This is a one of those 'read it and make up your own mind' books.
A State of Fear by Laura Dodsworth. It's about fear - fear of a virus, fear of death, fear of losing our jobs, our human connections, health and our minds. It's also about how the government weaponised our fear against us - supposedly in our best interests, until we were the most frightened country in Europe. Questions include -
"Why did the government deliberately frighten us, and how has this affected us as individuals and as a country? Who is involved in the decision-making that affects our lives? How does the media leverage fear? Ahead of any official inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Laura Dodsworth explores all these questions and more, in a thought-provoking discussion of an extraordinary year in British life and politics."
I didn't read the whole book so I just dipped in and out of it, but some of the newspaper headlines and TV news that the author researched is incredible. Here are a few.. From The Daily Star, 23th July 2020 - "Baldies are 40% more at risk of Coronavirus says US study." The Daily Mirror, 12th November 2020 - Covid survivors could have life threatening allergic reaction to hair dye." The Daily Telegraph, 28th July 2020 - People over 6ft have double the risk of Coronavirus. Where would we be without our media??
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I don't buy into the idea that the UK government deliberately frightened its citizens. For most of the first wave it was reacting to events rather than controlling them. The instinct of the PM was to let nature take its course and prioritise economic activity over human health. Until it was pointed out that allowing old people to die en masse might wipe out his electoral advantage 🤦♀️
Firstly, I remember the AIDs scare, and how humiliating it was for gay men and single men. I was expected to have an AIDs test being single, for a repayment mortgage, even though I was not gay. The same rules did not apply to women. My gay friends had hide their sexuality. why!
Secondly there are other ways of winning seats. I’ve had a boundary change and put in a safe Tory seat. I was in a Tory marginal. And of course the Tories have just bought off the Protestant Northern Ireland MPs with money. So they will support a Tory minority Government after the election.
There were other models during the lockdown. In Spain where I partially live, the first jabs were given to people of working age to keep the economy going. Rather than crippling the Economy with generous handouts. Furlough my foot! Some people did very nicely out of that.
@SW-User AIDS was awful. An illiberal government exploited popular fear and prejudice and promoted the idea that it was somehow a divine act to punish sexual promiscuity.
I can't see any parallels with Covid though. We began with something akin to the Swedish model, moved towards more restrictive conditions when people demanded direction and clarity, but were always slightly too late in taking effective action.
I think in Spain children were confined indoors for several months. Our government too prioritised economic activity over education and young peoples welfare 😥
They'll need to do a bit more than gerrymander boundaries to get anything out of the next election!
