Is it naive to think people will do the right thing?

GagaJo Mon 02-Dec-19 17:58:40
Gfplux, I'm off to Switzerland for 6 months and then China for the foreseeable. The pollution in China puts me off a bit but I have very good friends there so

But you expect governments to foresee the future do you Gagajo ?

Enough of this, these words are a very apt parody by Sam Gill ofWordsworth’s beautiful poem “Upon Westminster Bridge”


VIEW FROM WESTMINSTER HOSPITAL

Earth has not anything of more despair:
Dim would he be of mind who could pass by
A sight so baffling in its stupidity:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The pity of the mourning, all laid bare,
Streets, parks, temples, now should empty lie
Closed unto the people, the virus to deny;
But the selfish and thoughtless are still there.
Ne'er did people more foolishly keep
Their heedless acts, no care for the ill;
Ne'er sensed I, never felt, an ire so deep!
The people glideth at their own sweet will:
Dear God! the houses must remain asleep;
Else our fragile hearts be lying still!

SAM GILL (2020)

(With apologies to William Wordsworth, Upon Westminster Bridge - 1802)

It's niave to think ALL people will do the right thing as obviously they haven't been doing so.
It is a minority who think they know better than experts..
Unfortunately they are putting everyone at risk
The only answer is a powerful lock down as in France and New Zealand.
This minority need to be given no options.

Partly about the words - don't stockpile points out what you might do 'shop as normal' - much better - same as keep hands below shoulders, instead of don't touch your face.

I am angry beyond words. My son messaged me today to say that DL had arranged for their two children to go to their friends for schooling today and they will have the friends tomorrow for the same .
I daren’t reply because I’m so annoyed. But if I did reply , I think my first question would be “ why do you think the schools closed? ?

Xrgran we don’t have anywhere near that amount of people in the UK. Even if you mean 250000 I think that’s a massive overestimation - at least I hope it is!

I agree tickingbird. It is a massive overestimation, bearing in mind that the death rate in Italy so far is 5,500 which is terrible, and the worst affected country.

Xrgran Mon 23-Mar-20 16:02:31
Estimated 250,000.000 will die in Britain alone ????

That’s 250 million out of a total population of 66.87 million

?? ?

250,000 (thousand not million) isn't an unrealistic number.

To achieve "herd immunity", at least 60% of people would need to be immune (although most experts seem to think it would need to be a higher percent).

If the death rate of those who catch it is 1%, that's 396,000 deaths.

Friend just messaged me, seething, she’s 60 but is social distancing as husband has a couple of health issues. Over garden fence to neighbour aged 76. “Are you ok , do you need anything?” “ oh no I’m fine I’ve been to the shops every day. I’m just back from visiting my daughter. Why ? are you staying in.?”
Friend said yes and I think you should be too and walked off

Can anyone answer this..... I have an invalid husband who hasn’t been out of the house for a year...... I have not allowed anyone in my house for 4 weeks. Nobody comes here! I’m only 69 years old and Sainsbury’s has just cancelled my usual delivery slot as I’m ‘do not qualify ‘ my daughter ( bad asthmatic ) is in isolation ..... not one person has knocked and asked if I needed anything. Just how in hell do I get food....I tell you how.... I left my house at 5.30 this frosty morning ( no car) and walked to my local coop.... no bread or milk. I then turned around and walked to Sainsbury’s to find they weren’t opening at normal time , but giving time slot over to NHS workers( of which I approve)...so I trudge on to local Tesco express and find a loaf but no milk.. I walked home. A round trip of three miles !!! My husband needs looking after and I’m his carer, but I’m on nobody’s radar. I will continue to creep out in early hours and basically scavenge for anything I can get.... and apologise to no-one. I dont talk to anyone...I put scarf around my mouth and nose, and I’m not ill. I take my temperature every morning.m, and will continue to do this until the despicable food hoarders eat themselves to death!

i do believe self isolation is good .but for how long? how do we know the full truth of when this will be over?/ stock piling will only lead to food being wasted... i was dismayed at the supermarket where i live putting up prices .my oat/almond milk went up from £1 to £1.30 then in two days later £1.80p..i did manage to get 2 small packets of toilet rolls in penge iceland . but thats a good few miles from where i live .which meant a bus journey...but maybe a lock down for 2 weeks would be better....the number of people congregating here is stupid esp among young people. sea air will not prevent you getting the virus.

what about a food bank or a community hub.> google your nearest one.

Saggi this is truly shocking.
Is there literally nobody who could help you out?
Have you rung your local vicar ? (It doesn’t matter if you go to church or not) Social Services?
There must be a neighbour or do you live in an isolated house in the country.
You say you have not let anybody into your house - perhaps people do not realise how dire your situation is.
In an ideal world, people would ask but sometimes you can slip through the net because nobody notices you are struggling.
(See my thread about care in my community for the opposite extreme)

saggi I feel for you. My husband is over 70 but never shops. I do but have an underlying health condition. So I have an online account with Sainsburys but they can't know about my health condition. Anyway, I've just copied this from Sainsbury's website. I hope it helps you:

"We have prioritised online delivery slots for elderly, disabled and vulnerable customers. We’ve already been able to identify some existing customers who are elderly, disabled and vulnerable through the information that we have about them and have emailed these customers. But we know that we haven’t been able to identify all of our vulnerable customers. If you’re elderly, disabled or vulnerable and think you should be on our vulnerable customer list, please get in touch on 0800 328 1700 " Good luck. [flowers}

Saggi look at this website to see if there’s a local aid group. covidmutualaid.org/local-groups/ I do hope there is something, that sounds just terrible.

People here in NE Scotland seem to be doing the right thing. Hardly anyone is out, even the dogs seem to be staying home, although the icy wind may have deterred people from going out, too.

I think you are right Greta, Saturday I went into a garage to pay for my petrol, mask and gloves on and trying to keep away from people . In my way of the till was a group of 20 something all hugging and kissing and saying haven't seen you for a long time. I said to them in my best school teachers voice, has money been wasted on your education that you don't understand the meaning off social distancing? They soon moved.

Trouble is I think Boris is being too nice about giving instructions on how to behave, he needs to be more stern, a bit like Nicola Sturgeon.

Far more stringent measures to be put in place. 8.30pm, Boris' speech.

Isn’t Boris addressing us at 8.30? I’m hoping for lockdown, for purely selfish reasons. Over the last few days I’ ve watched my neighbours to’ing and fro’ing in their cars, with two of them going out every morning until evening time ( they don’t work). Then the Yodel driver asked me to take a parcel for my other neighbour, but she appeared home just then, so not a lot of self isolating going on around me!