janmac

I do wonder how some of the people on here are going to cope when lockdown ends. What will they complain about then? Who will they judge? What meaning will life possess? Hopefully there will be some irresponsible dog-owners, smokers and mothers with wide buggies for them to moan about to each other.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/apr/02/the-new-rules-of-lockdown-how-to-stay-clean-safe-and-two-metres-away-from-everyone

I don't have a problem with social pressure, but there's a point where it tips over into a moral crusade (albeit wearing the clothes health). If we go out and about scouting for 'transgressors' we ruin our own time in the fresh air, ramp up the fear levels (being outside the risk of transmission IS going to be lower than the risk of closer contact) and undermine our capacity to tolerate the more normal risks of everyday life.

shouting at people and condemning people has its own negative consequences. We have to be able to function as a society during and after this health crisis.

But there is a big difference between generally trying to reduce physical contact to minimise risk across the whole population and regarding every possible encounter as toxic and deadly. The chances of contracting it from a passing runner or cyclist are ridiculously tiny compared to all the surface-touching we do with our families or in shops.

Although the eager finger-pointers think they are doing a public service by policing the new public health guidance, they are actually destructive of civil society, trust and our ability to talk to each other and negotiate the incredibly drastic new ways of living. We have to accept that there will not be 100% compliance, that's the case with any law or rule. It doesn't mean we all have a meltdown and start lynching people.

Some people are enjoying this all just a little too much...getting their rocks off condemning others as irresponsible. We need to learn to live with the fact that other people are making different judgements of the rules and the risks. That's what you'd expect in a non-fascist, mature society.