Voicelessness and Emotional Survival > Voicelessness and Emotional Survival Message Board
Coronavirus
Twoapenny:
Oh gosh, CB, yes, nodding all the way through. The situation here is very similar and it is so odd that people readily accept certain restrictions as part of their day to day lives (we all drive on the same side of the road, to minimise accidents, we have speed restrictions and traffic lights for the same reason, your car has to meet a certain standard for you to take it on the road, you have to take a test to show you can drive it safely, and so on). Yet similar measures to try to contain the spread of the virus have been declared human rights abuses and people have protested in the streets about it. It is very odd that people (and I include myself in this!) can see similar situations in different ways.
I have also been told that if I'm worried about the virus I can just stay home and everyone else can carry on as they wish. It slightly baffles me that anyone thinks another person can simply not leave their home for a couple of years or have any kind of human contact and still keep themselves fit and healthy? What about, as a bare minimum, grocery supplies, medical appointments, fresh air, exercise, daily activity to keep the mind healthy, work?! A lot of people in the UK seem to be oblivious to the fact that a lot of at risk people are employed and have mortgages to pay, and that many work in the voluntary sector, which we depend on very heavily due to a lack of funding for public sector services. It's very odd, as you say. We've had a similar thing with the ICU beds - the government made a big deal out of opening these huge temporary hospitals that can house thousands, but neglected to tell anyone that there weren't any staff! And you can't just plug a person in a coma into a machine and leave them to it, which is something else that didn't seem to filter through to well. Sigh. Yes, nodding, and I think it will be a case of hindsight making more sense of it all (although I'm sure there will be claims that history has been rewritten to fill a certain agenda lol ;) ).
Hopsie, I think what you said about entertainment replacing education is spot on. I think information going out so quickly now is a problem as well, particularly when so much of it is quite poor quality (not evidence based, not contextualised etc). And there's so much of it. Difficult to wade your way through the various news outlets and decide which one is giving you the best info. And yes, that coarsening of character. I felt really comforted by the volunteers at the vaccine centre; so many people giving up their time to get that done and it's so organised, so efficient. There have been many unsung heroes, as there are in so many things, and I do hope there comes a point where all those ordinary people can be celebrated in some way. I do think there's a media focus on the drama of it all and it's easy to lose focus on the good people doing good things (I know I do). I'm very grateful I've got you guys, that much I do know :) xx
Hopalong:
I got a heart-lift from the volunteers too, Tupp. And they also seemed very happy. It would feel so good to be part of a team doing something that's pure positivity. So many people were so thankful and relieved and the nurses and docs and helpers were all so friendly and patient as the long line wound through.
I saw a news item that Yo Yo Ma took his cello to his vaccine place, got his shot, and then during the 15-30 minutes people wait after the shot to be checked, he sat over by the wall and took out the cello and played. Everyone got so quiet, in such a peaceful way together.... He is magic.
hugs
Hops
Twoapenny:
--- Quote from: Hopalong on March 21, 2021, 02:15:58 AM ---I got a heart-lift from the volunteers too, Tupp. And they also seemed very happy. It would feel so good to be part of a team doing something that's pure positivity. So many people were so thankful and relieved and the nurses and docs and helpers were all so friendly and patient as the long line wound through.
I saw a news item that Yo Yo Ma took his cello to his vaccine place, got his shot, and then during the 15-30 minutes people wait after the shot to be checked, he sat over by the wall and took out the cello and played. Everyone got so quiet, in such a peaceful way together.... He is magic.
hugs
Hops
--- End quote ---
Oh, Hopsie, that sounds amazing! I could have offered to sing - that would have cleared the room quickly ;) lol. I do think the media have played a very negative role in all of this by failing to provide well contextualised, fact based information and focusing so much on negative examples of what's been going on. Good quality reporting is hard to come by here and it's really shown itself here over the last year. Everyone I've spoken to personally is just getting on with it - difficult situations for everyone but people are doing what they can to help. But when I read the news or scan through social media, every negative event is magnified so it feels like everything is bad. Yet lots of people are working hard, pulling together and, more importantly, staying home, wearing a mask in the shop and so on, just not putting extra pressure on services. Perhaps we all need to learn to play the cello and be more Yo Yo Ma :) xx
sKePTiKal:
I agree about the massive negativity cycle in the news media Tupp. I'd really like to ask them who they think they're helping - or why they're pushing such negative crap all the time - what's in it for them, that people are mostly turning them off; not reading the news anymore; tuning out...
and finding that life without the media is MUCH more pleasant, and kind, and full of good people.
Twoapenny:
--- Quote from: sKePTiKal on March 21, 2021, 09:30:01 AM ---I agree about the massive negativity cycle in the news media Tupp. I'd really like to ask them who they think they're helping - or why they're pushing such negative crap all the time - what's in it for them, that people are mostly turning them off; not reading the news anymore; tuning out...
and finding that life without the media is MUCH more pleasant, and kind, and full of good people.
--- End quote ---
Yep, same here. I don't want to pretend nothing awful is happening, but lots of good things have happened through this as well - people have supported one another, parents have done an amazing job unexpectedly home schooling their kids, lots of kids have loved being at home and thrived on the one to one attention. Businesses have adapted; I know it's going to be a death knell for some but some have thrived, offered home delivery when they never used to, put in hand wash stations and free face masks for people, a lot of people have coped really well. I wouldn't want it to be a case of pretending that people haven't suffered, of course they have, but a lot of people I've spoken to have all said the same thing - they've focused on what they have got and what they can do and just got on with it. One of the mums I see on the way to school in the morning (she walks past with her three when I'm out feeding the birds) and she said she's just been so grateful they've got a garden and they're not stuck in a high rise flat with nowhere for the kids to play. I don't know what they get out of it, either, maybe they get paid more to write negative articles rather than positive ones now? It does seem odd xx
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