The real enemy is not the Coronavirus
I don't join in those sessions that tell us to 'clap for the NHS'. Not because I don't value the NHS and the people who work in it. Just before Christmas, I was taken to the Southern (don't make me call it the QE-whatever) with 14% kidney function left after a flare-up of colitis. And I left a fortnight later, not exactly in fine fettle, but a lot better than when I went in. And that wasn't due to a fancy building or fancy equipment. It was thanks to the staff, some of whom - nurses, doctors, cleaners - told me as they changed my bed for the fifth time that day: 'I love my job.'
My objection to the clapping is that I can't stand the sight of the Tories outside 10 Downing Street - one of them infected with the coronavirus but no doubt not getting treated by the NHS - clapping away, almost as if the Tories weren't responsible for the deaths of NHS staff during this pandemic because they have failed to budget for the masks, gloves and gowns needed to keep them safe. As if these incompetents weren't responsible for a decade of decline in the NHS as the Tories paved the way for privatisation. As if they haven't lied their way through the past month, delaying and dithering and pretending there was no crisis.
The lying is breath-taking. As a Facebook comment had it earlier today:
There are honourable exceptions: there's the health correspondent on C4 News who talked about the Health Secretary's issuing of 'random figures' all day Friday. She is right but it was quite surprising to hear it said in such a straightforward manner.
That was just after an ITV newsreader told us the queen would be addressing the nation on Sunday to urge us all to stick together. That would be the monarch who shot off to Windsor when it became clear London was a hot-spot and not safe for her. And whose son and heir shot off to Scotland on a private jet, already infected with the virus and taking the infection with him, despite being told - as we all were - to stay home. No big surprise his entourage got the virus, is it?
But if London is not safe for the queen and Cherlie, is it safe for anyone? Maybe the London air has curative properties for politicians. There's Johnson back at his work after a week and the health secretary back after 3 days, when the rest of us are told to stay in isolation for 14 days. No wonder the populace are inclined to say sod this and start planning days out for Sunday (which is going to be a lovely day, by the way).
The population has been described on the news as 'impatient' to get back to normal. We even had the joyful sight of the Telegraph correspondent asking Nicola Sturgeon if people could go ahead and plan their summer holidays - after she'd spent 40 minutes urging caution and telling us we hadn't even reached the peak of the pandemic. I admit the words 'What are you, thick?' crossed my lips. Luckily, I'm not the First Minister.
Much of the need for normality is prompted by the lack of cash many people face in this crisis. The Tories in Westminster just don't see a problem. After all, they are well-off and earning a good salary, whatever they claim. And they are offering a lifeline to the self-employed as well as the employed.
The trouble is the self-employed have nothing now. The rescue package won't kick in till June the - who knows - 1st, 30th? That could be the difference between just getting by and not getting by at all. Especially in a society where people are often forced into self-employment and just don't have savings to fall back on.
The employed are at home on 80% of normal wages. That means their pay is 20% short. But the mortgage/rent, council tax, car loan, car insurance and credit card payments are not reduced by that amount. And your family are all at home, eating up a storm - tell me your kids are not raiding the fridge as I write.
Eventually - but not right now - the virus will pass and we'll get back to normality. We'll forget the terrible death toll, the sacrifice NHS workers are making, the young people we've lost.
So will we just go back to how it was? Pretend the Coronavirus was an isolated incident and unlikely to happen again, although in my lifetime (72 years) in Scotland there have been epidemics of tuberculosis, polio and typhoid as well as all the childhood ailments we seem to be a bit too casual about now. And that's not even mentioning the diphtheria and smallpox that ravaged much of Europe in the early 20th century and horrors like ebola, that are still out there in Africa.
Maybe most of us will be happy to slump back into shopping/clubbing/pubbing mode. The hedonistic lifestyle - all gloss and no content - has its attractions. Maybe a few will want to talk about the future we want for our children and grandchildren. Right now, we could be talking about a few things:
Fairness for a start.
Is it fair to pay your most important workers £16,000 and call them unskilled even though you know you can't manage without them?
Is it fair to find homes for the homeless in a crisis only because leaving them on the streets will jeopardise the health of the rest of us?
Is it fair to keep electing the Tories when their interests are so obviously the opposite to ours?
