Local Lockdowns

It still stinks, Mark.

 

If you aren't a fan of local pubs Christmas is a lock down every year. I've never attended a home game on boxing day through lack of transport. Christmas day is an anti climax once you hit 16. Most people who aren't at work spend it in the house anyway.

 

Missing the point though aren't you?

If it was announced a couple of hours before midnight on December 24 that you couldn't go to another household etc, there'd be uproar.

That's how it feels for the Muslim population right now.

These infection rate levels have been high in these areas for a while. Announce it earlier, give folk chance to prepare.

There's really no other argument but that.

 

My lad kicked his ball over the trees at the back of the house this morning. It's a new ball, so we walked round and asked for it back. Family at the back are obviously Muslim, the boy there has got robes on, all ready to go out (and therefore disobey the rules). It made me think - if this had happened on Christmas Eve, and I'd invited say 20 of the extended family round and done £400 buying a boatload of food and drink, you can guarantee I'd be doing the same rather than telling my Mum she couldn't come round and she has to have Shredded Wheat for Christmas Dinner.

 

I think they should just do what they want anyway. The Police wouldn't arrest anybody during a religious festival.

 

There’ll have been loads of people who have travelled to visit and was stopping the night yesterday. This was announced so late a lot of people (especially kids) would have already been in bed and not known until this morning where they’ll have woken up to find out they have inadvertently broken a law. I wonder, what realistically does the government expect them to do? Kick them out of the house even though they’re already there? Does it really matter if they stay the rest of the day/however long now? If they did see it last night before bed, were they supposed to have packed their bags and got rid of them before midnight struck? We get weeks of notice of pubs opening, wearing masks, days notice in advance of being able to meet up but 2 hours notice that you can’t, the night before a very important date for a lot of people in the areas affected. It’s ridiculous. I feel so sorry for all the people who woke up looking forward to a really good day and then hearing this on the news. Can you imagine a kid waking up on Christmas morning and finding out that the big celebration is cancelled and no-one is allowed to see them to give them any presents?

 

And if they did and flu season resuited in less deaths then is that a bad thing? I'm not defending the government at all, but its a worldwide pandemic and most countries are limiting social interaction.

 

I get that for now during the pandemic. I am saying that I don't think even after a vaccine and Covid is eliminated that we will 100% get back to being allowed to live how we used to.

 

If the Govt had any sense they would have consulted local leaders on the safest way to celebrate Eid. But I'm not convinced they haven't done it deliberately to antagonisethe Muslim community and blame the spread on them.

 

I can't see the police wanting to stir up anymore racial hatred through enforcing penalties.

 

I too wouldn't be changing my plans for Christmas.

But the lad you mention may not be disobeying any rules if he's merely got ready to go to Mosque. That hasn't been outlawed under these hastily announced rules. But I hope he's going to Mosque and then to his family gathering and they enjoy their weekend together.

 

You're probably right, but fingers will be pointing and the Muslim community scapegoats for the disease spreading,

 

I agree with you Andy. Johnson has previous for his anti-islamic rhetoric. Whilst swift action is needed on these things, so is common sense & common courtesy. The idea it's OK for people to go to the pub, but not celebrate a religious festival is wrong on so many levels.

 

Just to clarify I’m now going for an eye test drive to Bury

 

More tests to find a small increase of cases and slightly less deaths. It can be argued from that that the lockdown would have been better last week.