A different view

[Stallard12]

I've pissed off a lot off people on this forum over the years, but this time I'm going for the whole nine yards !   The world has gone crazy, we're being driven to the edge of sanity, pretty soon people are going to be jumping off high buildings because they think that their life savings are gone!  It's media hype, everything will return to normal within a few weeks - I've been (theoretically) losing $15,0000 a day, but by June it will all be back.

As I said earlier 'IT'S THE FLU !'  In 1980 there were no flu shots and no vaccines but nobody panicked, look up the mortality rate - more than Corona, but how many soccer games, concerts meeting, reunions etc etc were cancelled  cos someone had the flu.  Would you have stayed away from Wilderspool just because there were six cases of flu in Warrington - God help us if there's another world war.  If there were 20 cases of the virus from all of the Premiership games next weekend, 20 people would spend a week in bed - that's it !

Then there's the hype on it killing 65 year olds, they don't say that it's 65 year olds with serious respiratory and cardiac problems, the same people who are in danger from the common cold and FLU! By the way no youngsters, worldwide, have had any problems.

Forgive me for being a skeptic, but when a kid in a US school says during recess to a buddy "If you do that again Im go'en kill ya'"    The authorities shut the school system down for miles around, send 3000 kids home and spend two weeks discussing it, I feel justified in being a skeptic.

Now Obs, you know I love you like a brother, apart from every political opinion that you have ever had, time to use that fantastic brain, not to swallow the politicians bull - you know how smart they are,  and media hype, but come 'on.

[Bill]

Agree with everything you say about the financial situation but unless you’re playing on the short-term markets, everything is going to return to normal eventually.

On the virus thing though, I don’t think you can blame anyone, especially seniors for being concerned, given the exponential rate of spread and how easy it is to get infected. Apparently, we all need to get this at some point for our immune system to be able to fight it and that will most definitely kill off a lot of people before any vaccine is developed.

Whether or not all this is an over reaction depends on your point of view, but when all the scientific and medical experts from around the world recommend a course of action that we don’t think is necessary, then clearly, our point of view is flawed. The UK's plan is to not jump too early with the shutdowns but to try and push the peak of the infections back as far into the spring as possible so much of our country remains open for business. 

Looks like we're both going to loose out on our foreign travel plans.     

 

Bill

[Evil Sid]

Being of a sensible nature,well some of the time, i cannot help but agree with you  stallard.

On the savings front ,despite having slogged for the best part of my life i do not have a lot of money tucked away anywhere. So for me to worry about losing out would be pointless.

The flu in the eighties was touted as pretty bad but as you say nobody panicked, but then not many people had access to information about it apart from what was shown on the odd newscast or in the occasional article in the newspaper, both of which tended to down play any seriousness.

These days with access to social media and the like, with people showing isolated cases of panic buying and touting it as a world crisis, everybody can get whatever information they want. The problem being that they tend to believe in outrageous claims rather than "real" facts or rather outrageous claims AS "real" facts.

Sadly we live in a world that believes if it on the internet it must be true.

[Stallard12]

That's my point, I have no argument with being sensible, but this is not the bubonic plague and the present solutions may prove be more damaging than the virus.  Saw a joke picture online, an ape holding his hands in the air "OMG I have coronavirus and I've only got a 98.3 %  chance of surviving".

Well Bill, my wife is still buying 'outfits' for the trip, I guess that if the quarantines don't slow things down by June, they probably won't ever work.

[Latchford Locks]

18 hours ago, Stallard12 said:

That's my point, I have no argument with being sensible, but this is not the bubonic plague and the present solutions may prove be more damaging than the virus.  

My parents and in-laws lived through the war my father in law in particular was on the Russian convoys i.e a living hell on earth.

From what I was told it was morale that kept us going for 5 long years.

Now this virus appears and we are told by all and sundry in all levels of government (in true Pte Fraser style ) that were all in the "mire" and to expect armageddon at the very least..

It was at first thought prudent to close/cancel all public entertainments/sport in 1939 then it was proven that by letting them open improved public morale and deflected low esteem and fears at least for an hour or two.

Same with turning off public street lights which caused more fatalities in 1939 than Herr  Goerings  aircraft.

My Mum would rollover laughing at the way folk are stockpile bog rolls/pills/milk etc etc today ; simply because there may be a short term shortage.!!

She had years of shortages and just accepted it as "life" or as she use to say, "What are some folk like eh?..If you didn't laugh you'd cry"

In short lets accept we have a problem and face up to it but maintain a level of common sense and not hysteria.

