Scotland goes back into lockdown 7pm Friday

[Lencoboy]

I agree. As Vee said, first world problems. And the more people have grown up having the more they will resent not having them. As Blue points out it is a sweeping generalisation, every generation has complainers, but a big % of today's world are growing up used to luxury. If you grow up in a poor nation naturally a greater number of people are more used to hardship and will wonder what we are complaining about. Our parents and grandparents understand that as despite the ramblings of certain newspapers who think it's worse today our parents remember the days of no central heating and hand-me-down make do & mend culture. Those living in our countries in poverty just want food as opposed to an iPhone. They understand hardship. Many of all ages do a life has reminded them of it's fragility whether you are 50 getting cancer or a 12 year carer for your parent.

Facebook crashes for a day. Mass hysteria. Service restored and they all have something new to discuss. Somewhere in a poor nation your village well pump stops working. Walk miles to another? Die?

First world problems. How lucky we are.

The lockdown hits some harder than others but doesn't life? Suicide rises because of a new reason but someone vulnerable would face the same due to death in the family, relationship breakups, redundancy, etc. The pandemic is not special in this respect and quite frankly I'll put up with of this of years of grief from losing a loved one.

It has been pointed out that substance misusers are struggling. That's nothing to do with a pandemic. It's stress. See above. The problem is the lack of support and perhaps removal of a crutch? But again, see above. Good luck getting support for losing your wife like Pamplemousse has, you go into the mental health queue like us all. If you are an addict, it's another problem.

I've seen it said on here how the sudden isolation affects substance misusers. Just like us. If your work is a crutch, that's not a good thing. I made that mistake and learned from it when the work obsession, or rather me avoiding confronting what was lurking beneath, got to the point I went of work. Then came more spiralling.

Manage the fallout, don't try to avoid it by sacrificing another vulnerable group.

You're dead right Terry!!

Without trivialising this pandemic in any way, most of the social problems within today's society were already there in some form or another well before this year, and this pandemic is probably the latest in a long line of 'scapegoats', as before it was Brexit, Trump, (Tory) austerity measures, the GFC, ISIS/AQ, chavs/hoodies, asylum seekers, benefit cheats, you name it.

Every decade has had its plusses and minuses. For instance, many people of my generation (Gen X) often get nostalgic about the 90s. Yes we were younger and more carefree back then and life seemed simpler and less restrictive generally but there were still plenty of problems both in the UK and the rest of the world during that particular decade, most of which are now disowned and largely forgotten about, unlike the 2000s and 2010s which seem to be remembered more for their problems rather that their often-overlooked strengths, which I suppose could well be a combo of both significant technological advances over the past 20 years (especially with mass communication technologies) and confirmation bias.

Back on topic, Boris's announcements for England's forthcoming restrictions yesterday afternoon blatantly reiterated that they are NOT a second full-on nationwide lockdown, but according to a '3-level' of severity system, medium, high and very high.

[MyNameIsTerry]

You're dead right Terry!!

Without trivialising this pandemic in any way, most of the social problems within today's society were already there in some form or another well before this year, and this pandemic is probably the latest in a long line of 'scapegoats', as before it was Brexit, Trump, (Tory) austerity measures, the GFC, ISIS/AQ, chavs/hoodies, asylum seekers, benefit cheats, you name it.

Every decade has had its plusses and minuses. For instance, many people of my generation (Gen X) often get nostalgic about the 90s. Yes we were younger and more carefree back then and life seemed simpler and less restrictive generally but there were still plenty of problems both in the UK and the rest of the world during that particular decade, most of which are now disowned and largely forgotten about, unlike the 2000s and 2010s which seem to be remembered more for their problems rather that their often-overlooked strengths, which I suppose could well be a combo of both significant technological advances over the past 20 years (especially with mass communication technologies) and confirmation bias.

Back on topic, Boris's announcements for England's forthcoming restrictions yesterday afternoon blatantly reiterated that they are NOT a second full-on nationwide lockdown, but according to a '3-level' of severity system, medium, high and very high.

I'm a Genx too. I remember the rave days. Drugs, teenage pregnancy, getting drunk and town centre gang fighting.

I do think I was lucky growing up in the age where you picked up a football and played in the street with your mates, rode a bike. I didn't need so many 'friends' worldwide online and likes to qualify as cool. But we did have trainer snobbery!

I wonder whether millenials will reach their 40s to be more worldly because of their exposure to tech? Or weakened by it? But millenials, like all of us, have now fallen out if favour and become the same old farts they saw us for as younger generations think of them as the new embarrassing dad

[Lencoboy]

I'm a Genx too. I remember the rave days. Drugs, teenage pregnancy, getting drunk and town centre gang fighting.

I do think I was lucky growing up in the age where you picked up a football and played in the street with your mates, rode a bike. I didn't need so many 'friends' worldwide online and likes to qualify as cool. But we did have trainer snobbery!

I wonder whether millenials will reach their 40s to be more worldly because of their exposure to tech? Or weakened by it? But millenials, like all of us, have now fallen out if favour and become the same old farts they saw us for as younger generations think of them as the new embarrassing dad

Re your first paragraph, I remember those very same things too, raves, drugs, teen pregnancies and excessive promiscuity, binge drinking and smoking (especially underage), gang fights in town centres and on housing estates, general anti-social behaviour and not forgetting joyriding, and the original moral panics surrounding them.

And then they'll say 'But there was no such thing as knife crime back then'.

I'm pretty sure there was knife crime back then, but I don't think the media made such a big deal out of it then to the extent they do now, and kept such incidents lower key, though I remember the cities of Manchester and Nottingham were both nicknamed Gunchester and Shottingham, respectively, due to their alleged gun crime epidemics back in the 90s.

