Were they trying to scare us into complying

[Butterflyfluff]

I think it’s fair to say throughout this pandemic there has been a lot of instances where we’ve been told something in order to produce a predefined reaction

I’m thinking specifically about the mysteriously released details of further restrictions - these always seemed to me to just be to ‘soften us up’ as, when they were officially announced, we’d all got our heads round them even if we didn’t like them

I wonder now if all this talk of schools not going back until after Easter and hospitality not opening until after that is more of the same

Is it over exaggeration to get us to do all we can to slow the spread as most of us don’t want restrictions to last that long?

The numbers seem to be dropping off pretty quickly now so restrictions still being in place more than 2 months down the line seems extreme

@PregnantGotCovid

I find the most terrifying part of the whole thing the blind acceptance of such large swathes of the public without even the merest hint of critical thinking

I hate this kind of sneering attitude to those of us who have chosen to comply @Undisclosedlocation

No one I know is "blindly accepting". My family, my close friends (and me of course) looked at the facts and chose to stick to the rules as it made sense to do so. Not because we were stupid sheep.

Lol that didn’t take long did it? Told you a dissenting voice gets jumped on pdq!!

You are entitled to your opinion, I’m entitled to mine

I find the most terrifying part of the whole thing the blind acceptance of such large swathes of the public without even the merest hint of critical thinking

Can you explain how you came to this conclusion?

Of course. Fear is the only really effective tool they have.

Unfortunately for them, many have worked out that they’re more at risk from the flu than CV and their ‘30% more deadly’ reveals are getting a bit transparent. Meanwhile, the immense costs of lockdown become clearer and clearer.

The tide is turning on mass compliance.

Your post doesn't even make sense @Undisclosedlocation
How have I "jumped on dissenting voices?"

You sound a bit paranoid tbh.

What terrifies me the most is people who think they know better than the experts, and form their opinion based on Facebook videos, and believe that is "critical thinking".

@TornadoOfSouls

I find the most terrifying part of the whole thing the blind acceptance of such large swathes of the public without even the merest hint of critical thinking

Can you explain how you came to this conclusion?

Ok I’ll try. From the outset, I do not deny Covid exists, or it that is a problem or even that we need lockdown currently, or that measures will be needed moving forwards. I am and have always been complying with the rules

My concern is that a random report will come out on an almost daily basis (almost always overblown and later retracted or watered down) On every occasion, the media seize upon this and ramp it up for a few hours/a day focussing on the potential negatives, ignoring the somewhat dubious sources and failing to provide any balance. Or the government will paint a doom picture which bears little resemblance to the facts they post alongside them

The public in some numbers appear to respond by mass panic, without any thought. Cue mass hysterical postings over Chinese style lockdowns, vaccines won’t work, this is the ‘new normal’ forever and anyone who dissents from this or heaven forbid wishes to wait and see actual facts is deemed a granny killing moron.
The AZ vaccine being 8% effective is a particularly good example. No sensible source and utterly untrue, yet judged as ‘scary’ almost immediately

The ‘blind acceptance’ I describe is of the assumption that every media report is true, everything the government say is a fact. not that Covid exists or that we all need to take reasonable precautions for now, that is of course true

Clearly that’s not applicable to everyone, but I for one find it disconcerting that it appears so easy to sway large numbers of people to what I believe are extreme views, particularly when the facts are at odds with the sound bites and the government have not even bothered to do them the courtesy of hiding their agenda of fear

There are far too many people approaching this as exaggerated which then gives them the 'reason' they were looking for to bend the rules. This then creates more of a problem

There's a danger with that though - a sort of vicious circle if you like - in the old thing about "you can't fool all the people all the time"

When the manipulation's so transparent it's easy for some to think that nothing can be believed, and risks even the genuine stuff being ignored
They'll never get everyone to comply and with the lack of enforcement aren't even trying, but they might just get further by being straightforward instead of spinning from one headline to the next

@Beaniecats

Yes they are using fear to control Thankfully the riots and civil unrest are underway

What is so thankful about riots?

They won't achieve anything except longer ambulance queues.

@EmilyEmmabob

But it's what will happen if people don't follow the rules. I think they are scare tactics because they could become a reality if people carry on in the way they have been.

There are far too many people approaching this as exaggerated which then gives them the 'reason' they were looking for to bend the rules. This then creates more of a problem.

There isn't really any getting away from the catastrophic consequences this virus is having, I'm not sure what the government would gain from telling us things that aren't true. They don't have anything to gain by keeping us locked up and making us panic, do they?

Well there are people making a fortune out of this. Call me cynical...

www.ukcolumn.org/article/psychological-attack-uk

Part of Sage is made up of psychologists who have mapped out the whole campaign to ensure compliance. We are being played down to every last hyperbole headline.

It's quite horrifying how so many people have happily handed over their freedoms. The government must be loving this level of control. And most of them have their fingers in the pie of companies who are making a fortune from this pandemic. Surprise surprise.