Is it fair for the right wing to reject all notion of solidarity, friendship and social democracy but fall back on these ideas when it suits them?
Is it fair to admit into our society billionaires who demand financial packages when we know they have huge amounts of cash stashed in offshore accounts? Cash they made from us, the tax payers. And they pay no taxes? The very taxes that would keep the NHS alive.
Whether the virus had come along or not, we were always up shit creek in the UK. This economy doesn't work. We produce nothing. There's no industrial backbone, as the German and French economies have. The brexit anxiety about the Channel ports revealed something very interesting: the UK imports vastly more than it exports. No country can survive like that.
I know it's a cliche but it is very much like the last days of the Roman Empire. There is vast wealth but it's in the hands of a small group of people and it doesn't trickle down to the rest of the population. The rich are not for sharing. And they protect their position by protecting their cronies.
New ideas are rejected. Politically, 'we're doing fine thanks' is the message Rome sends out and if you're a CEO or a shareholder, that's true - just as long as nothing goes wrong.
The empire is shrinking as more and more people realise they don't need Rome at all but can manage for themselves because they have the resources. If the virus reveals nothing else - and I can only hope it will spare most of us so we can talk about these matters - it has to be that there's no point in putting our hopes in the false gods of people like Boris Johnson.
Take a look at the people in front of us in this crisis: Catherine Calderwood, Jason Leitch, Jeane Freeman. Who do you trust?
My objection to the clapping is that I can't stand the sight of the Tories outside 10 Downing Street - one of them infected with the coronavirus but no doubt not getting treated by the NHS - clapping away, almost as if the Tories weren't responsible for the deaths of NHS staff during this pandemic because they have failed to budget for the masks, gloves and gowns needed to keep them safe. As if these incompetents weren't responsible for a decade of decline in the NHS as the Tories paved the way for privatisation. As if they haven't lied their way through the past month, delaying and dithering and pretending there was no crisis.
The lying is breath-taking. As a Facebook comment had it earlier today:
Govt: We're
talking to supermarkets
Supermarkets: You're not.
Supermarkets: You're not.
Govt: There's a
shortage of chemicals
Chemicals companies: There isn't
Chemicals companies: There isn't
Govt: The
science has changed
Scientists: No it hasn't
Scientists: No it hasn't
Govt: We never
got the email
EU: Yes you did
EU: Yes you did
Govt: 25,000
tests per day
PHE: 7,000 tests per day
PHE: 7,000 tests per day
Govt:
Ventilator companies are making ventilators for us
Ventilator Companies: you never got back to us. Dyson are though.
Ventilator Companies: you never got back to us. Dyson are though.
Govt: We've got
30,000 ventilators coming
Dyson: actually, it's 30 for now
Dyson: actually, it's 30 for now
Govt: PPE has
been delivered
NHS: No it hasn't
NHS: No it hasn't
Govt: We've
built the Nightingale
Nurses: but no one can staff it though
Nurses: but no one can staff it though
Govt:
Unprecedented economic package!
Self-employed: Not until June!
Self-employed: Not until June!
Govt: Banks
will give you short term loans
Banks: 40% overdraft rates and we want your home as collateral
Banks: 40% overdraft rates and we want your home as collateral
Govt: Save the
NHS
Me: You bastards have been killing it for the last decade
Me: You bastards have been killing it for the last decade
Govt: We are
not pursuing Herd immunity
WHO: Yes you are
WHO: Yes you are
Govt: We are
not lying
Media: oh ok, good job old boy
In case you missed it, even the rabidly pro-Tory S*n newspaper had to admit the UK's infection rate has passed that of China. But that's one of the few figures you'll see in the media these days. For some reason they've mostly gone all coy about the infection rate, the testing rate, the supply of protective gear and the death rate from Covid-19 in the past 10 days or so. That wouldn't be under government instructions, would it?Media: oh ok, good job old boy
There are honourable exceptions: there's the health correspondent on C4 News who talked about the Health Secretary's issuing of 'random figures' all day Friday. She is right but it was quite surprising to hear it said in such a straightforward manner.
