[quote Katie517]@55Jumbo is spot on instead of getting f angry about some people having a drink after work in a garden we should be furious at the fact that we allowed them to dictate our lives to a point where this is something we need to be angry at. Restrictions never needed to be that harsh and they knew it! And as I said on another thread it is better the devil you know at the moment with Boris as it seems really hopeful that we will be restriction free soon and the chance of another lockdown now with him in charge is zero![/quote]
I agree. The parties are a distraction. We're halfway to asking the right questions.
Why were households forced to distance at their moments of deepest grief.
Why were dying people denied love and comfort.
Why was education rationed out to children of parents with deserving occupations.
Why were children denied the company of their peers even in 2021. Junior school children could not technically exercise with a friend and be supervised and weren't exempt like u5s.
So so many whys. I haven't scratched the surface.
And it's not all on the government. They set the tone but organisations and individuals leapt on it with glee and added more and more layers of restriction and still do.
We've known fomite transmission is low risk for 18+ months. That emerged quite early. Why are oranisations still insisting on people gunging up their hands to prevent Covid.
The insanity still continues. Was Drakeford banning parkrun ever likely to prevent a case? How many people fit enough to run 5k are going to turn up infectious enough to spread in the open air in brief proximity to other runners/ volunteers? People losing movtivation and gaining weight is the much more significant health risk!
I'm long overdue a name change but I've stuck with it because by and large I stand by what I've been saying since spring 2020. The rules went too far and were inhumane. They dragged out for far too long. We squandered the natural low of summer 2020. Lockdown has social costs that grow over time. Schools should have returned. We made the autumn worse for that. People weren't spreading disease by having picnics, going to the beach or taking SN children out twice. The tier rules were a mess. Rules have been illogical- remember when two families couldn't meet in a park coz Rule of Six but you could meet 5 friends from different households in a park.
I'm glad people are suddenly begining to see more clearly but it was a long and lonely time being in the minority and constantly insulted as a Granny-Killer and berated for "not being in the spirit of the rules" (rules not necessarily being anything to do with law like exercising for a length of time). Other than fruitlessly doing battle in home-learning, I had nothing better to do with my life in 2020 than to try and treat people with a bit of compassion (yes, it's fine to feel sad and lonely that your maternity leave is like this) when the gloom-laden, joy-sucking dementors were insisting on full complience with zeal and acting like caring for anything else was murderous. "A holiday? You won't be leaving the country until 2023!"
I took things by the known risk at the time. I was more cautious from Feb 2020. As information changed, I adapted with it. I made the most of practical outdoor opportunities over indoor (I draw the line where hypothermia is the higher risk). I did not condemn people for doing what they needed to live their life. I slightly regret not illicitly climbing into playgrounds sooner- poor DS2 slipped into depression from lack of stimulation. That bit of happiness was well worth breaking the law for.
I doubt any government has followed their own rules with perfection. I'm not in the least surprised that Downing Street had parties through out. If they were having drinks in May 2020, it's no shocker that that culture continued. I'm glad I've been under Westminster not in Scotland or Wales where rules have been harder just because for no benefit. Kier Starmer would have been worse. The left likes a nice big nanny-state and this would have been a perfect opportunity. Boris Johnson is an arsehole, but I couldn't name a serious contender to do a better job. Now that is depressing!