Of course they were, they didn't even make a secret of it. When you infect people with enough fear, you short-circuit their decision-making capabilities and they become compliant, that's why torture works. The government has used classic torture tactics - unclear, ever-changing rules, dire but uncertain consequences for bad behaviour, normal everday activities being dangerous or forbidden. Historically there are tons of examples of fear being used to manipulate people - it's a highly effective tactic that causes people to behave in ways that, once the fear subsides, they find hard to believe they engaged in.

After this people will look back and find it very hard to believe that, at the say-so of a cave-dweller like Bojo, they not only accepted but asked for massive damage to their children, their economy, their future. I think people will really wonder what on earth was going on in their heads.

so I agree that their actions are to illicit certain responses from the public.

Just as long as they elicit non-illicit responses, we'll be fine.

More seriously, it's called presenting the consequences.

It seems that people really need to be told the long term consequences of their actions.

@Lweji

so I agree that their actions are to illicit certain responses from the public.

Just as long as they elicit non-illicit responses, we'll be fine.

More seriously, it's called presenting the consequences.

It seems that people really need to be told the long term consequences of their actions.

Yes, exactly, like the consequences of denying children 6 months+ of education. Or the consequences of plunging the economy into the worst recession in 300 years.

Numbers are going down now after a huge increase after Christmas.

The scenario is that if people become complacent again, there will be after-Christmas increases and lockdowns again, and again, and again, until enough people are vaccinated.

That is reality, not scaremongering.

What I've observed, and in many countries, is that most people would rather think of the short term benefit rather than long term consequences.

In how many threads did we read "I'll have Christmas and don't care if we enter lockdown in January" or similar. Well...

There are people making a fortune out of this. Call me cynical ...

I mentioned this the other week and got the standard response that I was a moron
"Who would these people be?" I was asked, so listed a few

No response of course ...

@Undisclosedlocation thanks. I see what you mean. I usually find these discussions very frustrating because some people do want to deny reality so I really appreciate your explanation.
I have followed all guidelines throughout, as I don’t want to get COVID or pass it on. I don’t like the government and I think they are both incompetent and corrupt. Until Dominic Cummings I was willing to accept that they were doing a reasonable job and thought the PR was good.
If you saw me and my life you might take me for a ‘sheep’ but I’m really not - just doing my best to keep myself and others as safe as possible.
I think it is silly to say that we are being played, as some have, unless you think there is an overall more sinister agenda behind this. However I take your point about people believing whatever is in the headlines etc. And agree that people wanting the army on the streets etc should be careful what they wish for!

@Puzzledandpissedoff

There are people making a fortune out of this. Call me cynical ...

I mentioned this the other week and got the standard response that I was a moron
"Who would these people be?" I was asked, so listed a few

No response of course ...

It's an unpleasant truth.

I find the most terrifying part of the whole thing the blind acceptance of such large swathes of the public without even the merest hint of critical thinking

Me too @undisclosedlocation

In December there was masses made of how the Kent strain could be 70% more infectious. They have recently much more quietly announced it might only be about 30% more so. I have no idea how much the 70% was based on genuine feeling or how much they were trying to stop people at mixing at Christmas (which is fair enough). But it was noticeable that the 30% figure hasn't been shouted from the rooftops when actually, that's pretty big news. I have become much more suspicious of the things that get announced.

Have you noticed how its "may" be 30%?

It's an unpleasant truth

Clearly pretty unwelcome too - but that doesn't makt it any less true

Someone on another thread said that her tactic with these scary announcements is to ignore them, knowing that in a few days they will probably be debunked, or put into proper context.

Sounds sensible.

Well, there is a middle ground between ignoring it or thinking it will all be fine from now on, and thinking that lockdown will last for months on end.

A stricter lockdown with high compliance will mean a much shorter lockdown. Less compliance leads to a longer lockdown for all.

Who benefits from a longer lockdown? Or more lockdowns?
In terms of economy and impact on students, is it preferable a shorter but stricter lockdown, or a longer but more relaxed lockdown (or hardly any lockdown)?
NZ is living covid-free. Europe is not.

I’m not so sure numbers would automatically go up now if they released people again. Virus curves seem to peak and trough naturally despite lockdowns and this has been proven scientifically.
Also, France had a fairly lax lockdown in November when cases were 87,000 in one day at one point but since then there has been an absolute plateau of cases at 20,000 per day and although restaurants and bars are still closed, all shops and schools are open and I can promise you that there was lots of Christmas and new year mixing and continues to be lots of household mixing because in france they can’t make meeting people in your own home illegal. I have even seen photos on Facebook of hundreds of people standing in crowds in streets between cafes and bars selling takeaways and socialising in the street instead and yet still no increase in numbers

I don't think it's scaring us into complying. I think it is to set expectations that most restrictions will continue beyond 22 February.