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Original poster

Life will never be the same, will it?

109 replies

Hiidee · 17/06/2021 23:02

I’m having a wobble...

Life is so different now, and I just don’t see how it’s ever, ever going to be the same again.

I’m genuinely so frightened for what our futures will look like and I can’t help but feel our freedoms will no longer exist.

I feel we are heading to living in a society where we will have “us & them” in relation to vaccinated and unvaccinated.

Unvaccinated won’t be able to eat / drink at certain places, use supermarkets with everyone else, or use public transport.

I am fully vaccinated so it’s not my personal freedoms I worry about, but I don’t want to live in a world that could look like this.

I see restrictions always being a part of our lives now. It’s just utterly miserable.

When I look back at life pre pandemic it just feels like it was a dream.
I mean what did we really have to worry about?
No restrictions/ rules. Just life and living.

Should we just accept that our lives as we knew it are gone?

OP posts:
HalzTangz · 18/06/2021 19:23

It won't be.

Surgeons can't operate without having certain vaccines, and that's been in place for years.
This will be no different.
Carers and NHS workers should have it, thy are dealing with the vulnerable.

Most workers aren't

Escapeas · 18/06/2021 19:34

[quote Rainalldaylong]@PolkadotSloth So we’re basically all just fucked then, and our kids 🤷🏻‍♀️[/quote]
Unless people in all major countries in the world put enough pressure on Governments to change things without further delay, then yes.

Escapeas · 18/06/2021 19:36

@bumbleymummy

Hmmm... I remember being pretty worried about the ‘hole in the ozone layer’ and rising sea levels when I was growing up and I still managed to lead a normal, happy, contented life.
Shame people weren't worried enough to do much about it, hence where we are now.
Cantstandsmugness · 18/06/2021 20:56

It’s over now.
The G7 summit and the Euros have done that.
Look at Leicester Square tonight! The promised semi finals in UK will mean BoJo will open up on the 5th! How else can he let all the VIP’s in without quarantine!

bumbleymummy · 18/06/2021 21:27

@Escapeas they actually did quite a lot. We’d be a lot worse off now if they hadn’t.

Escapeas · 18/06/2021 21:39

[quote bumbleymummy]@Escapeas they actually did quite a lot. We’d be a lot worse off now if they hadn’t.[/quote]
Nowhere near enough. The magnitude of the changes that are now essential in a tiny amount of time are almost insurmountable. If the last 40 years had been used wisely, we'd have had a much better chance of preventing catastrophic and irreversible environmental devastation.

BarbarianMum · 18/06/2021 21:41

Sounds like the plot of a particularly crappy film OP.

Are you very young? FWIW as you get older you'll realise that life is never the same again. It changes for better and worse all the time.

VettiyaIruken · 18/06/2021 21:43

It will.
Every other time there's been a pandemic or an epidemic , things eventually got back to normal. They will this time too.

Escapeas · 18/06/2021 23:56

@VettiyaIruken

It will. Every other time there's been a pandemic or an epidemic , things eventually got back to normal. They will this time too.
No actually, they don't. Often they have been catalysts (in colloquial use of the word) for large societal changes.
Escapeas · 18/06/2021 23:58

I think anybody wise would consider this a warning shot from nature and put all of their efforts into stopping its destruction, before it is too late.

Thewiseoneincognito · 19/06/2021 00:59

@VettiyaIruken

It will. Every other time there's been a pandemic or an epidemic , things eventually got back to normal. They will this time too.
I think we can safely say this situation is rather unprecedented in modern times so it’s a little naive to assume things will simply go back to normal.

Things may get easier but they won’t return to normal unless we have a complete cure that eradicates Covid from the planet entirely. Without this we will be forever chasing our tail with variants and vaccines.

Escapeas · 19/06/2021 01:16

But there are many, many viruses that humanity has learned to live with through mitigating their impact with vaccines, infection control measures etc.

The idea of eradication is pie in the sky now. That ship sailed in late 2019 in China.

Escapeas · 19/06/2021 01:18

It's endemic and has been for some time now. It's not going away.

The saving grace is that generally as viruses mutate they become more infectious and less virulent, because that is what is best for them from an evolutionary perspective, so strains with those features become dominant. Hence why many other coronaviruses already in circulation in human populations are fairly harmless "common colds".

VettiyaIruken · 19/06/2021 05:52

What is normal?

People going about their daily lives. Meeting friends and family. Having parties. Hugging. Shopping...

Are you telling me that you believe the human race will be repeatedly sent into lockdown (local or national), have restrictions on the number of people at gatherings, be denied entry to some countries, be made to quarantine for two weeks at a facility they must pay for after returning from others etc etc until the end of time?

TheReluctantPhoenix · 19/06/2021 06:40

The lack of resilience in the demographic that posts on here (generally comfortably off middle classes) is scary.

