There is no secret that lockdown has eradicated our feelings of freedom. People have found it incredibly difficult to stay away from their loved ones and have encountered numerous struggles financially, emotionally, and psychologically. But on the other side of the coin, there are those people that have appeared to not bother caring.
Everybody has heard the stories of people flouting lockdown rules. And a lot of people seem to have that attitude of “I’m alright Jack.” And this is incredibly insulting behaviour to those that have really worked hard to stay away from their loved ones. But now with things appearing to go back to normal, it could appear that those people who have continually flouted lockdown rules have got away with it. But to those people, here is an open letter…
Why Don’t You Actually Use Your Phone?
So many people have rediscovered the long lost art of communication but others who have ignored the rules have continued to do what they want while still ambling around idly with their phones in their hands. We’ve heard all the stories of people having lockdown parties and just coming and going into other people’s houses as they please.
But we live in an age where you don’t need to shout across to someone to communicate. While there’s been a boost in people using Zoom and other communication platforms it’s just as easy to call someone on wi-fi. And the great thing about wi-fi is it is free! There’s a useful Halfcooked wi-fi calling guide to show what you can get out of wi-fi calling. We all have our phones so why don’t we take advantage of this? It seems that a lot of people just need to be sociable creatures, but for those people who are just ignoring the rules, look down at your phone and use it for what it was meant for.
Do You Think You Could Get Away With It?
A lot of people are justifying it for themselves and they’ve got away with it so far but you don’t know who’s watching you. Yes, it seems that there’s a lot of people who are taking matters into their own hands and becoming the lockdown police but a lot of people are incredibly ignorant of the fact that there are fines. Continuing to ignore the rules will ensure you get into a lot of trouble. It seems that so many people have continued to push their luck.
Of course, if we see people cycling together in a group there’s no way of us telling if they’ve broken the rules or if they live together. But also because there are so many gatherings that are proving impossible to police, this sends the message to people who continue to ignore the rules that they can get away with it. It’s frustrating when we see others continually breaking the rules but the most important thing to remember is that if you see everybody else be incredibly ignorant we could very easily think that if you can’t beat them join them. But the most important thing to remember at this point is that you know you are doing the right thing.
Are You Absent-Minded Or Ignorant?
If we see people ignoring the rules the temptation is to think that they are doing it from a perspective of arrogance a la Dominic Cummings. But it’s also important to remember that there are people who just don’t get it. This can be hard to believe. But for all the people that are feigning ignorance or stupidity, some of them are actually not clued up in terms of the rules. And while this can seem pretty impossible to believe because you can’t escape the news or social media without there being something on coronavirus but when there are people in small towns and there isn’t a heavy police presence people seem to just not understand it.
There have been so many arguments in the street over breaking the 2-metre rule because some are arrogant but others are genuinely absent-minded. We have to remember that when it comes to the 2-metre rule that this could be one of the biggest challenges to adhere to because we have spent our entire lives being in physical contact with other people. We’ve all been out and gone about our business with a minor slip on occasion. But of course, the important thing is to recognise the lesson from this.
Are You Aware Of The Consequences?
The general consensus is that while this is going on, not many people are aware of someone they know who has succumbed to it. Of course, this is to do with the fact that we’re not able to deduce who has died as a result of coronavirus or if it has exacerbated a pre-existing illness. But many people decide to ignore the rules because they don’t think it will affect them. But the fact is that this virus is such a new one, the more information is being gathered every passing day. And while it is classed as a strain of flu, and much like the flu we experience every year, it mutates. This means that the battle is not over. Gradually, as time goes on we are seeing that it affects people in different ways.
The big problem is that most people who ignore the rules think that it won’t impact them because they are okay but it has shown to affect people who have no pre-existing health conditions. People think that it’s a problem related to breathing and predominantly it is, but it certainly seems to be the pick and mix of killer viruses. It can raise your blood pressure or stop your heart as much as it can cause your immune system to go into overdrive. And for those people who are continuing to ignore the rules, even if you lost someone who didn’t succumb to the virus, how would you feel about potentially not being allowed to say goodbye to them? There have been so many people who have died in hospital by themselves. And no human should have to go through that. But for those people who are flouting the rules, it’s these people lying on the hospital beds that are paying the worst price of all.
When The Rules Are Relaxed Do You Think The Virus Will Be Gone Forever?
We are in a very dangerous position right now. There is talk about the 2-metre rule being relaxed but with the relaxation of the rules because of pressures to kickstart the economy, this may result in a second peak. We definitely live in a time where it seems that if the government say it’s okay that we think we can go back to normality without a care, but as it has been shown time and time again with any relaxation of the rules there is to be a spike of coronavirus related illness. But we’ve got to remember it is similar to the flu and while it’s understandable that we all want to hug our loved ones again and venture further away without fear of the consequences we must remember that there is a potential for it to spike come wintertime.
Many people took it upon themselves before the lockdown was announced to go and be sociable. Many people need that human touch and it’s unsurprising that there’s a lot of emotional and mental health problems going around as a result. But we have still got to look at those people who have continued to be ignorant of the rules from day one. When you see all those people sunbathing on the beach without care for anybody else, when you see all those people who have stayed at home because they don’t want to pass anything onto their loved ones and have been struggling with their children and experiencing so much pain and heartache that when we see people actively ignorant of the rules, is it hardly surprising that so many people are angry?
Anger has become one of the dominant emotions during this time, and it’s little wonder. We live in a time where we have so much access to information but this is the one thing that as a collective we know very little about. But rather than protect ourselves and our loved ones, we decide to not bother with following the rules. What does this say about us as a society? A virus that has the potential to kill that we know very little about isn’t stopping us from doing what we want to do. There are so many people that have viewed this as an inconvenience. And for those people that are annoyed their beloved pubs haven’t opened or they had to queue up to get into shops are you really aware of the consequences?
It’s frustrating, heartbreaking and infuriating to see those people who couldn’t give a monkey’s about others. Those people who are ignoring the lockdown rules, this is the message you are sending out. With the potential for another spike later in the year surely we all need to just stick to the rules as best as we can? After all, people’s lives are at stake.