There were also ongoing moral panics about video nasties in the 90s, especially following the James Bulger incident in early 1993.

Back on topic, what we're having from today onwards, most notably in the tier 3 zones, is basically 'Lockdown-lite'.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Re your first paragraph, I remember those very same things too, raves, drugs, teen pregnancies and excessive promiscuity, binge drinking and smoking (especially underage), gang fights in town centres and on housing estates, general anti-social behaviour and not forgetting joyriding, and the original moral panics surrounding them.

And then they'll say 'But there was no such thing as knife crime back then'.

I'm pretty sure there was knife crime back then, but I don't think the media made such a big deal out of it then to the extent they do now, and kept such incidents lower key, though I remember the cities of Manchester and Nottingham were both nicknamed Gunchester and Shottingham, respectively, due to their alleged gun crime epidemics back in the 90s.

There were also ongoing moral panics about video nasties in the 90s, especially following the James Bulger incident in early 1993.

Back on topic, what we're having from today onwards, most notably in the tier 3 zones, is basically 'Lockdown-lite'.

Yes, there was plenty of knife crime. I remember standing in a city centre pub seeing a gang over from Birmingham with machetes under coats. There was plenty about crime ridden estates and tower blocks too that dramas based their storylines.

I forgot about the joy riding. Remember JCBs ripping out cash point machines and ram raiding? Still plenty of football hooliganism in those days too.

[AntsyVee]

Without trivialising this pandemic in any way, most of the social problems within today's society were already there in some form or another well before this year, and this pandemic is probably the latest in a long line of 'scapegoats', as before it was Brexit, Trump, (Tory) austerity measures, the GFC, ISIS/AQ, chavs/hoodies, asylum seekers, benefit cheats, you name it

--Lencoboy

As LB said, social problems have always been around, but each new crisis exacerbates them, which is what COVID has done in my opinion. I keep wondering what major crisis will finally cause our leaders to finally take on solving social problems instead of sweeping them under the rug?

[MyNameIsTerry]

--Lencoboy

As LB said, social problems have always been around, but each new crisis exacerbates them, which is what COVID has done in my opinion. I keep wondering what major crisis will finally cause our leaders to finally take on solving social problems instead of sweeping them under the rug?

Nothing. They aren't affected.

Aside from some mass social unrest politics is one massive trough for like-minded snouts.

To quote Snake Plisskin "the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Things improve but I suspect there are far more career money power chasing egotists in politics than there are those who want to help. So progress is slow. It's firefighting what voters are kicking off about. Other causes fall by the wayside and experience slow changes.

But I'm cynical...

[Lencoboy]

Yes, there was plenty of knife crime. I remember standing in a city centre pub seeing a gang over from Birmingham with machetes under coats. There was plenty about crime ridden estates and tower blocks too that dramas based their storylines.

I forgot about the joy riding. Remember JCBs ripping out cash point machines and ram raiding? Still plenty of football hooliganism in those days too.

Even in my town (which I still don't wish to name on here for fear of 'town-
bashing', though it's actually far from being a full-on 'problem' town) there are certain estates that our local rag used to make a really big thing out of back in the 80s, 90s and even the 2000s. Even the council estate I lived on as a young child came under fire from our local rag back in the early 90s, and was dubbed a 'ghetto' after one family had their garden wall toppled by vandals, and also constantly plagued by car crime in the poorly designed communal parking areas, as much of the estate is designed and built in the 'Radburn' style.

Our local rag has toned down its previously sensationalist nature over the past 10-15 years or so and those estate horror stories rarely ever seem to figure these days.

Yes, joyriding and ram-raiding were quite a big thing back in the 90s, especially before CCTV cameras became the norm in most places, and not forgetting thefts of car audio systems, which are now virtually unheard of.

I certainly recall footie hooliganism still being fairly rife even well into the late 90s, particularly the mass riot in Trafalgar Square following England's semi-
final defeat to Germany in Euro 96, and reports of mass pub and town centre brawls up and down England during the France 98 World Cup, coupled with the binge drinking culture of the time.

Good old days? Over my dead body!!

[Lencoboy]

--Lencoboy

As LB said, social problems have always been around, but each new crisis exacerbates them, which is what COVID has done in my opinion. I keep wondering what major crisis will finally cause our leaders to finally take on solving social problems instead of sweeping them under the rug?

'Elephant in the room' syndrome, I'm afraid.

[AntsyVee]

Well, I think that's a part of me likes the BLM and other protests that have been doing on. Not the violent ones of course, but the peaceful ones. It reminds those of us in charge, who have a PHD in ignoring the elephant, that there's more of us than there are of them.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Well, I think that's a part of me likes the BLM and other protests that have been doing on. Not the violent ones of course, but the peaceful ones. It reminds those of us in charge, who have a PHD in ignoring the elephant, that there's more of us than there are of them.

True, and I would agree. But it's a big pity that may be hijacked by the idiot fringe that people may come to remember rather than the true protesters. I see so much about BLM in a negative light in online comments and much more about the US branch. But the UK branch seems to be about something more so it clashes with other political views who may even support them away from other beliefs found in the cause.

Is that because it's such a broad church? And are there black conservatives who support them but can't voice a right wing political stance because the movement is against that? I'm not saying it is, it's just something I wonder about, but the impression of the UK version I get is a political leaning that would exclude them. For instance, you could be a Muslim (of colour) who disagrees with homosexuality yet the BLM states it is to support homosexuality too. I wonder how they make themselves inclusive because that alone is a very emotive debate.