Guilt Free Railing 17

[WouldBeGood]

Happy New Thread, Railers!

I know. I don't really care whether he goes or not, though on principle he absolutely should. If we get someone more competent at pushing through the strange blend of libertarianism with authoritarianism the parliamentary conservative power seems to want it might be even worse for the country.

Though from an anti Scottish independence pov we might get a prime minister who doesn't do such a good job of promoting the Scottish Indy cause.

@Y0uCann0tBeSer10us

I find it all incredibly frustrating. The data are all suggesting that this latest wave is far less severe than feared, probably because of the high level of immunity we have, and it's quite clear that no amount of 'rules' in hospitality or whatever makes the slightest bit of distance, despite how JL and NS would like to spin it. Down in England there is a strong impetus to phase out remaining restrictions on the basis on diminishing returns, and as a result they have been living and continue to live in much greater freedom than we do. They are no worse off for it. Yet Sturgeon just can't seem to bring herself to let go of the control she has over Scots. Even when her hand is forced and she relaxes a rule like the outdoor gatherings one, she then tightens others to compensate (and is it really practical to check 30000 vaccine passes? It will cause major queues and take an age!). She suggests that in the coming weeks she might relax rules in hospitality, but then she might extend vaccine passes too. She seems to have forgotten that schools exist altogether, but that 'masks till October' edict doesn't seem to be shifting any time soon, despite increasing evidence that the masks worn by children most often do little to stop spread anyway. I'm just really sick of being thrown some crumbs every now and then with the expectation that I should be grateful for it, and stop complaining because 'COVID'. I'm British too, so why can't I have the same rights as fellow Brits in England? Who up here is pushing to have restrictions dropped, to try and bring a bit of balance to things?

Exactly we are actually one country - the UK! The differences in rules is 100% political nonsense....hoping we'll sleepwalk into being independent because we've been managed as a separate country. Sorry love won't be voting for that and didn't last time.

Apparently Boris is now odds-on to be replaced in 2022 with Rishi Sunak being the narrow favourite. I think he's be a marked improvement on Boris (not that that takes much), and would hopefully do a good job of countering SNP trouble making. I don't think he'd agree to a section 30 so we wouldn't to deal with another indyref campaign at least.

No doubt someone is out for him and waging a campaign - I can't see boris cares that much either way.

Dh and I must be the only people who genuinely cannot feel the outrage ourselves, they all work together all day, so I can't see how it added to anyone's covid risk. I suspect we just don't get it.

I can see that looking like you're having a party is not in the spirit but if any other key workers had done similar I'd not have cared.

Ruth Davidson would be brilliant but ineligible. She has no truck with Sturgeon...remember the snapped " och sit DOWN Nicola!" when Sturgeon kept interrupting on points of order? So funny.

Articles in the papers at the weekend were saying Liz Truss was angling for the PM position. I can't stand Boris, but I think I'd rather he stayed if that's the alternative.

who comes next? Slimey Gove? Nutjob Reese-Mogg?

Honestly none of the big faces in any party have showered themselves in glory. Some worse than others and whilst I do like reese-mogg giving it to the simple crofter, he's as bad as and worse than many.

Is it one of these things where the few that might have integrity/decency and intelligence in any party are lurking in the dark corners of the back benches?

All the partying etc says to me is that the people with the info weren't scared so why was there such a campaign to feed the public such guff?

So yes, for me it's about what it represents and what followed rather than the party per se. I didn't have a party but plenty of the public did and good for them. It's the gaslighting and spread of fear that does it for me.

@ElephantOfRisk

All the partying etc says to me is that the people with the info weren't scared so why was there such a campaign to feed the public such guff?

So yes, for me it's about what it represents and what followed rather than the party per se. I didn't have a party but plenty of the public did and good for them. It's the gaslighting and spread of fear that does it for me.

Yes it's curious.

Yes, if key workers/anyone that couldn't wfh were allowed to have work events involving wine if they had worked together all day anyway, why didn't they know that? I can see that elephant

All the partying etc says to me is that the people with the info weren't scared so why was there such a campaign to feed the public such guff?

That's the bit that's getting me, and it does follow that England opens up sooner.

I'm starting to think a lot of stuff included England's approach is all because people want "something" done. But then BJ was the one who ended up in hospital very ill with Covid so maybe he learned the hard way that Covid is no fun.

Sorry today I'm going to do some more me-railing. Still trying and failing to sort out an exemption.
I phoned up the number of the website that says the following:

"If you think you cannot receive the vaccine or test for a medical reason, your local vaccination centre or the COVID Status Helpline (0808 196 8565) can:

answer questions you may have
can advise on what arrangements may be put in place so you can be vaccinated or tested safely
If you've done this, and you cannot be vaccinated or tested for medical reasons, you'll receive a secure paper exemption certificate in the post, covering both vaccination and testing."

