How typical is MN of real life when it comes to Covid?

[Warhertisuff]

I'm thinking the average poster generally a lot more concerned and anxious than the average person, but that might just be my biases at play.

Likewise anxiety over pandemic mitigation measures, like masks - and even lockdowns. Definitely around border control. The majority of the public wanted pandemic border control.

Worth considering as well whether MN posts are actually even representative of the MNers making them.

There are people virtue signalling and making claims about the sacrifices they'd be willing to make in different circumstances: they'd isolate even if it meant not being able to pay the rent that month, they'd cancel their wedding the next day if the app pinged them, they'd test on holiday etc. They may very well be telling what they feel is the truth, but it's a lot easier to say you'd make a big sacrifice like that than actually do it.

Obviously also the strong whiff of ageism and disablism has popped up at times too.

For example, dismissing valid concerns (shared by the British Medical Association, and medical and scientific experts worldwide, including at the WHO) as 'anxiety' and expressing surprise that people would be concerned about a highly infectious disease that kills and disables many.

I'm sure the WHO are ever so upset that some random strangers online think their expert opinion is anxiety. Somehow I don't think that will dissuade them and they stand by their statement, that the Westminster government policy is immoral, unethical, and anti science.

@ButteringMyArse

Worth considering as well whether MN posts are actually even representative of the MNers making them.

There are people virtue signalling and making claims about the sacrifices they'd be willing to make in different circumstances: they'd isolate even if it meant not being able to pay the rent that month, they'd cancel their wedding the next day if the app pinged them, they'd test on holiday etc. They may very well be telling what they feel is the truth, but it's a lot easier to say you'd make a big sacrifice like that than actually do it.

True. They’d be fine saying everyone should SD indefinitely even if it meant them or dh / dc losing job / livelihood / money.

Easy to say when it’s not impacted and I doubt so quick with restrictions to keep ‘safe’ if it were

they'd isolate even if it meant not being able to pay the rent that month

Perhaps they realise that Long Covid potentially means not being able to pay the rent for more than one month.

Nobody I know sits and worries over what brand of vaccine they are getting, how effective one is compared to the other or even whether everyone the come into contact with is vaccinated. They just go for their appointment, get the vaccine and go home. Maybe have a wee moan about a sore arm or sore head the next day but thats it.

I'm in Scotland so we are still wearing masks and have some social distancing but things feel very normal even with those, people are just getting on with it. I only know one person who is still acting like we are in lockdown and, frankly, they are a bit of a drama about everything so its no surprise.

I've just been shopping and had lunch at a restaurant, felt lovely and normal despite there still being some rules in place.

them or dh / dc losing job / livelihood / money.

Yep. That will be the long term fate of many Long Covid sufferers.

And in some cases, the main breadwinner will be dead.

@Tealightsandd

them or dh / dc losing job / livelihood / money.

Yep. That will be the long term fate of many Long Covid sufferers.

Would you be fine with lower / no income to stop this happening for others?

@Tealightsandd

they'd isolate even if it meant not being able to pay the rent that month

Perhaps they realise that Long Covid potentially means not being able to pay the rent for more than one month.

And perhaps even if they did fear Long Covid when making their decision, they realised if they didn't work and earn this month, homelessness would render the rent issue moot.

So far, hundreds of NHS workers have died with Covid.

Many more are long term sick - with Long Covid and/or PTSD and burn out.

I've been away 4 times & spent 2 months in hospital at the height of the infection (not covid) and I am CEV I've just carried on as normal the only anxiety I see is on here.

MN always was more anxious and health concious than the rest of society anyway as evidenced by the regular toilet brush/ shoes in the house threads

It's also an outlet for more socially anxious or inyroverted people who never were living it up in bars and nightclubs anyway. Also an outlet for people with poor physical or mental health/ well-being.

Where posters solemnly vow that they're not risking going to the supermarket/ pub etc, you're not going to see those people in society, and those that are more socially active are too busy being socially active to be fretting online.

And perhaps even if they did fear Long Covid when making their decision, they realised if they didn't work and earn this month, homelessness would render the rent issue moot.

Yes that's the point. Long Covid disability means, for many, being unable to work. Long term. So rent not paid.

What a shame there was never as much concern for people unable to work pre pandemic. Perhaps then we would still have a safety net - so that people could still pay their rent when ill. We shouldn't accept a system where being ill or disabled means facing homelessness. That has been the fate of disabled people in the UK for years. No widespread outcry pre Covid though (except that it was condemned by the UN but the general public pretty much ignored that).

Instead of arguing for measures that will kill and disable many, how about calling for a proper welfare benefits safety net. And secure affordable housing (hint to Rishi Sunak, that means NOT losing the taxpayer billions in lost stamp duty tax revenue).

Perhaps we could encourage smoking. Afterall, living longer is clearly not valued in this country, and smoking contributes a huge net gain to the national economy.

Also an outlet for people with poor physical or mental health/ well-being.

Speak for yourself. Obviously it's great there's an outlet for people with health issues, but don't make the mistake of assuming your position is representative of everyone else's.

@Tealightsandd

And perhaps even if they did fear Long Covid when making their decision, they realised if they didn't work and earn this month, homelessness would render the rent issue moot.

Yes that's the point. Long Covid disability means, for many, being unable to work. Long term. So rent not paid.

What a shame there was never as much concern for people unable to work pre pandemic. Perhaps then we would still have a safety net - so that people could still pay their rent when ill. We shouldn't accept a system where being ill or disabled means facing homelessness. That has been the fate of disabled people in the UK for years. No widespread outcry pre Covid though (except that it was condemned by the UN but the general public pretty much ignored that).

