For a lot of people, it took BorisWineGate before they were able to feel any compassion for those who suffered due to some of the OTT restrictions of 2020

[greenteafiend]

Because there are a number of people (on here and in other places) who are now finally happy to show sympathy for those who gave birth alone, died alone or were unable to say goodbye to loved ones or hug a suicidal friend, even though they spent most of 2020 supporting even the most insane measures, repeatedly calling for even harsher ones, and saying the most horrible things to people who tried to talk about how desperate they were feeling. And then spent most of 2021 demanding more and tougher restrictions too.

You know who you are. And you can sod off with Boris, frankly.

I see that ghastly Owen Jones (the eternal barometer of weasle-word turncoat politics) is now trying to pivot in this way on Twitter. I'm happy to say that he's being mocked soundly.

But those of us who questioned the insanity (and still do) and who were directly seeing the effect these mental restrictions were having on people, especially children were shot down and called granny killers.

And it's not better. FFS, someone got absolutely dragged over the coals for taking her mask of to breastfeed her baby! God forbid her baby should be able to look up and see Mums smiling face and connect with her every single time she feeds. Oh no, baby doesnt need to see mums face and Mum just wants to kill everyone in the train carriage.

I mean, people complain about women being asked to cover up to feed but think this was okay to demand? WTF!!

@GirlInACountrySong

No. The restrictions at that time were put in as it felt necessary and who knew which way covid would go

Now, with the benefit of hindsight, we feel they were unnecessary

That's the beauty of hindsight though

No the restrictions were put in place and kept as long as they were because..

1. Other countries had done it and
2. Because the MSM was baying for it.

It became obvious very quickly with both lockdowns that they peaks in case rates didn't correspond with the date of lockdown, but actually from a week earlier.

Taping off playgrounds seemed fucking disgusting at the time. It isn't a hindsight thing

Ditto park benches - essentially preventing many elderly and disabled people from exercising.

We shouldn't have been shutting people in, we should have been encouraging people to get fit, to get out and about, to meet their friends and families for hikes in the countryside etc.

Absolutely, and again there were plenty of us who understood this at the time.

I'd add to your points that there are millions of people in the UK living in properties without private gardens, and they were pressured and in many cases bullied for utilising their right to get out and exercise. When the exact thing they needed to be doing was being outside, moving and getting vitamin D.

@TempsPerdu

Taping off playgrounds seemed fucking disgusting at the time. It isn't a hindsight thing

Ditto park benches - essentially preventing many elderly and disabled people from exercising.

Yeah this was disgusting and completely irrational. I remember a poor guy who lived near me getting arrested and dragged away from an empty cliff top where he was sitting alone, meditating and doing yoga. The only contact he had was with the police officers who manhandled him away, so they caused more a disturbance/danger by intervening than not. It really didn't take a genius (or hindsight) to work this out.

@TempsPerdu

Taping off playgrounds seemed fucking disgusting at the time. It isn't a hindsight thing

Ditto park benches - essentially preventing many elderly and disabled people from exercising.

Yes, the disablism was very clear.

They also closed all the public toilets near us which resulted in people getting desperate and weeing up against gardens walls etc. At least it livened up the local facebook page for a while and gave the curtain twitchers something new to surreptitiously photograph and rant on about!

@kickupafuss

I don’t agree with you. People followed the restrictions because they thought it was the right thing to do. People sympathised with others who suffered because of the restrictions. I expect most people suffered in one way or another and that’s why they’re so angry now.

I agree. I supported the restrictions at the time because I believed they were necessary. I certainly didn't enjoy them, particularly as someone living alone before bubbles were permitted but I know others suffered more.

I've always thought this government was full of amoral lying bastards anyway.

@TempsPerdu
Absolutely and taping off benches / closing public loos etc wasn't a trivial thing. If you are old and have limited mobility but are able to get out for a short walk provided you can rest during it, a few weeks of no exercise could well remove the mobility you had and you may never regain that. It was blatantly obvious in March 2020 that those sorts of rules would be really damaging for elderly or disabled people and that sitting on a bench posed no additional risk of covid so there is really no excuse for it.

Totally agree. From day one it was clear that some of the laws and guidance were ludicrous (leaving the house once a day, anyone?) and pointless. I didn't bother with much of the crap because I saw through it from the beginning.

And all the time our overlords have been laughing at us. You couldn't make it up.

The truth is most people followed the rules for the most part because they were scared and they wanted to protect themselves and others. That's it
To clarify: My anger is not aimed at anyone who "followed rules"; it is aimed at those who were yelling for harsher and harsher rules (remember all the "proper lockdown" people?) and verbally abused those who tried to talk about having a difficult time.