Guess what happens if you phone them? They very earnestly take ages trying to find out for you, they put you on hold and talk to team leaders, they do their best, but they actually can't help. There's no process. It doesn't actually exist.
Nor could my GP find anything, again not for want of trying.

I suppose I could go round to my actual nearest vaccination centre as my next port of call per the guidance but I mean... really?!

I'm fucking angry. Every time Sturgeon stands up and blathers about the "unless exempt" she's lying and she knows it. Hence why I can't get particularly worked up about Johnson's shenanigans.

@MaxNormal that is just so unfair and I'd bet the vaccine center staff would be loathed to issue a letter.

@Lockdownbear do you think I should actually try it? Like go along there? I mean I've got my consultants letter exempting me so I'm not even actually asking anyone to make a decision, just to do the whatever-it-is procedure.
But I'm now convinced that doesn't exist.

Given you have a consultants letter it might be worth getting the vaccine center staff to see if they can add it to your records.

I wouldn't go out your way to do it but I've not needed a vaccine passport yet, but the worse things that happens is they say No!

I actually feel really mutinous now. I'm no different to any other dirty anti-vax scum that keeps getting vilified in the press and on social media. Fine, I'll own it. Cheers for radicalising me.

It's just a worry if they decide to follow Quebec extra tax for the anti-vax!

"All the partying etc says to me is that the people with the info weren't scared so why was there such a campaign to feed the public such guff?"

This is very true, and I'm reminded of the tone, from the UK got anyway, in those early days, which was very much that only the oldest and sickest that were at significant risk. I'm sure Chris Whitty said in one of the pressers that even in the oldest, sickest group the majority would survive (which is bourne out by the stats to be fair), and I think it was Patrick Vallance who said that actually we need low risk people to get it to build immunity and protect the vulnerable. It then got hugely political and the tone changed a bit, and in Scotland we were subjected to outright gaslighting on a regular basis from Sturgeon and her advisors who tried to convince us all that everyone was at significant risk (which was never true) in an effort to manipulate people into staying home so we could 'eliminate COVID' (which we now hear was never on the cards, and anyone with appropriate knowledge should have realised that). In England I'm not sure that was ever the specific aim, but they might have been more worried about hospital capacity I guess, hence the messaging. It's that balance between an individual's risk probably being very low, but on a society-wide scale the risk being high, so individual rights were curtailed, even though the vast majority of people would be (and were) fine with COVID.

Anyway, I can quite believe that no-one at that party actually felt personally like they were at significant risk, and to be frank, the majority probably weren't. The annoying thing for me is that they were allowed/able to make that personal risk assessment while the rest of us were denied that opportunity.

Lockdownbear England will beckon.

It was obvious by then that the restrictions were nonsense tbh.

I’m much more exercised by other stuff Johnson and his government have done to be honest.

And the SG. None of them give a fuck about the vulnerable and I’m just astonished that people ever believe they do.

And the SG. None of them give a fuck about the vulnerable and I’m just astonished that people ever believe they do

I think our drug overdose deaths alone tell us that.

@MaxNormal

I actually feel really mutinous now. I'm no different to any other dirty anti-vax scum that keeps getting vilified in the press and on social media. Fine, I'll own it. Cheers for radicalising me.

God I'm so sorry your having all this crap just to be able to get an official stamped piece of paper/app.

I think like anything there is a scale of unvaccinated people which sadly get lumped into 1 supervillan!

Top end of the scale is those that intimidate outside schools and hurl abuse at people getting vaccinated (definitely don't like these ones) the other end is people who can't for medical reasons like yourself who are now struggling! Then there is all in between!

That's awful @MaxNormal do you have a decent MSP you could raise it with? If not your constituency one, one of the list ones?

Thank you both. Yes I've papped it over to the assistant of my list MSP who responded sympathetically previously.
My own MSP is an SNP bot.

I’m far more curious as to why they all felt perfectly safe in their workplace?

So interestingly, someone on Twitter has flagged all the NHS staff dances again- groups of employees dancing around together, posting on TikTok as though there wasn’t a shit storm going through the hospitals and folk weren’t allowed in to see their dying relatives, or be with their partners as they gave birth, or worse, suffered miscarriages alone on a hospital ward. This was a small minority of NHS staff, obviously, but can we agree that a set of rules were imposed- by politicians across the UK- which were cruel and unjustified across so many sectors.