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Covid

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Original poster

If you’re this worried about catching the virus you should stay at home

128 replies

TheRebelle · 09/06/2021 20:43

Today I was in a lovely National Trust property with my 4 year old, masked up and lathered in hand sanitiser, walking around chatting we went through to the next room where, unknown to us, a couple were standing behind the door and the man put his hand out toward us and barked Stop! Two meters! And then turned his back to us. Now I had no intention of going any closer to him anyway but was it really necessary to shout at us, he could’ve at least said would you mind keeping the two meter distance from us please? Or some such, it really upset me.

OP posts:

NavalGazer · 10/06/2021 08:44

Supermarket yesterday, Gentleman in front was going on to the cashier about how the restrictions need to be removed on the 21st and this was all a bit silly.

As he went to move back around to the chip and pin machine, he barked at me that I needed to move back as I was too close.

Why would you be that bothered if you are so pro removing the restrictions - does he think he'd still get 2m space once no one is enforcing the rules?

WouldBeGood · 10/06/2021 08:45

I get upset by the barked instructions and shouted comments and am really limiting where I go because of it. It puts me on edge.

Faffinator · 10/06/2021 08:46

OP this would have upset me too. And I do fear for how much time people like this man spend in a state of heightened stress response. Because that's going to impact on their health, even if they avoid covid.

Wegobshite · 10/06/2021 09:15

I would have ( and I have ) told him to fuck off and stay at home if he’s that bothered about Covid .

I’m not restricting my life and daily activities any more than I have to .
If people like him are that worried about catching Covid then stay the fuck at home or go out for a drive or a walk in field where there are no people around to stay 2 meters from .
If they are out in a tourist attraction then they obviously aren’t that bothered just being a dick
In a supermarket I would be slightly more forgiving - but somewhere that is nice to visit but isn’t essential he can fuck off with his orders

GiveTheGirlAGun · 10/06/2021 09:48

I wonder, would the man have been so rude if you were a man or with another man? Not rtft, but he could have been a bit more placid.

TempsPerdu · 10/06/2021 09:54

Seriously though, how upset are you, really, by this incident? On a scale of 1-10, this is a 2 at most

Obviously can’t speak for OP, but in my case it upsets me because, having been on the receiving end of such vitriol semi-frequently for over a year now, it has started to feel like a mix of power play and systematic othering of children/mothers in the public arena. One lady even poked DD with her stick last year because she momentarily strayed within 2m of her during a trip to an RHS garden.

Despite DP being mask exempt due to trigeminal neuralgia, he has had a fraction of the hassle that I, fully masked up as per the guidelines, have had while out and about. The couple of run-ins he has had were when he had DD in tow, and were about her rather than his own lack of mask. Similarly he’s had no issues using public transport, whereas I’ve been questioned twice now by male TfL station staff about why DD wasn’t wearing a mask (she’s 3).

It’s a cumulative thing, feels largely targeted towards younger women and children, and I’m not prepared to put up with it any more.

JeanClaudeVanDammit · 10/06/2021 10:16

It’s a cumulative thing, feels largely targeted towards younger women and children, and I’m not prepared to put up with it any more.

Fully agree with this. It’s not about one individual event or one individual person being rude. In isolation each of these things doesn’t amount to much. But it’s the impact all of the little things every day that are making public spaces more unpleasant particularly for women and children. It’s noticeable the difference in attitudes people have when I’m with DH compared to when I’m with DD.

Thelm · 10/06/2021 10:34

Well I’m sick of people shuffling up my back like a herd of sheep. What’s the problem with keeping some kind of distance? You aren’t going to be served any more quickly if you are standing right next to me.

I don’t really GAF about covid but don’t like people near me. It happens more now post covid than it used to and I do wonder if some people use it as a tool to try to make others feel uncomfortable.

However, I think we should all try to be a bit more patient with each other. Nobody should have to ‘stay the f at home’ as people often suggest.

I dont know if it’s too much to ask some people to recognise that we are in weird times and everyone has a lot going on. Perhaps if people generally were a bit more respectful to each other (and this is both sides) we wouldn’t be having so many problems.

Honestly some people need to get a grip. I just despair. You’ve got some people barging around supermarkets with an ‘if you’re scared get out of my way’ attitude and we’ve got other people shouting that we can’t ever be within ten feet of each other even outdoors. I worry about what is going to happen over the next few months.

Trewawgy · 10/06/2021 10:41

I’ve been nothing but respectful to others. There have been some people who have been really awful about children in public, including outdoors and where there is plenty of space for everyone. I expect they felt like that before covid but it allowed them to express their feelings under the excuse of fear. My experience of this has been thoroughly dismissed on here though over the past year, you just get labelled as a feeble whiner or a selfish arsehole, whilst at the same time being told that it’s not hard, you just pop them in a puddle suit and off you go! I don’t go on threads where people are worried about their teenagers’ wellbeing and dismiss their experiences

Faffinator · 10/06/2021 10:59

@trewargy i also need to learn to avoid those threads about teenagers. Whatever shit your kids have had to endure the standard response 'it'll teach them resilience'.