Instead of arguing for measures that will kill and disable many, how about calling for a proper welfare benefits safety net. And secure affordable housing (hint to Rishi Sunak, that means NOT losing the taxpayer billions in lost stamp duty tax revenue).

Perhaps we could encourage smoking. Afterall, living longer is clearly not valued in this country, and smoking contributes a huge net gain to the national economy.

No, it is not the point. You just saw a post saying something you didn't like and saw it as an excuse to crowbar the usual in.

What you are evidently trying to do here is use the existence of the threat of Long Covid (and then various other issues as well) to minimise very real problems and concerns about things like isolation at the moment. That's the absolute opposite of the point, particularly on a thread that is specifically about people's views .

You might think that the existence of Long Covid means people shouldn't do things like ignore the app or even T and T telling them to isolate are in the wrong. That's fine, you can think that. It is still, however, happening.

Would you be fine with lower / no income to stop this happening for others?

Countries that took action to mitigate against Covid all have healthier economies than us.

How about we have a proper safety net for people who can't work - whether related to Covid or not. We could put stamp duty tax towards paying for it (if Rishi stops giving it away).

And yes, I'd choose to pay higher taxes for a better healthcare system (like Germany's) and a decent welfare benefits safety net.

Of course I would have implemented pandemic border control - so we wouldn't have needed such long term restrictions in the first place. I certainly wouldn't have welcomed in and let freely spread the Delta strain. And still the government hasn't learnt. We're now allowing in the Beta strain (which might be fairly resistant to AZ).

Anxiety about mitigation measures doesn't help. It only makes a bad situation worse.

Erm well no ButteringMyArse (sounds slippery). I've offering practical solutions to a very real problem. A problem that won't go away by shouting about anxiety.

@Tealightsandd

Would you be fine with lower / no income to stop this happening for others?

Countries that took action to mitigate against Covid all have healthier economies than us.

How about we have a proper safety net for people who can't work - whether related to Covid or not. We could put stamp duty tax towards paying for it (if Rishi stops giving it away).

And yes, I'd choose to pay higher taxes for a better healthcare system (like Germany's) and a decent welfare benefits safety net.

Of course I would have implemented pandemic border control - so we wouldn't have needed such long term restrictions in the first place. I certainly wouldn't have welcomed in and let freely spread the Delta strain. And still the government hasn't learnt. We're now allowing in the Beta strain (which might be fairly resistant to AZ).

Anxiety about mitigation measures doesn't help. It only makes a bad situation worse.

For many it really does come down to income being impacted heavily.

And many just want to have choice to earn even against threat of Long Covid or infection. Particularly now double vaccinated and low risk.

Others will talk about being ‘safe’ etc but I still agree with pp if it meant their personal finances probably not so quick to offer up endless restrictions. Easy to post about it less easy to take hit.

@Tealightsandd

Erm well no ButteringMyArse (sounds slippery). I've offering practical solutions to a very real problem. A problem that won't go away by shouting about anxiety.

Erm well yes, Tealights.

This thread is about whether MN is typical of real life when it comes to covid. You responded to a post of mine about people's behaviour by telling us why you don't think they should do that. The question of whether something is happening is not the same as whether that thing is a good idea or not. Whether you think someone who isn't isolating now because they can't afford to ought to factor Long Covid into their decision is a matter of supreme irrelevance: your opinion doesn't matter.

Easy to play Big Spender with tax (stamp duty) holidays. Instead of using that tax revenue towards helping people with the necessary mitigation measures.

Easy to shout vaguely about 'anxiety'. How about taking practical action instead.

The fact that so many might need to self isolate is only because of a refusal and failure of the Westminster government to take measures to mitigate against that. Suppress and contain. And therefore reduced chance of infections. Meaning reduced chance of death and bereavement, disability, and need to self isolate.

The point is mitigation measures.

Well those 75% who want to continue wearing masks aren't in my town. Very little mask wearing today, even more remarkably in Sainsbury's where the shelves were stripped bare, a bit like last year, and yet I counted two members of staff in masks, in the whole supermarket. Aren't shop workers supposed to be petrified of unmasked customers putting them at risk?! The news certainly told us they were.

@Tealightsandd

Easy to play Big Spender with tax (stamp duty) holidays. Instead of using that tax revenue towards helping people with the necessary mitigation measures.

Easy to shout vaguely about 'anxiety'. How about taking practical action instead.

The fact that so many might need to self isolate is only because of a refusal and failure of the Westminster government to take measures to mitigate against that. Suppress and contain. And therefore reduced chance of infections. Meaning reduced chance of death and bereavement, disability, and need to self isolate.

The point is mitigation measures.

None of which makes two shits of difference to the individuals facing this issue right now, or to the decisions they might make. Hence, not the point.

The point is mitigation measures.

Not on a thread about whether MN is representative of offline real life, it isn’t.

I don’t think many people I know are that worried about Long Covid. But maybe most people on here aren’t, either, and the reason it seems like loads of people are is that nobody’s going to start a thread called “not really that bothered about Long Covid”.

your opinion doesn't matter.

I was responding to an argument a poster made. But ok. Some opinions matter, but others don't? Is that attitude representative of real life? I'm not sure. Definitely it is representative of some sections of social media. Not always MN. Often on here people welcome debate and different opinions (perhaps not this thread). Is the echo chamber as strong in real life? Good question. I like to think not. Just as the majority of the public were/are accepting of necessary pandemic mitigation measures, so most are still tolerant of differing opinions. Which is good.