 

Notice they just took their tin hats to the game 😄

[Observer II]

Tex, far from swallowing the Gov line, I make my own common sense appraisal.  If you look through my post history, you'll discover that I've always considered bio contagion as the biggest threat to humanity - now if this was bubonic plague, there would be no room for sceptics, as we'd be too busy finding enough room to bury the dead.  The difference with this outbreak is that, whilst the virus doesn't appear to kill those under 60 with suppressed immune conditions; it's transmission rate is exceedingly rapid.   Therefore, in order to reduce transmission and keep it away from those it will kill,  social distancing has to be applied.  On my limited ventures to the shops to-date,  despite all the wall to wall discussion on TV;  I've found folk closing on me in queues, and when I challenge them, they just give me a blank look -  not because they're sceptics, but because they are just thick, and incapable of grasping reality. btw. Unfortunately Donald's erratic performance to-date appears to have lost him the November election - but we'll see.

[Evil Sid]

Do you clean the petrol pump handle when you use it or wear gloves?

Just a thought as you never know who has handled it before you...🤧..🤒

[Latchford Locks]

This was something to panic and worry about.

We really don't realise what true hell was just a few short years ago , still in some peoples living memory.

And yet it got very little media coverage ....

A lot of Warrington servicemen were over there, my school master for one,Pop Seddon at Bolton Boys.

 

[Bill]

Or the handle of the shopping trolly!

I’m with Observer on this one. I understand what the government are trying to do but they’re not going to slow down the virus spread just as long as we have people who say they don’t care because think it’s all a load of rubbish and that more people have died in other circumstances. The thing not to loose sight of is that we don’t yet know how far this will go but we’ve already reached the stage where we can’t go to the hospital of even see a doctor and it’s going to get a whole lot worse.

 

Bill

[Latchford Locks]

4 minutes ago, Bill said:

Or the handle of the shopping trolly!

I’m with Observer on this one. I understand what the government are trying to do but they’re not going to slow down the virus spread just as long as we have people who say they don’t care because think it’s all a load of rubbish and that more people have died in other circumstances. 

 

Bill

But it doesn't stop them being utterly panic stricken and selfish.. This isn't a movie set.

It was a Tesco in London yesterday

.

[Bill]

I'll put money on the fact that that wasn't done by the people most at risk but by stupid selfish people. It's media pictures like that created the situation in the first place. 

btw I don’t want to catch it, not because I’m overly worried for myself but because I don’t want to pass it onto others who may be less able to deal with it. And anyone who thinks I’m overreacting or taken in by hype should keep their thoughts to themselves.

 

Bill

[Observer II]

Apparently the Gov have employed " a behavioural expert", who's basically telling them to delay draconian restrictions, as some may ignore them after a while.   He or she mustn't have anticipated the panic buying, which was obvious to anyone with common sense; and should have caused them to limit purchases per person in the S/markets.  I think most folk will respond to Gov advice; but you will get a minority who either panic or totally dismiss the serious nature of the situation.

[Latchford Locks]

We were told stocks would return to normal in a week or two.

And I don't doubt it that stock is there.

But if drivers or loaders aren't then no; stocks will still be short.

Rationing either by the markets or government must be under consideration.

I guess it's always been on the agenda since the threat of nuclear conflict in 1950's onwards.

 

 

[Latchford Locks]

I always have a bit of a fall back stock of essentials as living alone and being of an age when the threat of being incapacitated is always a possibility it's been part of my lifestyle for several years now.

Why young familes don't make plans for their partners and children is a mystery to me.

Is it a case of it won't happen to us and it only happens in movies?

[Stallard12]

Don't believe what you hear Obs, Trump is and has done fine.  This thing came out of the blue and there was a few cross statements at first, but the actions taken have been excellent.  You are just hearing the Dems and the media politizing this in the hopes of doing damage - assholes as usual.  Anyhow, Trump will win in November without even turning up, Biden is actually senile and everyone knows it - there were 28 people at his rally last month, Trump usually gets 30,000 with people waiting outside.

Nice to get back to a normal discussion topic!

[Observer II]

😉    I've watched some of his press briefings Tex;  and while I usually find him amusing;  can't say he has a grip on this one or that your system of Health Care will cope - still I suppose he can always pull a rabbit out of his hat !   😀

[asperity]

If Trump walked on water the majority of the mainstream media would report "Trump can't swim".

[Stallard12]

Good one Asp !   Maybe he can't pull a rabbit out of a hat, but he also can't pull a cure out of his ass.  His job is to be positive and keep panic out of the equation.

The US has the greatest medical system in the world.  Even at this time I have called in, got an appointment with a specialist in three days time and will have arthritis deep back shots scheduled two days later.  Got to keep that golf swing sweet.  Course, as you know  Obs, I'm one of the rich and privileged, screw them damned homeless, they always get in my way to my appointment!

[Observer II]

Precisely, screw them that can't afford it !   😉

[Milky]

This strain of flu is far more infectious then the normal flu, 

[Stallard12]

Glad you're finally on board Obs 😀