HelloMissus · 10/06/2021 11:43

Yes. A man shouted at me and my foster daughter recently because she lifted her mask to take drink on a train.
Usually, I’d just roll my eyes, but I really want her to understand that she does NOT have to accept bullying abusive behaviour by adults.
So I took him to task publicly.

DunnerRunner · 10/06/2021 11:49

Well said Thelm

Iremembertheelderlykoreanlady · 10/06/2021 12:32

My dad was on a walk in the countryside recently with some friends. Very wide path (more like a road) and walking 2 abreast.

A woman walked past on the other side (at least 2 metres away) and started screaming at them that they should be walking single file.

Some people are just fucking weird

FflosFfantastig · 10/06/2021 13:03

I wouldn't tolerate this level of rudeness. Personally if someone barked at me they would get it back both barrels. This sort of bullying behavior needs to be challenged.

NearlyAlwaysInsane · 10/06/2021 13:09

To all those posters writing that it's always men shouting at women....

....sadly the only woman who shouted at me about Covid distancing is a woman (and she properly barked.....and I was more than 2m away).....

GlencoraP · 10/06/2021 13:18

@nether

The solution would be to keep further away

they do this from the opposite side of the road or carpark . This morning I was at least 15 ft away on the other side of the road, I think the person thought I might cross. Yesterday I was coming towards the payment machine in the carpark , I had only just left my car and the person by the machine yelled ‘stop do not proceed’ and held his hand up

Incidentally I live somewhere with one of the lowest incidences of Covid in the country . There have been no cases for weeks in our town.

QioiioiioQ · 10/06/2021 13:20

if he goes around behaving like that someone's gonna deck him soon

QioiioiioQ · 10/06/2021 13:21

@HelloMissus

Yes. A man shouted at me and my foster daughter recently because she lifted her mask to take drink on a train. Usually, I’d just roll my eyes, but I really want her to understand that she does NOT have to accept bullying abusive behaviour by adults. So I took him to task publicly.

Well done! how did it go?

sleepwouldbenice · 10/06/2021 13:54

@PracticingPerson

This thread is very Princess and the pea.

Yes he was wrong.
Yes he was grumpy/rude.
Yes he should, in an ideal world, have said sorry.

Seriously though, how upset are you, really, by this incident? On a scale of 1-10, this is a 2 at most.

This, totally The irony of going on about people overreacting, then looking at the posts on this thread

LolaSmiles · 10/06/2021 14:03

This thread is very Princess and the pea.
Yes he was wrong.
Yes he was grumpy/rude.
Yes he should, in an ideal world, have said sorry.
Seriously though, how upset are you, really, by this incident? On a scale of 1-10, this is a 2 at most.
Totally agree with you.

This thread also highlights how many people probably have zero clue about personal space because there's a lot of "if you expect people to maintain a reasonable distance from strangers then you should stay the fuck at home" aka "I see no reason why I should give other people space and if anyone dares to challenge me getting too close to them I'll get weirdly frothy over it because I don't see why I shouldn't get close to other people".

HelloMissus · 10/06/2021 14:44

quio I told him in no uncertain terms that adult men shouting at random women and children was disgusting. And I asked him if he’d have shouted if my DH was here.
He said yes.
I said, well luckily for you he’ll be here any second.
Funnily enough he got off at the next stop.

IrmaFayLear · 10/06/2021 16:02

It is upsetting when somebody shouts at you.

A while ago I was walking along a WIDE country lane with dd and this masked couple came the other way. The man yelled “GET BACK” at us and had his palm out. They then said, “We’re shielding “.

I managed to reply, “So am I, and I don’t shout at people” but they were oblivious. Furthermore shielding had ended at that point so it was their personal choice.

I always social distance, even in normal times (not a fan of hot breath down neck!) but the pandemic has given some people licence to unleash their thorough nastiness and self-absorption.

PrincessNutNuts · 10/06/2021 16:25

Im not justifying men shouting at women at all, but I'm always extra on edge when we try to take our relatives out who have been shielding, and were told not to even leave their houses for months last year.

I'm always on edge on these days out because of people who don't follow the basic social distancing rules, and we plan days out for our older relations less often because of them.

We usually take my great aunt to Wisley and Leonardslee in the summer, but since this is likely to be the worst wave yet in terms of pressure on the NHS, and loads of people seem to think covid is "over" (again) I can't muster the enthusiasm.

5475878237NC · 10/06/2021 16:51

This wouldn't upset me. It's completely understandable people feel the need to remind others. So many people seem to casually get too close and I'd rather they shout stop than be polite and get the virus. Many people are on their first trip out at the moment. It's a scary prospect, especially if you've lost loved ones or have long Covid in the family now.

FflosFfantastig · 10/06/2021 17:02

The person was standing behind a door, and I'm pretty sure the OP can't see through doors. So not 'casually getting too close' at all.

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