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Original poster

Captain Tom Moore - an over focus on one gentleman

44 replies

mids2019 · 09/02/2021 19:05

Firstly I feel a great deal of sympathy for CTM's family and grateful for his charity reading efforts and resilience.

However many have heroically died during this pandemic often doing critical keyworker roles for example clinical staff and should there be an appropriate memorial for them. Many of the healthcare casualties of this pandemic were of BAME backgrounds (statistically likely to be more effected) and should we not focus attention on some of these figures?

I also feel that the focus on the gratitude for work during the pandemic should be the NHS. I also feel it's slightly inappropriate to concentrate on CTM's military connections when in this national tragedy although the military have played a role the NHS provided the majority of the heroic effort.

OP posts:
MrsMercedes · 09/02/2021 19:07

nah i dont agree

too much whataboutery in there!!

ALemonEntryDearWatson · 09/02/2021 19:16

I'm not sure I ever want to hear the word 'whataboutery' ever again. Such a stupid word

OP - this has been done to death.

XenoBitch · 09/02/2021 19:17

His walk around his garden went viral. It is as simple as that. Other people, including very elderly and a young boy with cerebral palsy did the same. Can any one even name them? Nope.

Original poster
mids2019 · 09/02/2021 19:19

@MrsMercedes

I just feel when it comes to national recognition for those who contributed during the pandemic we should have a broad range of figures from different backgrounds.

CTM was white, a war veteran, and with a middle class family. This ticks a lot of boxes for some people but not all.

OP posts:
OppsUpsSide · 09/02/2021 19:21

This reply has been deleted

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CovidCraziness · 09/02/2021 19:21

We'll, he raised £35 MILLION for the NHS. That has been a massive help recently! Perhaps his fundraising efforts have paid for the vaccines at your local centre. He's helped out the government in raising that money (because they couldn't find that money if it was staring them in the face).

I think he's great and was very sad to see he had passed away and so pleased he managed to have such a wonderful year before his death, meeting celebs and making a record.

That said - yes, it was an awful.lot of focus on one person, I used to think perhaps too much. But hey, why not!

PurpleDaisies · 09/02/2021 19:22

This is in pretty poor taste.

Original poster
mids2019 · 09/02/2021 19:24

@XenoBitch

I agree but the government certainly were happy to latch on to the popular support. I feel the fulsome praise from Cabinet ministers could be spread round a little more.

OP posts:
Justgivemewine · 09/02/2021 19:24

He became more memorable and had more publicity because he was the first one to do it.
Yes other people did it too, and fair play to them, but certainly from a media point of view, it was repeat news and didn’t have the same novelty value, so we didn’t get to hear about them so much.

gamerchick · 09/02/2021 19:26

@CovidCraziness

We'll, he raised £35 MILLION for the NHS. That has been a massive help recently! Perhaps his fundraising efforts have paid for the vaccines at your local centre. He's helped out the government in raising that money (because they couldn't find that money if it was staring them in the face).

I think he's great and was very sad to see he had passed away and so pleased he managed to have such a wonderful year before his death, meeting celebs and making a record.

That said - yes, it was an awful.lot of focus on one person, I used to think perhaps too much. But hey, why not!

He raised the money for NHS charities.
Bazoo23 · 09/02/2021 19:27

This is as bad as the whopper who said supporting Captain Tom made you a white nationalist or something ridiculous.
Are we "over-focusing" on praising Marcus Rashford? Or is that ok because he ticks the BAME box?
What a weird way to look at life.

MrsMercedes · 09/02/2021 19:27

why does it matter what colour his skin was for christs sake!!!

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 09/02/2021 19:27

@PurpleDaisies

This is in pretty poor taste.
Agree, really bad taste.
Bazoo23 · 09/02/2021 19:27

Ticking boxes was your wording by the way OP, not mine.

Original poster
mids2019 · 09/02/2021 19:28

I would hope the government did pay for vaccines......

A lot of money was raised for NHS charities and the public were very generous. I have no disrespect for Tom Moore and his effort I am just questioning whether the adulation is proportionate. There are no petitions for any healthcare workers to be put up in Trafalger square.

OP posts:
Onlineshopperforever · 09/02/2021 19:30

He raised the money for NHS charities. Budget and funding restrictions mean that none of the money raised will ever reach front line services.

I'm fully expecting to get flamed for this, but let's also not forget that he decided to ignore the rules and ended up in hospital as a direct result of this. Which then led to him catching Covid and we know the rest.

He was one of the Covididiots everyone on MN is so militant in complaining about. But god forbid you say a bad word against the old boy.

Cyw2018 · 09/02/2021 19:30

I totally agree, I opened my work emails this evening to see that another of my colleagues, an emergency medical technician, had died. He unfortunately didn't get the chance to live to 100.

PheasantPlucker1 · 09/02/2021 19:31

It isnt proportionate, but celebrity never is.

MrsMercedes · 09/02/2021 19:31

start your own petition then op.......go on....

pourmeawine · 09/02/2021 19:31

Yes it's too much. I'm sure he was a great man who meant a lot to his family. He fought in the war and his attempt to raise some money for NHS Charities together (not the NHS) went viral which meant £30million+ was raised in his name by the public. The obsession people have with him is frankly disturbing in my opinion but is partly caused by the lockdown which is meaning people have far less to occupy themselves. It would be a nice touch if a hospital (or even just a ward) was named after him but a statue or a state funeral are laughable in how ridiculous they are. I also don't think he should have got a knighthood. I hope that he and his family have thoroughly enjoyed the last year though - it must have been lovely.

"Come and tell me your unpopular opinion, something up till now that you've been scared to say"

OppsUpsSide · 09/02/2021 19:32

This threads remind me of the Harry Enfield “I am considerably richer than you” sketch only it’s some sort of social warrior collateral they want to bring about.
Honestly it’s so DULL.

MrsMercedes · 09/02/2021 19:32

@Onlineshopperforever

He raised the money for NHS charities. Budget and funding restrictions mean that none of the money raised will ever reach front line services.

I'm fully expecting to get flamed for this, but let's also not forget that he decided to ignore the rules and ended up in hospital as a direct result of this. Which then led to him catching Covid and we know the rest.

He was one of the Covididiots everyone on MN is so militant in complaining about. But god forbid you say a bad word against the old boy.

no he didnt
CrotchetyQuaver · 09/02/2021 19:33

I think he just struck a chord with people at the time, and the amount of money he raised for NHS charities is remarkable. What an incredible 100th year he had.

I think you're overthinking things, Marcus Rashford is also achieving a lot, particularly for such a young man and has had a lot of coverage.

OppsUpsSide · 09/02/2021 19:33

*Got my unpopular opinion in there Wink

Original poster
mids2019 · 09/02/2021 19:33

@Bazoo23

Why does skin colour matter? Well in one sense it doesn't but having a range of heroes for the public to support would make sense to reflect modern Britain.

There are plenty that do focus on Marcus Rashford and are derogatory towards him. There were plenty of racist responses to his anti poverty campaign.

OP posts: