Is it selfish to not socially distance yourself?

[gib]

He wasn't joking.

fuck's sake

[momatt]

I've just had a week off work and apart from going to the shops twice have stayed in, but it was completely pointless as my workplace and employers are insisting I still go to work despite it being completely pointless and my job being inessential. So yeah it might be selfish but that's on my employers, not me.

I'd call off sick if I were you.
What do you do?

[Icehaven]

I'd call off sick if I were you.
What do you do?

I'm a prison librarian, so not exactly a key worker. We're run by the local council rather than the prison directly, and all the other libraries in the authority have been closed, although the staff still have to go in for some god unknown reason (although I suspect that might change in the not too distant future.) I'm waiting to find out what the prison wants/expects us to do as they don't know how it's going to play out yet themselves and have to see what HMPPS are going to instruct them.

[Thomas]

If librarians don't go to work, the characters from the books come to life and do naughty things.

[Icehaven]

I'm on a near empty bus on the way home and a man has just got on and is now standing right by the door so everyone getting on or off will have to squeeze past him. I've taken a photo of standing there with all the empty seats behind him and if he's still there when I have to get off I'm going to cough right in his thick fucking face.

[momatt]

I'm a prison librarian, so not exactly a key worker.

That's a bit mad that you've not been sent home.  Good luck.

[Sheffield Wednesday]

Just a regular reminder that I was calling for lockdown weeks ago before it was cool. Cheers. Hope you get it now.

Edit: not COVID-19.

[Blinder Data]

Been WFH since Tuesday, barely left the flat since. Me and the wife took advantage of the good weather yesterday to go for a walk in the Campsies. Even though it was a big open space, evidently everyone else had the same idea and I'm already feeling a bit guilty about being momentarily close to so many people. Those photos of folk going up Snowdon, ffs...

Probably because the UK doesn't have a specific military police force or a big strong state like France, Italy and Spain, the idea that squads will be patrolling the streets and forcing non-essential business indoors sounds unthinkable. I think it must and will happen - sadly we have a buffoon at No 10 who seems terrified of doing anything that feels "unBritish" and stops people from having fun.

I hope that everyone on CaB is socially distancing as much as possible now. And kittens, you post in an amusing ironic style but if you are continuing to use the gym, you're being an irresponsible selfish gimp.

Army on the streets in 5, 4...

[pancreas]

Just a regular reminder that I was calling for lockdown weeks ago before it was cool. Cheers. Hope you get it now.

Edit: not COVID-19.

Like fuck you were. You were pushing the herd immunity line on the basis that capitalism gonna capitalise.

[EasyToType]

Touchy

[chveik]

Like fuck you were. You were pushing the herd immunity line on the basis that capitalism gonna capitalise.

yeah, it's all about petty point-scoring for him innit

[kittens]

Been WFH since Tuesday, barely left the flat since. Me and the wife took advantage of the good weather yesterday to go for a walk in the Campsies. Even though it was a big open space, evidently everyone else had the same idea and I'm already feeling a bit guilty about being momentarily close to so many people. Those photos of folk going up Snowdon, ffs...

Probably because the UK doesn't have a specific military police force or a big strong state like France, Italy and Spain, the idea that squads will be patrolling the streets and forcing non-essential business indoors sounds unthinkable. I think it must and will happen - sadly we have a buffoon at No 10 who seems terrified of doing anything that feels "unBritish" and stops people from having fun.

I hope that everyone on CaB is socially distancing as much as possible now. And kittens, you post in an amusing ironic style but if you are continuing to use the gym, you're being an irresponsible selfish gimp.

Army on the streets in 5, 4...

i'll have you know i am actually very responsible and stopped going to the gym on friday. coincidentally the goverment forced all gyms to close on that day but i had already made my own strongly moral decision not go in any more.

[Jollity]

I do voluntary work, some of which is now closed down, but the Citizens Advice Bureau is still talking to clients over the phone, and I went into the office to do filing, as I usually do on a Monday. I'm back home now, and still very anxious about it, thinking that I was incredibly selfish to go in (other people were there too) and that I might be asymptomatic and have hurt people without realising it. I walked there and back, since I worried about the bus and whether they would take my fare, but even that's fraught with difficulties. The pavement isn't always wide enough to stay six feet apart from others. If I go to the shop (I had to get milk and bread), can I stay so far apart from people when waiting in a queue? The self-service checkouts are still operating in Sainsbury's, but is putting my horrible fingers on the touchscreen a problem? If I have too many things to use the self-service checkouts, am I selfish for making another person scan things I've also been touching? I'm scared of everything now.

My mother and stepfather want to meet up on Friday. The idea is to just go for a walk and then do a big shop at the supermarket. But now people are online saying I could kill them if I meet them face to face, and I feel bad because I can't bring myself to say to them "we can't meet up because I am scared that I'm carrying this virus without symptoms, and I'm scared I'll hurt you" because I don't want my mother to be upset and worry about my mental and physical health. Though it occurs to me that she might be acting calm because she doesn't want me to get anxious about her. I will speak to her over the phone before then, but I don't know what I'll end up saying. This is one of the reasons why I'd be a terrible parent - I'd just let the child do anything they wanted so they didn't get upset.

[Sheffield Wednesday]

Like fuck you were. You were pushing the herd immunity line on the basis that capitalism gonna capitalise.

Fuck off, you disingenuous cunt. That was an attempt to understand the reformed plan, and nothing more. Even then, I made it clear that we were too late in locking down.

I hammered lockdown repeatedly while you were still playing politics.

[pancreas]

How dare you call me a fucking cunt.

THIS IS WHAT YOU SAID

I think the messaging has been terrible but I understand the plan and - I'm going to to say this - I agree with it based on the fragilities and limitations of our infrastructure.


- We have too many people who need to keep working and earning or they will starve/do whatever necessary to not starve. From one perspective, this is likely motivated by Johnson's corporate sponsors. Parallel to this, it's an acknowledgement of the frailties of our economy and welfare system; this is also the fault of the corporate sponsors but it's nevertheless the situation we're in. We can take political action when this is over. My mates in Wuhan have had six weeks of food and toiletries packages delivered to their door which they clean with 70% alcohol before bringing into the apartment. My mate's husband has been in a quarantine hotel for a month, three meals a day plus clean clothes and regular testing and monitoring. That manpower and well of resources don't exist elsewhere. Businesses here will need to restructure staffing and working conditions to continue to function and the government will need to help them both logistically and economically.

- Italy, Spain and France have attempted to put a cork in this but what do they do next? What do they do when people run out of food and soap? Again, 'keeping the economy going' is at once a diktat from our corporate taskmasters and also the practical reality for the individual to have enough food and toiletries to ensure self-isolation and to simply exist. Looking ahead, China has the resources, infrastructure, experience and compliance to enforce repeat lockdowns to deal with the intermittent spikes and waves. Is that also the intention for Italy? They have absolutely no chance. Ultimately, they will have to move towards a 'controlled transmission' model, similar to our own.

- A lot of the weird government messaging up to this point is consistent with the proposed UK model. That gives me - if not comfort - an ability to join the dots and to see our approach as a plan rather than a simple reaction. The authority 'to force schools to close and to stay open' seemed absurd phrasing to me without the current context, but now I see that there is a massive difference between closing an inner city comp of 1500 students and closing a suburban grammar school of 400. Please excuse the broad examples but if you see this approach as turning on and off a series of taps, they are different sizes and have different rates of flow. Beyond this, and perhaps controversially, you need to look at the demographics further to avoid taking healthcare professionals out of action by closing certain schools in different areas.



Basically, for this to work:

- The economically vulnerable need to work or the impact will dwarf that of the coronavirus.

- Government will have to work closely with industry to manage the practicalities of staffing, payroll and working conditions.

- The medically vulnerable need to isolate until we are better equipped to care for them.

- We all need to follow the plan as best we can to reduce variable interference.

- If herd immunity does not occur, we still need to do this until the vaccine arrives because the alternative is to wait to starve.

- As a criticism of the above, travel bans and immediate initial lockdown may have bought us more time on the shallower curve to plan and communicate the practicalities and reasoning of this approach.

Please please challenge any of the above, these are my accumulated thoughts at this point in time.

Which seemed quite reasonable AS IT HAPPENS. But you were certainly not advocating lockdown.

[Sheffield Wednesday]

I fucking was. Try scrolling back through the previous pages.

Even in that post you quoted I say that immediate action was preferable.

It's an analysis of the approach, way past the opportunity for proper lockdown which I'd been hammering since I started posting in GB again.

You're disingenuously ignoring my previous however many posts because you want to misrepresent my stance.

[holyzombiejesus]

Fuck off with your selective bullshit you massive fucking occasionally likeable cunt.

Key difference between you and Pancs.

[Dewt]

I will nominate myself as designated cunt so we can stop wasting energy on figuring out if it's one of you two

[pancreas]

Quote the post where you say you're happy for old people to die because they vote Tory, you fucking placard turd.

I think you'll find that's your fucking job, shit-pile. Go right ahead. Happy to read it as many times as you can post it.

[Sheffield Wednesday]

I'll take that as an admission that you were selectively quoting. I couldn't give a shit about searching for your bullshit. We both know that I'm right on both counts.

[Sheffield Wednesday]

Key difference between you and Pancs.

Literally no memory of any of your posts besides your avatar. Keep it up.

[pancreas]

I'll take that as an admission that you were selectively quoting. I couldn't give a shit about searching for your bullshit. We both know that I'm right on both counts.

I am going to be so, so glad when your wife or whatever posts to say oh I'm sorry I've got bad news, Bosto's died. The funny thing is, so will she.

[Zetetic]

GATHER AT YOUR FUNERALS

[Danger Man]

Lockdown announced

[bgmnts]

Shoot on sight.

[Zetetic]

One form of funeral per day.

[pancreas]

Well that's it then. Shut it all down. Lock the thread.

[Sheffield Wednesday]

Excellent news. That's just what I've been asking for. Look after yourselves.

[Johnny Yesno]

Anyone who's angry with those people buying flowers or going to the park at the weekend really needs to take a look at the latest TyskySour.

Shifting The Blame: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb9Yw4gU-Bw

When this is all over, we absolutely haven't got to let this government off the hook for the coming clusterfuck, which could have far less severe if it wasn't for their malign incompetence.

[Johnny Yesno]

Mentioned in the above video: In the top 50% of earners, 1 in 2 people could work from home; only 1 in 10 people in the bottom 50% could do so.

Remember, not going into work has all been based on advice from the government, meaning that many lower income workers simply have no choice but to carry on working.