COVID-19 - Release from Lockdown Failing

 The cracks in the release from Lockdown are starting to show. The Government has just released figures that show the R or infection rating is above 1 for the first time since lockdown.

It's now quite obvious the policy employed since lockdown has failed. For whatever reason, the infection rating has climbed above 1 and the virus is starting to increase once again.

I urge the government to act now and not fuck about like it did last time. We need lockdown NOW.

Close the schools, close the pubs (the most obvious vector for the virus and not at all necessary to keep open), and limit access to shops again. This time, keep non-essential shops open, but limit access. So at least a significant majority of people can continue to work and keep their jobs.

Schools should become a safe repository for kids while parents are working. Kids stay in fixed classes, no moving around from class to class spreading the virus. 

Beauty salons are not essential and promote close personal contact. They should also be closed. Tough luck ladies, learn to love the grey.

Work should continue as much as possible, with proper social distancing measures in place. Offices should install screens between desks and workers should wear masks where they can.

Movement between households should be stopped. Scrap the rule of six, stop all non-essential meetings between households.

Non-essential travel should also be stopped.

Migrants reaching our shores should be returned under quarantine back to France. They should not be allowed into the country, they should not be bussed to the North and they should not be allowed the freedom to roam the streets.

It should be made clear to the country that they cannot go back to pre-lockdown levels of social interaction. If they continue to act in the irresponsible way they are, then they risk a second lockdown and this time the country may not be able to afford the cushion that was given to them the first time round. Next time will be harder. Unless they start to act responsibly and start to get back to what they were doing during lockdown, then there will be a tougher period of lockdown. Your choice.

And to the Government: for fuck's sake stop changing the rules! No wonder people just do what the fuck they like, because the Government changes the rules every week. Let's have some common sense rules that people can actually see make sense. Stop with the ever changing tag lines.

Right now the government should be saying we should be working to prevent another harder lockdown. We are all in it together and if we don't, the government cannot be as generous as last time and the next time will be harder for a lot of people. It may be harder for YOU.

Do you ant to risk your home, your job? If you don't then start to act like responsible adults and keep your distance, stop spreading the virus and stop acting like there's nothing going on. Stay away from pubs if at all possible. The pubs are there as a service, they are not be be abused on drunken orgies like before the virus. If you can't grow up and take some responsibility, then you will lose the privilege and pubs and other services will be shut down again.

International Women's Day.

To me it's interesting that such a thing as international women's day has to exist. All my life I've treated women as equals. In the past there have been very awkward moments when I've been on buisiness lunches with female colleagues and the " what will your wife say?" question came up.

In my head there never was a need because there was nothing overtly sexual about grabbing lunch together. The question wouldn't arise if it was two male colleagues out for lunch, so why should it for two colleagues of the opposite sex? And in the interests of fairness, I can disclose I've gone out for lunches with Gay colleagues and the question still didn't arise.

Even though feminism has made great strides forwards, it will take a long time, maybe a couple of generations of women to feel fully equal to men.

And when i mean equal, I mean fully equal on their own terms, not on arbitrary terms specified by someoune ho says they are a feminist.

A great excample is sexual fantasies: there are a great number of women that dream of being dominated by men. That they have the freedom to explore that side of their sexuality is good. It is not exploitative, or demeaning, it is what the woman chooses to do for excitement.

A feminist would have a fit trying to explain how submitting to a man is demeaning, disgraceful, etc. without understanding the wioman choosing to explore the fantasy has the power. She is making a choice and is exploring sexual desires she wants to explore.

In the BDSM commiunity there is a phrase "consensual non-consent" where the woman wants to be overpowered and wants it to feel real. That's not to say it is real, it's just a scanario she and the male she chooses to do the exploring with are working through.

One of the vocal feminists would not understand how empowering that is to a woman. I get fed up of feminists telling other women what they should and shouldn't do, how they should and shouldn't behave. What they are saying is that other women have to conform to their boundaries, conform to their standards of behaviour, which is just as bad as if a man was telling a woman the same thing.

Equality is freedom. It's having the freedom to choose any career you like, explore any lifestyle you like, with whom you like and where you like. It doesn't require the premission of anyone, including feminists to live your life the way you see fit.

But by the same token, you cannot expect (for instance) to have a level playing field with males if you don't play the game the same. If you take 5 or 10 years out of your career then don't expect to have the same wages as a male or female that hasn't taken time out of their career.

Equality and empowermant comes with responsibility and respect. Promoting one side of the coin whilst ignoring the other is just promoting a new inequality.

Where I wish feminists would turn their attention is to those countries that institutionally degrade women. Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries where the rights of women just do not exist, where women are required by law to dress a certain way. They should condemn Sharia courts in the UK where communities treat women as second-class citizens against the law of the land. They should condemn traffickers that trade women like objects for real (not sexual fantasies) and bought and sold for cash and enslaved. They should condemn countries where the life of a girl is worth less than that of a boy and a girl can be killed with impunity.

Anyway, to all women everywhere, happy International Women's day.

Now when is International Men's Day? In the spirit of equality and promotion of man's rights you understand.....