Things I Hate - A Comedic Rantesse

[notdeadyet]

Did any other country have a population as uncooperative as ours? (genuine question) - I worked on the IT side of test-track-trace and the provable examples of public stupidity were beyond belief. It might never have worked but when a citizen is called "you declared a positive test, can we just check you are OK isolating?" to be met with "can you call later, I'm just in Costa at the moment, then Sainsbury's, then I'm isolating; OK?"

No idea. But it's also well reported that one of the biggest reasons for low compliance was the lack of financial support for those that really needed it. A hell of a lot of people couldn't afford to isolate. From what I read there were plenty whose home and work situations were such that they could not stay at home or have the kids off school because of the financial impact on them and that drove a massive wave of under-reporting. Not a lot of low pay jobs can be done remotely and we're a country that relies on a low pay, low skill workforce. From my own experience I know there was a hell of a lot of parents who weren't even testing their children but filling in negative results every Monday morning.

[jamesp]

Did any other country have a population as uncooperative as ours? (genuine question) - I worked on the IT side of test-track-trace and the provable examples of public stupidity were beyond belief. It might never have worked but when a citizen is called "you declared a positive test, can we just check you are OK isolating?" to be met with "can you call later, I'm just in Costa at the moment, then Sainsbury's, then I'm isolating; OK?"

Uncooperative, or just as thick as pig poo?

The number of people wearing masks as chin straps, or under their nose, after two years of covid; suggests that you really cant educate pork.
Add in the anti-vax brigade of room temperature IQs, and you really have to wonder how this country manages to function with so much dead weight dragging it down.

[Chrisch]

Uncooperative, or just as thick as pig poo?

The number of people wearing masks as chin straps, or under their nose, after two years of covid; suggests that you really cant educate pork.
Add in the anti-vax brigade of room temperature IQs, and you really have to wonder how this country manages to function with so much dead weight dragging it down.

Unfortunately the sensible public health measure of wearing a mask in order to help prevent the spread of airbone pathogens coughed or sneezed into other people's air space has become a political and culture war topic. When you have filth like Desmond Swayne (Con New Forest) standing up in parliament and talking utter shit about mask wearing being against basic human rights you can see this topic has become something other than a neutral health matter.

In the US the right don't and the left do (more or less). In the House of Commons the Tories don't the opposition do (more or less).

As with climate change the problem is the political right. So I agree it is people who are stupid but that is not the whole of the UK population, just the political right.

[notdeadyet]

Unfortunately the sensible public health measure of wearing a mask in order to help prevent the spread of airbone pathogens coughed or sneezed into other people's air space has become a political and culture war topic. When you have filth like Desmond Swayne (Con New Forest) standing up in parliament and talking utter shit about mask wearing being against basic human rights you can see this topic has become something other than a neutral health matter.

In the US the right don't and the left do (more or less). In the House of Commons the Tories don't the opposition do (more or less).

As with climate change the problem is the political right. So I agree it is people who are stupid but that is not the whole of the UK population, just the political right.

I think a lot of the issues around mask wearing stemmed from people not being able to get their heads around doing something for others. A mask protects others, it doesn't protect me so why should I be inconvenienced for someone else's benefit? I wasn't overly convinced that the masks the majority of people wore did anything other than just divert airflow away from a straight path but wearing one was no inconvenience if it meant elderly people or the vulnerable felt a bit safer going about their lives. I would happily put up with mask wearing for that alone.

We seem to pick strange people to lead the charge for personal liberty. Morons like Piers Corbyn, Tommy Robinson and Neil Oliver. I can't help thinking we could pick better martyrs for such a big issue. The erosion of personal freedom is a reality but I really don't want these arseholes leading the crusade.

I also don't think it is a clear left/right issue. There is a whole world of pseudo-scientific and bullshit-spouting-pretend-intellectual crackpots evolving that fill what used to be called the "alternative" or "fringe" space that's becoming more mainstream. Graham Hancock and Russell Brand at one end of the scale to people like Jordan Peterson at the other. A lot of the anti-maskers/ant-vaxxers fall into this world rather than just simple black & white politics.

[Chrisch]

... if it meant elderly people or the vulnerable felt a bit safer going about their lives. I would happily put up with mask wearing for that alone.

That's because you are a decent enough person Stuart.

...We seem to pick strange people to lead the charge for personal liberty. Morons like Miles Corbyn, Tommy Robinson and Neil Oliver. I can't help thinking we could pick better martyrs for such a big issue. The erosion of personal freedom is a reality but I really don't want these arseholes leading the crusade.

Piers Corbyn? But yes, all the examples are arseholes. I really do not think any of them care about personal freedom at all.

...I also don't think it is a clear left/right issue. There is a whole world of pseudo-scientific and bullshit-spouting-pretend-intellectual crackpots evolving that fill what used to be called the "alternative" or "fringe" space that's becoming more mainstream. Graham Hancock and Russell Brand at one end of the scale to people like Jordan Peterson at the other. A lot of the anti-maskers/ant-vaxxers fall into this world rather than just simple black & white politics.

Socially conservative people tend to be less intelligent and less well educated, but the correlation is not exact. There are some dumbass people on the left too. Also more conservative people are generally more gullible towards conspiracy theories. But again not exclusively.

It shouldn't matter if one has good governance and responsible media. As we have neither it is problematic. Sometimes it is hard to figure out where the pay off comes from with the more crackpot stuff. It was only long after Andrew Wakefield had been struck off and went to live in the US (where some morons still believe him) that the evidence of his connections with lawyers wanting a class action came to light. His corruption and lies were a significant factor in the anti-vaxx phenomenon. The death cult halfwits then found a voice on facebook which in turn failed to do anything about it to keep advertising revenues high.

It may take a while and a bit of digging but the smell of money is there somewhere behind virtually all this shit. Behind the shit you will find the likes of Murdoch, Bannon and Koch. The UK's batshit crazy export of people to Rwanda is Lynton Crosby and the Australian PNG exports. Didn't work there, doesn't work here, but for a short while it plays well with a 'certain element' of society...

[notdeadyet]

Piers Corbyn?

That's the one. I knew it was some ponce name, I was close.

[Nidge]

Uncooperative, or just as thick as pig poo?

The number of people wearing masks as chin straps, or under their nose, after two years of covid; suggests that you really cant educate pork.
Add in the anti-vax brigade of room temperature IQs, and you really have to wonder how this country manages to function with so much dead weight dragging it down.

Seconded. The pandemic has confirmed my (long-held) suspicions that the average member of the UK population is an imbecile.

[steelemonkey]

Piers Corbyn?

That's the one. I knew it was some ponce name, I was close.

Sounds like a cross between Jeremy Corbyn and Piers Morgan. Shudder.

[notdeadyet]

Piers Corbyn?


Sounds like a cross between Jeremy Corbyn and Piers Morgan. Shudder.

Not far from the truth.

[Noggin the Nog]

Seconded. The pandemic has confirmed my (long-held) suspicions that the average member of the UK population is an imbecile.

You're far too generous.