Are the media misreading our mood?

When the "driver" of an enormous oil tanker decides to change direction, it takes a considerable distance for the vessel to repond to the turn of the wheel - I forget how far, but it is several miles. Wrenching the wheel from the pilot in midcourse wouldn't help the stability of the vessel or improve the journey.

The same is true of the ship of state.

Exactly what could be done right now to remedy all these shortcomings? How long does it take from now to get the whole country to change their understanding, attitude and behaviour? To order, have made, and delivered, equipment that the whole world is demanding? To elect a new government? To appoint dozens of new ministers and officials to replace the ones in whom so many people have lost confidence?

You won't do this overnight.

The immediate effect of all the ranting is to relieve the anxiety of the ranters - but it also increases the anxiety level of the population in general, in people who are already stressed by the situation. There is a need for a balance of bad news and good, of optimism as well as pessimism.

I agree with Hetty about how Pollyanna optimism (if |I may) is counterproductive both psychologically and tactically.

(I vote tactically, not Green, although I'd love to vote Green)

I agree with Eazybee. Let’s stand shoulder to shoulder with
Doctors, nurses, Carers, pharmacists, volunteers and get through this feeling we gave it our best shot to cope with the atrocity that is Covid19. The inquisition can go on and will go on later, for years probably.

People who didn't vote Conservative are gloating it happened under them?

Another ridiculous statement.

Let's look at this logically.

Us: people have died unnessesarily and we aren't happy about it.

You: You are gloating about it.

Can you see how those two statements don't go together?

Viruses are not political. Doesn't matter who is in charge. Those dying unnessesarily matter.

GrannyGravy, 'gloating'?, how could you say that? People are dying, families are grieving - we are despairing - and yet you insult us!

As ever Elegran says all that needs to be said.

As has been stated already in this thread, the press have taken on the role of the opposition. We should have a national government at this time, that would be the most mature and productive option. I can see no cause for optimism in any direction at the moment. This is going to be our way of life for the foreseeable future. The economic and social impact do not bear thinking about.

I spend far less time on GN now as the negativity from some obsessive posters leaves me fearing for their sanity and I don’t intend to let it undermine mine. They are totally incapable of seeing both sides of any discussion but fixated on constantly screeching about anything and everything that is done by our current govt. If the virus hadn’t come about and warehouses full of PPE were found moldering away in years to come, no doubt they would be screeching away about the waste of public money.

Of course there will be lessons to be learned but using this tragic event to score political points is beneath contempt but par for the course. They just can’t accept that their negativity and harping went a long way towards their losing the backing of the British public and seem incapable of change or self awareness. Bitterness, fury and self righteousness will be their permanent undoing.

The “journalists” are no doubt under huge pressure from their editors/superiors because their sales must be drastically cut during lockdown. They are desperate to keep their jobs but asking ridiculous repetitive questions designed to undermine those working 24/7 is showing them up in their true light. We watch the first statement at 5pm then switch off the nonsense.

We would have enough PPE if the government had shut down when they should. Weeks before us like other EU countries.

Its not negative, gloating or any of the other insults mentioned to say otherwise.

Truth is there is a hell of a lot of information by experts available on the Internet. We didn't say it first, we just read it. If you don't like it, don't look, don't read, go live in a happy bubble where people couldn't possibly have died unnessesarily and hope that you don't lose someone so precious to you that you start questioning if they could still be here.

Sussexborn Spot on!!

Viruses are not political people. Doesn't matter who is at the helm of the ship when it sinks. They saw the iceberg and they thought it would melt when we got there

Sussexborn, I agree that the daily updates are annoying so I don't watch them now. The media have always been alarmist and sales driven.

We can't divorce the emergency response from politics, though. Whatever government were in charge, we'd be watching and forming opinions. All countries are making comparisons.

However, I see realism, not negativity. 'Tragic event'? Hardly, it's like watching a car crash in slow motion.

Grenfell was presented (at first) as if it was some kind of natural disaster - rather than an avoidable tragedy.

There's a parallel here with an attempt to portray Coronavirus as an unexpected event - yet we saw it happening, saw it coming - and our government did too little, far too late!

^ if warehouses full of PPE were found moldering away in years to come^

Don't be silly.
PPE could be used from the store and replaced, in date order, to avoid that happening.

And it has been said, again and again and again.

Everyone's children did something at some tiime time that thet shouldn't have, or failed to do something they should, but would it have been constructive to keep on reciting that crime at them every day for ever when they were trying to deal with serious problems?

I ask again, not what mistakes were made, but how at this point in time does anyone suggest that the right measures be taken, what they

Don't forget the past, but do look and work past it to the present and future!

Sussexborn, When I blame Tories for mismanagement I do not intend to score political points. That is solely your inference.

Blasted autocorrect! "I ask again, not what mistakes were made, but ^how at this point in time does anyone suggest that the "right" measures be taken, what they are, and how long it would take for them to be applied and effective?"^

Firing the lot of them or clapping them in the Tower doesn't count as effective action - the problems will still remain.

Yes but my children never did anything that resulted in death. Also I raised them, if they were going around letting people die I would be blaming myself. Unlike Tory voters.

That last comment went too far. But for the lo e of everything, you wvoted for them, hold them to account. If you don't what's the next thing? Was austerity and the resulting deaths not enough?

There's a lot of ways you can be heard that doesn't constitute voting for a different party. Email your MP (I quite like mine and he is Conservative) start a petition, opinion polls etc

Shelmiss, ridiculous because some posters are arguing about politics when we are living through the plague! Fighting about how BJ was right or how they aren't REALLY lying because blah, blah, blah.

This ISN'T bl***y politics. It is about saving lives!

Some statisticians are saying THIS isn't even our peak death rate. That the peak rate will come later in the year when it combines with flu.

Possibly the reason those in control are so OUT of control, is for the same reason some posters on this site STILL insist on getting into party political arguments. Because they STILL think there is a space for political arguing.

IMO we are way, way past the point where we have space for support/dislike of a politician because we support/oppose that party.

We need to hold those responsible for the deaths of thousands of UK citizens. And we need to let those who CAN effectively lead us, do so, regardless of political affiliation.

My overseas friends (Swiss, Turkish, US, New Zealand, Chinese, other Asian countries) are watching the UK in horror. They compare our government to Trump. They can't believe we're allowing this mismanagement.

Sussexborn, very sensible post. And they are now beginning to screech about the Nightingale hospitals being a waste of money.........

Very interesting listening from the More or Less programme 22/4/20, particularly around statistics for death totals for the day they occurred. They claim that the peak happened on April 8th and the significance of that.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000hfqq

Comparing us to Trump is massively embarrassing.

Honestly, Boris out, any Conservative with their head on their shoulders fine by me. There are still many fundamentally important decisions to be made

GrannyLaine fascinating so far. How many people would still be alive with just a few days earlier lockdown