That was just after an ITV newsreader told us the queen would be addressing the nation on Sunday to urge us all to stick together. That would be the monarch who shot off to Windsor when it became clear London was a hot-spot and not safe for her. And whose son and heir shot off to Scotland on a private jet, already infected with the virus and taking the infection with him, despite being told - as we all were - to stay home. No big surprise his entourage got the virus, is it?
But if London is not safe for the queen and Cherlie, is it safe for anyone? Maybe the London air has curative properties for politicians. There's Johnson back at his work after a week and the health secretary back after 3 days, when the rest of us are told to stay in isolation for 14 days. No wonder the populace are inclined to say sod this and start planning days out for Sunday (which is going to be a lovely day, by the way).
The population has been described on the news as 'impatient' to get back to normal. We even had the joyful sight of the Telegraph correspondent asking Nicola Sturgeon if people could go ahead and plan their summer holidays - after she'd spent 40 minutes urging caution and telling us we hadn't even reached the peak of the pandemic. I admit the words 'What are you, thick?' crossed my lips. Luckily, I'm not the First Minister.
Much of the need for normality is prompted by the lack of cash many people face in this crisis. The Tories in Westminster just don't see a problem. After all, they are well-off and earning a good salary, whatever they claim. And they are offering a lifeline to the self-employed as well as the employed.
The trouble is the self-employed have nothing now. The rescue package won't kick in till June the - who knows - 1st, 30th? That could be the difference between just getting by and not getting by at all. Especially in a society where people are often forced into self-employment and just don't have savings to fall back on.
The employed are at home on 80% of normal wages. That means their pay is 20% short. But the mortgage/rent, council tax, car loan, car insurance and credit card payments are not reduced by that amount. And your family are all at home, eating up a storm - tell me your kids are not raiding the fridge as I write.
Eventually - but not right now - the virus will pass and we'll get back to normality. We'll forget the terrible death toll, the sacrifice NHS workers are making, the young people we've lost.
So will we just go back to how it was? Pretend the Coronavirus was an isolated incident and unlikely to happen again, although in my lifetime (72 years) in Scotland there have been epidemics of tuberculosis, polio and typhoid as well as all the childhood ailments we seem to be a bit too casual about now. And that's not even mentioning the diphtheria and smallpox that ravaged much of Europe in the early 20th century and horrors like ebola, that are still out there in Africa.
Maybe most of us will be happy to slump back into shopping/clubbing/pubbing mode. The hedonistic lifestyle - all gloss and no content - has its attractions. Maybe a few will want to talk about the future we want for our children and grandchildren. Right now, we could be talking about a few things:
Fairness for a start.
Is it fair to pay your most important workers £16,000 and call them unskilled even though you know you can't manage without them?
Is it fair to find homes for the homeless in a crisis only because leaving them on the streets will jeopardise the health of the rest of us?
Is it fair to keep electing the Tories when their interests are so obviously the opposite to ours?
Is it fair for the right wing to reject all notion of solidarity, friendship and social democracy but fall back on these ideas when it suits them?
Is it fair to admit into our society billionaires who demand financial packages when we know they have huge amounts of cash stashed in offshore accounts? Cash they made from us, the tax payers. And they pay no taxes? The very taxes that would keep the NHS alive.
Whether the virus had come along or not, we were always up shit creek in the UK. This economy doesn't work. We produce nothing. There's no industrial backbone, as the German and French economies have. The brexit anxiety about the Channel ports revealed something very interesting: the UK imports vastly more than it exports. No country can survive like that.
I know it's a cliche but it is very much like the last days of the Roman Empire. There is vast wealth but it's in the hands of a small group of people and it doesn't trickle down to the rest of the population. The rich are not for sharing. And they protect their position by protecting their cronies.
New ideas are rejected. Politically, 'we're doing fine thanks' is the message Rome sends out and if you're a CEO or a shareholder, that's true - just as long as nothing goes wrong.
The empire is shrinking as more and more people realise they don't need Rome at all but can manage for themselves because they have the resources. If the virus reveals nothing else - and I can only hope it will spare most of us so we can talk about these matters - it has to be that there's no point in putting our hopes in the false gods of people like Boris Johnson.
Take a look at the people in front of us in this crisis: Catherine Calderwood, Jason Leitch, Jeane Freeman. Who do you trust?
Excellent article, trustful and honest assessment.
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