that they are reckless or dangerous because of it, raises the question of where that responsibility ends. Should we all keep away from each other forever, for fear of passing something on?

Even Boris' father doesn't follow all the rules. He must know something.

I saw my grandparents, parents and sister plus kids yesterday for my grandads birthday. In NE too. My parents do childcare for my sister so already essentially share risk there. My mum takes my grandparents shopping and to appointments, plus does stuff for them at home. So essentially the only add relationship is me.

Were all only seeing each other. Working from home. Not going to pubs. Not using public transport and generally minimising outside contact. I have some mental health issues. My sister has had pnd with older child and had a 11 month old so is really on the edge of maintaining good mental health.

My grandad was 86 yesterday I'm really aware he may not get another birthday. I'm not going to not see him.

@Runmybathforme

I hate this way of living, but find some of the comments on here exasperating. I wonder how all of you who are not following the rules would feel if someone died because of you. If it were possible for you to see the suffering. My MIL died because one of her carers bought the virus into her. It was terrible, not only for her, but for the family who could only see her via video link. It’s nothing to do with “ fuck Boris “, it’s about protecting each other .

What did you do to protect the vulnerable before COVID?

I wouldn't be angry in the least to be honest. We need to live..not cower in fear which so many people seem to be happy to do. I hope she had a great night!

There will be an effective vaccine and/or the virus will mutate and weaken or herd immunity will limit outbreaks just like measles, flu and all the other diseases that are always around

I hear you but I hope it will not be the herd immunity outcome as the best guess by experts is that at least 60% of the population need to be affected to achieve that and considering they believe only around 7-9% of the population have had CV so far (and it is still not known whether immunity will last and the virus mutates to a no less virulent form) it will mean a fair few more deaths and possibly chronic health complications in others.

My family are all meeting up at the weekend on what would have been my parents 60th wedding anniversary. Given that Mum died of covid in march and Dad has terminal cancer and may just be here for Christmas, this will probably be the last time we are all together before Dad goes. If that makes us selfish so be it.

“I wonder how all of you who are not following the rules would feel if someone died because of you.“

Honestly it would be as much their responsibility as it is mine. I don’t force my parents to come round, they do so because they have also weighed up the risks and have decided that it’s one they’ll chance.

People have been reporting covid19 symptoms since at least last November. I doubt only 7-9% of the population have been affected.

OP as much as I get the annoyance that people aren't following the rules in place but it's not going to help anyway imo.
Not when the likes of some retail businesses (not food related) are allowed to have 20 or more people in at one time. So 20 different households plus the staff that work in them.
It's crazy but allowed so long as they are covid compliant!
Rightly or wrongly it's still happening - I work in one of them and I'm NE England too.