Coping With Covid

[411514]

Probably also worth recognising that each of our own priorities may differ from those of other people.

Michel - you drive around in your car, and you do that knowing with certainty that your actions are damaging to other people's health. I have several relatives who are asthmatic, and your driving a car is particularly harmful to their health - and you know that with certainty. But presumably you continue to drive because you think that what you want to do is more important than other people's health. Clearly then is a bit rich you getting so upset about other people choosing to do what they want in a way which you consider may be harmful to you. Would you be OK with someone dismounting their high-horse in the street and 'bellowing' at you, or at a dear relative, not to drive a car, or poking their head through your window and 'bellowing' at you to turn off your central-heating, and then proudly recounting their feat on a forum?

Hellrazor - how would you react to someone 'having a discussion with you' about aspects of your conduct that they don't agree with, and then calling you stupid? What if the person you had your 'discussion' with was stupid and had required special educational provisions - that seems awfully harsh to expect everyone to be as clever as you.

Whilst you may disapprove of someone else's conduct, it strikes me as mightily arrogant to seek to force your own views on others.

[myglaren]

She is currently working 14~16 hours a day, including the days she should be off. She gets no extra pay for this and scant thanks either.

To be fair Steve, I think you are being a little harsh there. Whilst I understand that she may not be getting direct thanks from her manager which is unfortunate, a large proportion of the population are thanking her and all her NHS colleagues on a regular basis, not to mention the PM and Queen both thanking them in various speeches. So I'll add my personal thanks to her here, if you would pass them on. We really do appreciate the extra miles which NHS staff are putting in and I will certainly support any increased remunerationary proposals that may come forward.

Agreed, it is the management that have little regard for the efforts of the minions. Most of the doctors that she works with are OK and frazzled themselves.

[bobins]

To take the argument to its (illogical) conclusion - just about everything we do causes harm in some way, shape or form - sometimes to ourselves, mostly to the planet and/or other people. Also, if we do nothing, that can cause harm in some way, shape or form i.e. stay at home, do nothing, don't earn any money, can't afford to keep the house & family, depression, out on the street. Some things are an acceptable risk which we can't reasonably do a great deal about - other things we can modify our behaviour to minimise the risk. It's how modern society exists - has to exist.
I don't think anyone can reasonably say they didn't know about social distancing - they can chose to ignore it, they can be distracted by other things, but I find it difficult to comprehend that anyone in the UK was unaware of the need for social distancing.

[411514]

Some things are an acceptable risk which we can't reasonably do a great deal about - other things we can modify our behaviour to minimise the risk. It's how modern society exists - has to exist.

But again, what is 'acceptable' and 'reasonable' is wholly subjective. What is acceptable and reasonable to you may not be acceptable and reasonable to somebody else, and one should reasonably accept that. And there is a country mile between quiet expectation that other people take reasonable steps to look after your interests, and bellowing at stupid people when they do something you don't like.

[Michel]

Whilst you may disapprove of someone else's conduct, it strikes me as mightily arrogant to seek to force your own views on others.

Your argument is nonsense.

It’s not a “view”. It’s an instruction from medical experts and government morons to stay 2m away and social distance when out near others who don’t live with you, to prevent spread of a potentially fatal virus. If you can’t tell the difference between that and a “view” then there’s absolutely no point discussing it with you.

I’d have absolutely no problem at all with someone shouting at me if I was doing something potentially lethal, that had no known cure yet.

As it happens, I was in Lidl doing shopping for an elderly couple who can’t go out because of social distancing rules and them being over 70...

It’s not me who needs to get off my high horse here.

[Michel]

Probably also worth recognising that each of our own priorities may differ from those of other people.

Michel - you drive around in your car, and you do that knowing with certainty that your actions are damaging to other people's health. I have several relatives who are asthmatic

I note with interest you also drive a stinky polluting non-FAP diesel... perhaps you should think of changing it for a less polluting, more modern petrol car, with up to date emissions equipment, or perhaps a far less polluting modern motorcycle, or electric car? A bicycle even...

[411514]

Michel - I think that you have at least answered my question "Would you be OK with someone dismounting their high-horse in the street and 'bellowing' at you, or at a dear relative, not to drive a car, or poking their head through your window and 'bellowing' at you to turn off your central-heating, and then proudly recounting their feat on a forum?"

[bobins]

So what would your reaction be if someone posed an immediate threat to your life i.e. stood too close to you when there is a contagious virus doing the rounds that has killed countless thousands of people recently ? Pull up a chair and have a quiet discussion with them ? Under the circumstances, I don't think bellowing at someone who could easily be posing a real and immediate threat to your own life is unreasonable. It might also save their life. Maybe it'd be better to let the people who find social distancing a little too complicated find out the hard way

[myglaren]

This is rapidly approaching deletion territory. Please keep it on topic and less argumentative.

[andy5]

It is mind boggling how stupidity seems to spread these days. Wouldn't it be fun if those of us that are obeying the rules to the letter carried a spray can of flourescent indellible paint with us and give a quick squirt down the back of these idiots to warn others about them. A kind of Name and Shame job!! And NO I'm not saying we should do it but it would be gratifying

I think you might be charged with vandalising police uniform, given the number of videos floating around that show that rules on social distancing do not apply to police officers supposed to be enforcing the rules.

The nuttiest one was all the people who deliberately travelled to and assembled on Westminster Bridge, to video and then broadcast themselves applauding the NHS. And the police joined in.

Correction: maybe the nuttiest incident was a chief constable threatening to search people's shopping trolleys.

[white exec]

This is rapidly approaching deletion territory. Please keep it on topic and less argumentative.

This has been a good thread in the main, with some very sensible (and witty) discussion about coping with the emergency.
Don't want to see it degenerate into unpleasant argument or personal accusations, so please be tactful about what you post.
Would be a shame to have to delete the thread, as some good points have been made.

[Hell Razor5543]

It would be nice if the United Kingdom government had reacted to COVID 19 in a similar way to the New Zealand government;

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/coronavi ... spartanntp

[Hell Razor5543]

I was out again this evening (Clapping for the Carers) when a young man walked past. He said "Thank you, what you are doing is appreciated at the Hospital". How else could I respond than with "Thank you as well. What you all are doing at the Hospital is appreciated far more out here"?

[bobins]

Whilst I can totally sympathise with the sentiment, there's not a hope in hell that the UK could have reacted in the same way as the New Zealand government. There are just so many differences between 'them' and 'us'. For starters - they only have around 5 million* people to deal with, whereas there's over 66 million in the UK. New Zealand has a population density of around 46 people per mile² whereas the UK is over 700 people per mile². I could have done a better job of dealing with C-19 than the UK Govt if I only had 5 million people to deal with

* - that's around 5/9th the population of greater London.

[andy5]

It would be nice if the United Kingdom government had reacted to COVID 19 in a similar way to the New Zealand government;

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/coronavi ... spartanntp

It's come out in the last day or two that Boris Johnson didn't attend the first 5 Cobra meetings, and part of his reasons were a two week holiday with his girlfriend.

So, when it at last came on the news that he would chair a meeting, and we thought ah now it's getting serious ....... no, there had been 5 already.

Edit, this isn't a left wing nutter conspiracy theory, just in case anyone wonders. One of the prime movers of this story is the Daily Express