Contrasting images on BBC news demonstrate different face of Coronavirus

It's the gatherings we've seen of hundreds of illegal parties/ raves that I've been most annoyed at. These are the scum who don't care.

I'll be really sorry if this thread gets deleted. I've seen much worse.

We have to wonder why the mainstream press and news authorities are showing us pictures of sad old people and "uncaring young people". If its to turn our attention from the unforgiveable death rate and have us blame each other, then its working.

Repeating myself from before, but nobody needs to see death and sadness on a daily basis and nobody needs to be manipulated into blaming the young. The messages don't get to the right people and they only upset those who do see them.

Scum? OK, that's a bit much. They are showing you these scenes to incite your anger. You are being manipulated, and its working.

Callistemon

Well, I hope you are not inferring it is me FannyCirnfoth

I am incredibly upset that posters are condoning this behaviour, calling me horrible and judgemental yet n another thread I am called irresponsible for wanting to drive a mile to go for a walk in a probably deserted wood because I gphave scarcely been out far for nearly a year.

I am astounded.

Gransnet at its worst.

I agree with you, posters were all too ready to jump on any older poster who dared to say they would drive a few miles to have a quiet walk and enjoy the fresh air!
Double standards indeed.

lemongrove
“I agree with you, posters were all too ready to jump on any older poster who dared to say they would drive a few miles to have a quiet walk and enjoy the fresh air!
Double standards indeed.”
Agree with you Lemon I missed the posts condemning a short drive to get to a quiet area to walk as we do this. I won’t make excuses why because I don’t have to.

I’m sorry you’ve been upset, Callistemon. I’m finding GN challenging at the moment as there seems to be so much nastiness for no reason. I was contemplating a break from it myself last night, but hey, here I still am.

I don’t think the people posting on here will be the ones who jumped on you for driving a mile to exercise though. Of course there’s nothing at all wrong with that!

We’ll have to agree to disagree on the snowballing though. As a five year old I was hit in the eye by a snowball with a stone in it, so I really should hate the darn things.

I think it’s ‘stretching’ it a bit to blame the government when people of their own free will choose to do something as in the snowballing at Leeds. I am not angry but despair of humans beings who could so carelessly put the lives of others at risk for a few hours of pleasure and enjoyment. Everyone is suffering at the moment it’s not just young people. In fact when I go for my daily walk I see groups of children out playing in a nearby field as well as teenagers. So clearly not all young people are ‘missing out’ socially. Compare this to the vulnerable person young or older who has been shielding since last March. I feel that as a society we make far too many excuses for people who are behaving selfishly and clearly don’t care about other people.

Callistemon just to say I absolutely agree with everything you say because some posters are certainly making excuses and condoning behaviour which is selfish and uncaring. But be that as it may, if that’s the way they feel then that is their right. They might feel differently if they had relatives working on a Covid ward.

Stephen Reicher, advisor to SAGE:

twitter.com/ReicherStephen/status/1349088026392211459

Extract from his thread: Blaming the public only serves to divide us from the government and so undermine trust and compliance. Moreover it implies violation is more widespread than is the case, so creating a negative norm and thereby further undermining compliance.

Perhaps we have, Gwyneth. Most of us keep our personal details to ourselves and you don’t know our circumstances.

And yes, we do have the right to disagree with you.

FannyCornforth

I've reported this thread because it has become incredibly nasty and personal.
It's not doing anyone any favours and just turning people against it each other.

In hope you succeed FC. I tried to get my own thread withdrawn because of hurtful judgemental comment made to me. It wasn't and I was told not to take it personally!

* Maggiemaybe* not sure what you mean by ‘keep our personal details to ourselves’?

Just that - that we wouldn’t give out information about our family on social media.

Gwyneth

* Maggiemaybe* not sure what you mean by ‘keep our personal details to ourselves’?

I think that she was referring to your comment about having relatives working in ICU, she was saying that you don't know whether or not we do. (Anyway, that's what I think that she meant.)
Likewise, I didn't appreciated being told, by another poster, to read another's (excellent) account of being hospitalised with Covid.

Apologies, cross post.

Spot on, FannyCornforth.

I didn’t actually say that I have relatives working on a Covid ward I just said people ‘might feel differently if they had relatives working on a Covid ward’. So I ask again just to be clear, what personal information are you referring to in my post Maggiemaybe*?

Alegrias1 I'm not on twitter so wouldn't have seen that thread, but I do agree with his thoughts, especially about establishing a negative norm. Setting one against another deflects from the hotchpotch of rules, which often don't seem to have any logic, let alone science behind them. Some seem particularly specific. I did wonder at the bubble exemption of if you had a child aged under 1 on December 2nd. Wonder who on earth that could benefit?
Callistemon I absolutely agree you should be able to drive a short distance to a decent outdoor area where you can walk with ease in fresh air.

Alegrias1

Scum? OK, that's a bit much. They are showing you these scenes to incite your anger. You are being manipulated, and its working.

Scenes we are shown are bound to evoke an emotion. They all do. Whether it's a snowball fight in a park, stressed NHS staff in a hospital, rubbish on a beach, queues of cars on a motorway, starving children, free school meals/food parcels.

Do you advocate that scenes (of any kind) should not be shown as they manipulate the viewer?

I think it’s pointless to comment further on this thread as clearly there are people who care and people who don’t. Simple it’s just a fact of life.

That would be me then .Saying we have an ICU nurse in the family. Am I missing something ? I have read countless threads on GN where regular posters have said I was a teacher / am a teacher when giving their opinions.

Yes washerwoman it appears that like me you are giving out personal information about your family on social media!! I’m missing something too if posters can say they are a teacher or whatever . Can I also say that I have the utmost respect and gratitude for your relative who is working in ICU we owe them so much.

I only said that because this snowball fight was about 200 organised by social media .Not a few mates throwing an impromptu snowball. In this particularly harrowing week it does seem rather insulting to exhausted NHS workers.And many other professions working harder than ever ,parents are strung out with home schooling etc.I feel very sorry that youngsters are having school,college uni experiences curtailed.Our neighbours lovely teenagers missing so much.Our own DGC.But best stop there as that's probably too much personal information. But sometimes how else can you express your frustration other than saying you have a personal link to a situation?No doubt I will get told.

The MSM have got into a pattern of showing us people suffering in hospital or care homes, followed by pictures of other people apparently breaking the rules.

I absolutely detest the hospital scenes. We don't need to see dying people and crying nurses. The rationale that is put forward by some on here is that if only people knew what suffering was like, then everyone would follow the rules! Well if that would work, I'd say go for it. But it's not working, is it? The more people end up in hospital, and the more images we get shown of crowded beaches and snowball fights.

I'd rather see the news interrogating the government about why they didn't anticipate a second wave properly and strengthen the NHS to cope with it. Or asking them why they are refusing 77% of the applications for self-isolation support, thus dis-incentivising people from doing the right thing. But no, we get alarming pictures of the tiny minority of people who aren't sticking to the letter of the law, because it stirs up discontent and diverts attention from the government's handing of this pandemic. Its lazy, sensationalist journalism.

Look at the link I posted, as Rosie51 has done. Reicher is a professor of human behaviour and advises SAGE. He talks sense.