Freedom?

 

Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I'm not the most clubbable bloke on the planet, and that I do not naturally cleave to the law and order brigade; whose natural habitat is the letter columns of the more, shall we say, conservative style of newspaper or journal. Disgusted of Surbiton I ain't. But given our current, collective epidemiological pickle, I do find myself taking exception to the actions of some who, to be perfectly honest, act like complete prats and flout perfectly reasonable, sensible recommendations vis à vis appropriate public behaviour with respect to Covid-19.

Talking to my friend Dawn this afternoon - who was a nurse in this field and knows a thing or two on the subject - we related common experiences encountering the frankly disturbing behaviour of some individuals: ignoring all guidelines - and some local laws - by entering retail buildings without masks, talking freely so un-attired, and in close proximity to innocent members of the public.

I'll be the first to say that I think wearing a face-covering is a complete pain, but I do it nevertheless because it makes sense. If you're not wearing one out of vanity, you're just plain daft: everyone's in the same boat and no-one gives a shit what you look like, anyway. Besides, anyone with their face uncovered inappropriately at the moment just looks like a personal threat, so they might want to avoid large, annoyed-looking people actually following the guidelines: they just might not take that kindly to you.

Which brings me to the very worst category of non-compliance: the deniers, the anti-vax sceptics and all the other swivel-eyed loons that feed their 'intellects' on a diet of untruth and bullshit purveyed by the frankly bonkers; mostly in that exercise-yard of the unhinged: the internet and social media. Who, in God's good name, invades a bloody Covid ward in a hospital and starts telling medical professionals that they're killing people - people with Covid-induced double pneumonia - and that all they need is a little bed-rest at home and a few vitamin supplements?

Words don't often escape me, but Christ I'm struggling to understand these people. Personally speaking, I'd swing for anyone I caught trying that on in my proximity. My message to these idiots is: go home, lock the door and stay out of the way of the rest of us: you'd be doing everyone, including yourselves, a big favour. When all this over, I suspect a good many of your number will either have died of Covid or be feeling the decidedly unwelcome effects of extreme post-viral fatigue. And anyone who says this is all fake or an Iluminati-inspired mind-control conspiracy had better not be close to me when they say it.