Originally Posted by
Geoff Parkstone
Don't be so bloody defensive and consider the points made as to why hesitancy and conflicting perspectives existed. Its not straight forward in any way, unless you adopt a one eyed response based on political allegiance, as you persistently do.
For once lets take political point scoring off the agenda and consider the practical issues surrounding the mask implementation: because they are central to any decision making process. You cannot just say "do it" with no way to enforce it, and that takes time to consider before coming to whatever decision is selected.
For the last couple of weeks I have been venturing into my local town to visit bank post office etc, some locations are inside a small mall. Wearing of masks might be at 5% take up, social distancing (be it 2m or 1m) rarely observed by kids racing around, almost never by the elderly who seem to view it as everyone elses job to get out of their way even when they are going the wrong way down" a one way street" in a shop. But masks were not mandatory.
Today I visited again, and indeed indulged in a socially distanced solitary coffee.There were a few more masks being worn but, again somewhat curiously, rarely by the elderly who surely are the most vulnerable. So what will it be like when people get used to having to wear them? When hopefully the shops are prepared to deal with the "wont wears" and so on.
Since lockdown I feel Johnson has been like Canute trying to convince the tide to reverse its flow. Given an inch a significant number of people have taken a mile, as you rA have observed yourself on Dorset beaches, in the Peak District, etc etc. With pubs reopening this lack of compliance has got worse with a new dimension.
Is it any surprise that the issue generated (and still does) conflicting opinion and wasnt just a slam dunk?
We will see what happens when what many will see as a backwards step against their freedoms comes into force. I genuinely dont know how compliant the people will be. Personally, the biggest reason I have against them lies in my glasses constantly steaming up, but I will seek to comply although Im not convinced its a practical enforceable decision. Same on trains........
On a more light hearted note, I saw some creativity today from that much loathed group - the smokers. One guy had cut a neat hole in his mask to enable him to hang a fag out of his mouth and thus satisfy his addiction. I am not convinced that the mask would really count as one if he went in a shop between fags, but, nice try.
Unsurprisingly there were still queues to get into many "institutions" - banks, coffee shops etc, but the biggest queue was for Paddy Power! So much for online gambling. The queue at the job centre was...... non existent, although it was open. Clearly its not as bad out there on the job front as I had thought.