Most of what we have ‘lost’ 95% of the World never had, and where we are now would be a dream for them.

I am, personally, sad and upset that my summer holiday may well not happen and that skiing is already in doubt next year. But I can see that whingeing about it is a bit pathetic.

How have we got in a position that we cannot cope with not knowing about a foreign holiday, without it impacting our ‘Mental Health’, when a lot of the world cope just fine (mentally) with next week’s food being in doubt?!

Egeegogxmv · 19/06/2021 12:19

I think we should replace the word 'normal' with 'stable and sustainable'

sadperson16 · 19/06/2021 13:10

@TheReluctantPhoenix, perhaps other people aren't desperately lonely and working 12 hour days?
I agree about the whinging but people cling onto holidays.

IcedPurple · 19/06/2021 17:28

How have we got in a position that we cannot cope with not knowing about a foreign holiday, without it impacting our ‘Mental Health’, when a lot of the world cope just fine (mentally) with next week’s food being in doubt?!

If that's the bar you set (although I very much doubt you apply those standards to your own life) then the vast majority of threads on MN are about 'trivial' concerns. So as long as we know where the next mal is coming from, we've no right to complain about anything?

For me, holidays are important. I certainly don't think I have a 'right' to them and I'm very well aware that they're a luxury, but I don't doubt that there are things in your life that you consider important but that I could happily live without. I don't believe for one second that you don't enjoy things that most of the world would consider a luxury.

TheReluctantPhoenix · 20/06/2021 11:26

@IcedPurple,

You misunderstand my post.

I lead a very nice life and love holidays. However, I know I have no right to them, and will not start accusing other people of infringing my freedom if I am temporarily unable to enjoy my normal life.

I will ‘suck it up’ and await better times.

NotPersephone · 20/06/2021 15:26

This reply has been withdrawn

Message from MNHQ: This post has been withdrawn

Malteser71 · 20/06/2021 16:31

Excellent post, NP

swg1 · 21/06/2021 00:02

@Hiidee

I’m having a wobble...

Life is so different now, and I just don’t see how it’s ever, ever going to be the same again.

I’m genuinely so frightened for what our futures will look like and I can’t help but feel our freedoms will no longer exist.

I feel we are heading to living in a society where we will have “us & them” in relation to vaccinated and unvaccinated.

Unvaccinated won’t be able to eat / drink at certain places, use supermarkets with everyone else, or use public transport.

I am fully vaccinated so it’s not my personal freedoms I worry about, but I don’t want to live in a world that could look like this.

I see restrictions always being a part of our lives now. It’s just utterly miserable.

When I look back at life pre pandemic it just feels like it was a dream.
I mean what did we really have to worry about?
No restrictions/ rules. Just life and living.

Should we just accept that our lives as we knew it are gone?

No. It won't be the same. But that's not necessarily from a Doom And Gloom outlook.

There are certain events historically where looking back you can put your finger on societal changes. Here is where women started wanting to join the workplace after they had to work because men were at war. Here is where it became less common to educate nicely brought up girls at home with a governess rather than in a school. Here was where it would be less common for kids to grow up to be coal miners.

And we think that its gradual, that we shouldn't see it coming but actually history isn't always like that. History will slam a great big event down into the middle of things without warning and afterwards nothing is ever the same again.

And that's okay. Really, it is. It's scary because we don't know what the future looks like and when you don't know what the future looks like you tend to assume the worst. But this is a Change Event, and we'll stop and change and adapt and rebuild and things may be different but they can still be good. And in fifty years histories will say "So really, it started here".

TheLastBeach · 21/06/2021 00:04

Such a good post @swg1. I agree completely. History is littered with such events.

Gingernaut · 21/06/2021 00:13

Due to entitled twats being entitled twats and spreading this bug across the globe, Covid-19 is now endemic.

We're probably facing regular vaccinations for coronavirus as well as 'flu and possibly face mask and social distancing measures periodically taking effect.

Normal will not be what we're used to doing in the past, but hopefully, we should be getting back to some semblance of it.

The Tories and the Piers Corbyns of this world need taking out and shooting for what they've done to this country.

XenoBitch · 21/06/2021 00:15

@TheReluctantPhoenix

The lack of resilience in the demographic that posts on here (generally comfortably off middle classes) is scary.

Most of what we have ‘lost’ 95% of the World never had, and where we are now would be a dream for them.

I am, personally, sad and upset that my summer holiday may well not happen and that skiing is already in doubt next year. But I can see that whingeing about it is a bit pathetic.

How have we got in a position that we cannot cope with not knowing about a foreign holiday, without it impacting our ‘Mental Health’, when a lot of the world cope just fine (mentally) with next week’s food being in doubt?!

I have an ex who lives for travelling. It is his only pastime. He is now on anti- depressants for the first time in his life. His elderly dad lives in another country so he has not been able to see him either.