Would friends breaching restrictions stop/affect your friendship?

[Summerhere123]

Not asking whether you agree with them breaking restrictions or not I wish to know that if you don’t agree, would it affect or stop your friendship.
So, eg if 3 of your friends were travelling to a lower tier area when not supposed to, in order that they can have an overnight break, and they were fairly recent friendships, would it make you rethink the friendship. Basically folk I’ve known since school/ college etc wouldn’t do this, but those who are breaching restrictions are friendships from very recent years. I think it’s selfish as they could unknowingly be spreading the virus. It’s made me view them differently. Thanks

Yes, I think it’s also the way people declare quite proudly that “they’ll just pay the fine” without caring that they’re going to put others at risk

I think the mere idea of de-friending someone based on breaching Covid restrictions is utterly pathetic. We are not a totalitarian state (yet) and I find it concerning that people are acting as if we are...or should be. Why don’t you just phone the police whilst you’re at de-friending them?

The rules are ridiculous.

Last year we would apparently be ‘crying freedom’ once the old and vulnerable were vaccinated (Matt Hancock) and now we seem to living with some very unreasonable restrictions. We are even being told, who we can hug, when we can hug, how long we can hug and if you look for them...we have a list of five hugging directions. Perhaps we can defriend people who aren’t hugging in the appropriate manner? Or those who dared to have a holiday postponed to this year that happens to be in an Amber country? Or someone who isn’t vaccinated? Or someone who isn’t wearing a mask at all times?

What worries me more than the UK government dragging out these ‘rules’ absolutely longer than necessary and scaremongering with ‘super dangerous scariants’ is that people are accepting it...so brainwashed that to do otherwise is a death sentence. How many people died today of Covid?

He’s my personal five directives from today:
Don’t wear a mask anymore
Go where I please
Hug in any way except the ‘allowed’ way
Go abroad...at least twice
Stop doing the two tests a week...it’s tedious

And do you know why? Because it’s completely unnecessary. If vaccines work...we’ve got nothing to worry about.

And any of my “friends” who want to defriend me because I refuse to accept a totalitarian existence can piss off...I defriend you.

But please please don’t call me selfish...it’ll hurt my fweelings

@HarrietOh

Not really, what is affecting my friendship is someone who has been completely sucked into conspiracy theories around COVID and even wears a sunflower lanyard to get out of wearing a mask (so happy to pretend to be someone with a disability!).

Why’s she bothering with the lanyard? Tell her to do what I do and just walk in mask-less. When anyone asks say ‘oh, I don’t wear one’ and smile.

For those wondering there are still Tiers in Scotland with Moray and Glasgow being in the higher tier than the rest of the country and islands in lower tiers.

It's unlikely, I have friends who have not exactly broken but heavily bent the rules a few times but we've been friends for nearly 30 years so it'll take more than that.

If they'd have gone up to my vulnerable parents and breathed in their face in the middle of the peak or something then it'd be another story, but I don't make "friends" who would do something like that in the first place.

I can understand a bit of rule breaking at this point anyway, we have all had enough. And not being one to throw stones, I hugged a vaccinated friend (outside) a few weeks before it was legal. Terrible behaviour I know, but due to disabilities etc he doesn't see many friends at the best of times and hadn't even seen outside for a year, I'd rather have common sense and a heart.

Nope. None of my business.

Yes, it's affected my friendship with my neighbour. She has breached regulations since day one. She was never in when the order was Stay At Home. She has overnight visitors most weeks and has made it clear that she thinks I'm a mug to follow the rules. We were close but I just can't be bothered anymore.

Not at all. Each to their own. I have a friend who refuses to wear a mask. I disagree but I like her, she’s a good friend and it’s her decision. She knows my opinion, I know hers. We don’t talk about it any further.

I have friends who’ve continued to see family indoors. They have their own reasons & they can make their own risk assessments. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest.

I like people who think for themselves rather they obey every rule - because "its the rulz". Besides, most of you couldn't agree what they were this time last year - eg what was "essential" etc.

I mean, do we really think that all the "Shielders" should have stayed inside and not even gone in their garden for months as per gov guidance? Or do we think that was nonsense and cruel guidance and that it was ok for them to think for themselves and sit in their garden - with all the virus particles that obviously weren't there.

But no, you all go ahead and rant and rave. The friends you dump will be glad to be rid - they probably only kept you on out of charity -maybe thought they could offer some perspective and calm your (wearing thin after 15 months) covid hysteria

@Waxonwaxoff0

Nope, cos I've not followed all the restrictions myself.

Same here We all make our own risk assessments

@Ripped

I like people who think for themselves rather they obey every rule - because "its the rulz". Besides, most of you couldn't agree what they were this time last year - eg what was "essential" etc.

I mean, do we really think that all the "Shielders" should have stayed inside and not even gone in their garden for months as per gov guidance? Or do we think that was nonsense and cruel guidance and that it was ok for them to think for themselves and sit in their garden - with all the virus particles that obviously weren't there.

