Tuesday 24 March 2020

So Much For 'Keep Calm And Carry On'...


Oh, Jerry, if only you'd known...

...but then, that was for when the Luftwaffe were dropping 1000lb bombs, not really serious things like a bad flu with a 97% recovery rate.
In a grim address to the nation from Downing Street, Mr Johnson said family reunions, weddings, baptisms and other social events must be cancelled to stop the NHS collapsing under the strain. Funerals can go ahead attended by just a handful of closest relatives.
The government just threw the UK economy and everyone's rights under a bus to protect ... the NHS.

Am I missing something here?
Going out for exercise will be allowed once a day, but parks will be patrolled to make sure there is no abuse of the rules.
Really? You mean the local councils that let yobs and drug addicts have free rein in our local parks for years will now open up cupboards and haul, blinking, into the sunlight the beloved old 'parkie', all set and raring to go'?
Police will have powers to fine those who do not fall into line, and disperse any public gatherings.
Yes, those same police who stood by while London burned several years ago and people lost their livelihoods, their homes, their pets and their loved ones will now stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage, then lend the eye a terrible aspect and ... fine little Mabel who they think might have taken more than the maximum one permitted walk per day?
...closing all shops selling non-essential goods,​ including clothing and electronic stores, and other premises including libraries, playgrounds and outdoor gyms, and places of worship
And here we see the terrible gulf between those who rule us and ordinary life. Who think they can be the ones to define what are 'essential goods'.

"But Tamara, if we close libraries, what will the people stuck at home do for entertainment?"

"Oh, Tarquin, you are silly! They all have Amazon Prime on their Kindles, yah?" 

We are governed by utter morons. Cinemas, I could understand. People go to those in groups. But libraries?

And have we forgotten that modern libraries are not just book repositories, but places where people have been encouraged to go to access vital services, get internet access for job searching and banking, etc?

Run the country? These people couldn't run a bath...

As Longrider says:
"Somewhere between “we’re all going to dieeeeee!” and “there isn’t a problem.” was a sensible and pragmatic approach: Isolating the vulnerable and allowing the healthy to get sick, thereby building herd immunity. However, they have chosen a path that fascists across the world will applaud. This evening, any belief that we live in a free country died as we all submitted with barely a whimper to indefinite house arrest."
We live in interesting times. Hmmm. That's an old Chinese curse, isn't it?

9 comments:

MTG 1 said...

A little professional expertise in environmental protection makes me biased.

The new measures are simply unavoidable. 'House Arrest' is perfectly sensible in the given circumstances and more than justifiable, it is vital. Whether 'House Arrest' will work or not (and there are obvious holes in the exemptions to be exploited) is quite another matter.

Just when plod had a viral-sent opportunity to redeem themselves, they began taking 'sickies' in their droves. The enforcement of these measures is probably best left to a service with balls, so we cannot rely on cowardly plod. This job is best left to the military and Boris already knows that.

Bucko said...

Well said Julia

Just Trevor said...

The descent - no, make that headlong dive - into hysteria terrifies me far more than any disease ever could. And it's not just the usual lumpen state-dependent cretins either - those who are nominally the 'adults in the room' are every bit as bad.

Anonymous said...

The new measures might or might not be just what is needed but as for fines and enforcement now that's just a laugh. When out day taking my dog for her one permitted walk I was amazed to see no police, no community wardens, no PCSOs and no park wardens in fact no enforcers of any kind. Situation normal then our area is still as abandoned by the police as ever and the criminals and illegal double walkers are as safe from penalties as they ever were.

Anonymous said...

Not seen police disappear en masse and so quickly from my area, since Raoul Moat sent the lot scurrying to find an 'urgent' form-filling job that could last for up to three days in Northumbria's only bullet-proof offices.

Anonymous said...

Apparently Melvin thinks police are immune to this virus.
We aren't, and neither are soldiers.
Jaded

Northish said...

If I understand correctly, Israel is isolating those at risk from Covid 19 infection and as good as telling the rest to go out and get the virus to build immunity.
We, as a species, have had millions of years and thousands of generations to develop an immune system that can identify and defeat a vast range of pathogens.

Anonymous said...

What I discovered while watching Boris on TV was that the lockdown isn't to protect you, the individual, but the NHS. As far as I'm concerned, it teaches me a lesson, and that is that every single person in the NHS should be trained in some medical specialism or other. Then they can all rise to the challenge, administrators and all.

JuliaM said...

" 'House Arrest' is perfectly sensible in the given circumstances..."

What are those, then? It seems few 'experts' can agree. I fear we are doing this all on bad advice and incorrect extrapolation of data.

"The descent - no, make that headlong dive - into hysteria terrifies me far more than any disease ever could."

And the ease with which we turn into a nation of informers and petty score-settlers shows you're right to be so.

"...and the criminals and illegal double walkers are as safe from penalties as they ever were."

Listen to yourself! 'illegal double walkers'..!

"Apparently Melvin thinks police are immune to this virus."

Certainly not immune to the authoritarian virus, eh?

"If I understand correctly, Israel is isolating those at risk from Covid 19 infection and as good as telling the rest to go out and get the virus to build immunity."

Once again, Israel is at the forefront of sensible policies.

"...the lockdown isn't to protect you, the individual, but the NHS."

When did we replace 'God and country' with an organisation?