@greenteafiend

The truth is most people followed the rules for the most part because they were scared and they wanted to protect themselves and others. That's it To clarify: My anger is not aimed at anyone who "followed rules"; it is aimed at those who were yelling for harsher and harsher rules (remember all the "proper lockdown" people?) and verbally abused those who tried to talk about having a difficult time.

Yes, and it's vital to make that distinction.

Closing the public loos was deliberate to keep people at home as many people can’t go far for for long without being sure there is a loo they can use. I remember swapping tips on here for public loos that were kept open in central London. The royal parks being honourable exceptions.
But even they succumbed to the madness of closing off every other cubicle and handbasin resulting in silly queues that were unnecessary if they had kept all the cubicles and sinks in action

@sashagabadon

Closing the public loos was deliberate to keep people at home as many people can’t go far for for long without being sure there is a loo they can use. I remember swapping tips on here for public loos that were kept open in central London. The royal parks being honourable exceptions. But even they succumbed to the madness of closing off every other cubicle and handbasin resulting in silly queues that were unnecessary if they had kept all the cubicles and sinks in action

It was, of course, structurally sexist because men can piss where they like.

Some of the restrictions were 'unnecessary'....which ones??

Shutting down most medical care, including dentists. I heard stories of people in agony trying to pull their own teeth out.
Shutting public toilets
Taping off playgrounds
Most restrictions on outdoor activity were pointless, cruel and sent out damaging messages that harmed people's mental and physical health.
Police officers harassing people, flying drones, rummaging through people's shopping, putting threatening tweets and messages online
Forcing ANYONE to give birth alone or die alone

Please, none of this "Oh, but we didn't know at the time" bollocks. Anyone with a cursory knowledge of how a respiratory virus spreads should know that the above is pointless pandemic control theater. Some of us were trying to point this out from early on in the pandemic.

I remember the “just stay the fuck at home” crowd all too well.

I didn’t need the benefit of hindsight to be disgusted by their attitude to people who were suffering.

Yes Viking you are right it was. Ageist and disablist too.

I have a severely autistic son and I remember some people telling me I was being selfish for driving him to an open space (which was allowed) because "What if everyone did that" and " We are all suffering " I remember someone else got berated for taking their child with sn to a beach. I don't believe those who think like this will have changed their ways even now.

@sashagabadon

Yes Viking you are right it was. Ageist and disablist too.

It also disproportionately affected those elderly and disabled people who lacked access to private outside space. There were people who didn't have their own gardens and would've needed to sit down and rest whilst outside who were too afraid to go out, so just didn't get outside access. It was utterly indefensible. We will probably never know what that did to their health.

It’s funny as although I credit the left generally with a lot of this madness authoritarian stuff (as in they were mostly calling for longer harder restrictions and actively campaigned against schools opening fully in June 2020 which I was furious about at the time and remain furious now) there are many left wing commentators finally seeing the light on some of this stuff.
I bet many are busy scrubbing their Twitter history from that time!
Labour should never have had a pro lockdown position. I couldn’t believe it took this position at the time as it was so anti normal working people and so anti children and the young.

Agree with lots of this thread. As someone with an only child and no garden I found a lot of the narrative on here really shitty and smug. The police making up their own laws was particularly terrifying. Much more frightening than the virus.

@sashagabadon

It’s funny as although I credit the left generally with a lot of this madness authoritarian stuff (as in they were mostly calling for longer harder restrictions and actively campaigned against schools opening fully in June 2020 which I was furious about at the time and remain furious now) there are many left wing commentators finally seeing the light on some of this stuff. I bet many are busy scrubbing their Twitter history from that time! Labour should never have had a pro lockdown position. I couldn’t believe it took this position at the time as it was so anti normal working people and so anti children and the young.

There was, in fairness, always a left wing lockdown sceptical presence on social media. They were saying this at the time too, they're a different group to the ones who have been mellowing recently.

The problem is that it didn't really exist in mainstream politics, which has left many of us politically homeless. It was not articulated that the covid regulations were always going to be disproportionately enforced against those with least power, even though this is actually pretty obvious.

You can have compassion for someone and still think they are mistaken.

@sashagabadon - I know, I've been so shocked at Labour and don't feel I could vote for them now which means next election I will probably have to vote monster raving looney party as there doesn't seem to be a viable alternative! I've always seen the left as more caring and liberal but this has really blown that out of the water. The Guardian readers comments are the best - absolute obnoxious, controlling vitriol - salivating over the thought of anyone unvaccinated being permanently excluded from society (or else shot probably).

Yes there was Viking. Me for starters! But it became a “right wing” thing to be lockdown critical or even say maybe we shouldn’t do this or that. It was only the right that spoke out against it.
Yes you had piers Corbin et all but there should have been more centrist left wing voices speaking out too,