But no, you all go ahead and rant and rave. The friends you dump will be glad to be rid - they probably only kept you on out of charity -maybe thought they could offer some perspective and calm your (wearing thin after 15 months) covid hysteria

Do you remember in wales they weren’t going to allow Easter eggs from the supermarkets last year The fun police loved that one The curtain twitchers and snitches reporting people for seeing elderly relatives at home, children, playing in the street, someone washing their car in the front st and so forth

And the shall I report my neighbour for..threads

They might’ve forgotten their behaviour but I haven’t
They loved their 15 minutes of virtue signaling
I bet they are sad it’s over.
Well, just so they know
I lived last year. I didn’t exist. I lived my life normally.
Seeing my family and friends, having family parties, days out with them
We can look back on 2020 with pride that we didn’t let the buggery bollox grind us down

Not at all.

@Mathshelpme

I think the mere idea of de-friending someone based on breaching Covid restrictions is utterly pathetic. We are not a totalitarian state (yet) and I find it concerning that people are acting as if we are...or should be. Why don’t you just phone the police whilst you’re at de-friending them?

The rules are ridiculous.

Last year we would apparently be ‘crying freedom’ once the old and vulnerable were vaccinated (Matt Hancock) and now we seem to living with some very unreasonable restrictions. We are even being told, who we can hug, when we can hug, how long we can hug and if you look for them...we have a list of five hugging directions. Perhaps we can defriend people who aren’t hugging in the appropriate manner? Or those who dared to have a holiday postponed to this year that happens to be in an Amber country? Or someone who isn’t vaccinated? Or someone who isn’t wearing a mask at all times?

What worries me more than the UK government dragging out these ‘rules’ absolutely longer than necessary and scaremongering with ‘super dangerous scariants’ is that people are accepting it...so brainwashed that to do otherwise is a death sentence. How many people died today of Covid?

He’s my personal five directives from today:
Don’t wear a mask anymore
Go where I please
Hug in any way except the ‘allowed’ way
Go abroad...at least twice
Stop doing the two tests a week...it’s tedious

And do you know why? Because it’s completely unnecessary. If vaccines work...we’ve got nothing to worry about.

And any of my “friends” who want to defriend me because I refuse to accept a totalitarian existence can piss off...I defriend you.

But please please don’t call me selfish...it’ll hurt my fweelings

Absolutely This all ends when people stop bending to the rules When we all stop complying The millions of people that have attended all the protests throughout the year Numbers didn’t go up did they Some of these were long before the vax programme No, the numbers came down

Yet the government have kept up the scare tactics

We need to keep asking why

Step away from the news those that are still bothering to watch it
Thankfully I stopped watching over a year ago
Start reclaiming your lives
Before it’s too late

Where do you live? Curious to know where in the world still thinks the tier system is fit for purpose

Not even a little bit.

to be honest, the whole situation has bought out my inner Hermit.

Most of all, because I want to avoid people like OP who have very strong opinions on what other people SHOULD do. You don't want me in your life... I sure as Hell don't want you in my life either.

I've discovered my elderly father is very angry at people who don't want the covid jab. I won't see him until 2022 at earliest anyway (live in different countries). I'm going to have to work hard on steering conversations to anything else in future. I don't need this aggro, and I sure can't tell him honest stuff about my preferences. He would not be allowed in my life if he wasn't my dad.

It would depend on the scale and nature of the breach. Though if they were defending the Prime Minister, that would be much more likely to affect or end a friendship.

No .

I think many people followed the rules because they were scared to get in trouble / be judged / get ill them selfs rather than for any greater good

No. What affected friendships was SAHMs lying to jump the vaccine queue, when older and vulnerable school staff weren't able to get one.

No what would test my friendships is if I were friends with people who are so obsessed with covid that they are unable to use common sense and apply any sort of risk assessment to real life and have been scared into submission over a virus that is nothing more than a mild illness to most.

Travelling to a different tier is not worth throwing a friendship away for, I’m assuming they didn’t have covid so why does it matter, maybe the area they lived in their tier had very low case rates but they had been grouped in unfairly with another area?! Or maybe they just valued living their lives over following rediculous rules? Either way OP I think the issue is you not them.

I would never judge a friend who wanted to see their family or get some enjoyment out of life. At the end of all this there won’t be a medal for those who never broke a rule, but there will be lots of people who realize too late that they wasted over a year not seeing family and they will never ever get that time back.

My friends mum died suddenly last week aged 56 of a heart attack, just out of the blue on a random Wednesday. My friend had “broken the rules” throughout and kept seeing her mum allowing her to see her small grandchildren, imagine if she hadn’t?

Yes I definitely think less of people who have broken the rules without good cause. Yes i would lower them in my list of friends because of it.

Katie - it’s taken self sacrifice for the public good to save lives. This only works if everyone does their bit. Put individual needs first leads to massively high death tolls.

@Mathshelpme very well said.

@Sadieeloise5687 so you are saying we should all sacrifice and continue to sacrifice what could be the final year of a family members life, keeping grandchildren away from their grandparents even if they specifically want to see them and are not vulnerable for the greater good of people I don’t even know. Sorry I’m not willing to do that I make risk assessments for my own family, and as I said in my first post thank goodness my friend used her common sense otherwise the last year of her mums life would have been spent away from her children and grandchildren.