I think too much

Besides my current #firstworldproblems of a holiday curtailed by a soft-lockdown removing my privileges of being able to cycle, walk and eat and drink freely in local establishments coupled with a lack of wi-fi, occasional rain and the hotel pool and gym out of bounds now, all is good considering. Oh and I was put on redundancy notice today too, just to top my day off.

Its given me time to digest and contemplate the current situation. I definitely think too much.

This COV-19 outbreak is both better and worse than you might think. Worse because of the undetected cases we await to hear about but better because the actual stats are better than they are made to look. We only get to hear about the official positive tests and deaths. We don’t know who or how many are self-isolating with or without symptoms but positive. So the death vs positive test ratio is and will always be way better than reported right? Secondly, in context, the reality is that 36 deaths (so far) out of a 70 million population isn’t as serious as we’re told. It tells me we’re doing ok but I do understand the need to prevent further spread but without the abject panic we now see and hear, which leads me onto the media. Thats not trying to be crass or flippant, I’m just putting actual, real numbers into context in my mind and drawing my own conclusions.

Air pollution kills 64,000 people a year in the UK. Thats the WHO telling us that like they are COVID-19. What are we doing about that?

The media thrive on fear and panic. They have to, to sell what they do. Its a business where morals come way down their list of priorities. Think #brexit #phonehacking, #hillsborough or any other scandal, life event, crisis or war they can put a sensationalist sometimes biased or even untrue slant on. Quite frankly its staggering what the #freepress can get away with and more worryingly what people will believe. And its what we are capable of believing is the worry. We all know about #fakenews and the effect it can have our beliefs and how it can skew our rationality. Panic buying is a direct result of this and is self-proliferating. One person buys because of an irrational fear, those that are rational look at it rationally and buy more than they need as common sense tells them shops will run out at the current rate…and so on. The fix here isn’t the shops rationing or the Government stepping in, its the media simply not reporting it. Social media, ironically, is awash with self-proclaimed experts slagging off the Government right now, questioning their actions. Everyone is complaining about the wrong people here. The media are the source and propagator of the hate, misinformation and #fakenews and its here we should be looking for them to take the lead rather than the piss.

As for the Government I’m no fan. I’m just a realist. For the conspiracy theorists thinking BoJo et al are playing a political game with peoples lives is, for me, just utter bollocks. Their actions are based on evidence and advice of scientists and medical practitioners in the background. You trust your GP, so trust them. You have to and you have to accept they are humans that can make mistakes but you still trust them because they are so skilled, knowledgeable and trained in what they do. Its another calculated risk we take everyday. I’ve probably got more chance of being run over on my bike than dying from this virus. My dad is probably in one of the highest risk groups. He has Asthma and an immuno deficiency. I carry on as normal as I can, my dad will probably have to avoid people for months. My point is you adapt to the risk at hand accordingly. The Government are just the messengers, so put aside your political ideals, this is not the time, don’t shoot them.

Some controversial points I think people are missing:

• When something like this happens its ok to have borders and enforce them. Is the utopia that is #freedomofmovement dangerous then? You can’t have it both ways.
• Arguably justified, but I’m scared to death a western, capitalist Government can basically lock you down and put you under house arrest for an indiscriminate amount of time. They can curfew you and fine you maybe imprison you too? Scary but true.
• There are bigger more harmful issues on your doorstep right now we conveniently forget or is it they’re just not reported by our sacred #freepress? #climatecrisis #airpollution #cancer. What are you doing about them?
• If the fix is to simply stay apart and be told like a nanny-state how to wash our hands, my god we are dirty, disgusting race. If we can’t get the very basic of basic hygiene right then you could say, as a race, we deserve this, it was inevitable.

My views are my own. Correct me if I’m wrong. Data not drama please.