A couple of days ago I received what purported to be, a very personal and important letter. I met the Postman at the gate. He did not hand it to me but dropped it on the car bonnet as I approached. Strange I thought, then I realised he was complying with the 'social distancing' edict emanating from above.
As it happened this is also where the letter came from - no less a place than 10 Downing Street! Yes this was a missive, personal and caring, perhaps the only one of this sort I would receive all year, from our esteemed Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. 'Personal' yet lacking my name or address or any mention of 'Dear Mr Anybody'. No, as the envelope announced, this was "a vital update from the Government about Coronavirus". Clearly there was no time for fripperies.
Interestingly it was dispatched not from 'HM Government' but from 'UK Government', which begs the indelicate question as to whether the change in nomenclature indicates a change of thinking as to a rather important constitutional principle? Perhaps, whilst distracted by plague and other pressing issues, the State has morphed into a Republic? Anything is possible in these extraordinary times.
So the the letter was to un-named me - not even 'To the Occupier' - from Boris Johnson, outlining his and the Government's thoughts and injunctions in response to what is claimed to be an epidemic - nay a pandemic - of 'Covid-19'. It was carefully timed to arrive just before Easter, no accident as apparently the Government was anxious to prevent people taking advantage of the Easter break to enjoy socialising outdoors.
Of course between the time it was drafted either by Boris himself or by his aids and the time hygiene-aware postman delivered it, Boris himself had succumbed to the disease and been rushed to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of St Thomas' Hospital. In telling me what I should do and not do, it was impossible not to ruminate on that ancient saying, "Physician heal thyself." Fortunately we now learn he has recovered from the temporary episode and is back in business, although there is still no indication when the rest of us will be let out of isolation.
I must admit I have been given to wondering if his condition really did warrant edge-of-death treatment or whether it was just an over-precautionary measure for a VIP? He apparently required oxygen but there is no suggestion of pneumonia, so clearly a different process was involved, that inhibited oxygen take-up but that hasn't been explained.
I also wondered who besides the medical staff were allowed to visit or see him? We haven't been told that either. Whoever attended obviously placed themselves in danger of catching the virus, if as we are told it so infectious, that even contact with inanimate objects can put one at risk - let alone next to a person requiring intensive care and exceedingly vulnerable.
If dark and dangerous deeds were at play, who would surmise it was anything other than Covid-19 that had carried him off? Was he placed under any political or other pressure one wonders whilst there, by men with foreign accents, in grey suits and face masks? We shall never know. What we do know, the virus has put him out of action and control, not only for the time he was in St Thomas', but for an extended period of enforced convalescence.
Could this be the result of not towing the official line - shaking hands with strangers, not keeping his distance, believing that 'herd immunity' might be enough? Someone is setting this agenda and it appears increasingly unlikely it is the head of government.
The tone of the letter is informal and friendly, but this cannot conceal it's authoritarian and threatening undercurrent. It states: "That is why we are giving one simple instruction - you must (sic) stay at home." The draconian consequences are then spelled out: no meeting of friends or family if they live elsewhere; going outside the house for only limited times and only for essential purposes, such as to buy food, exercise or seek medical attention. Going to and from essential work is thoughtfully permitted, but with the closure of huge sections of economy, this is largely theoretical for many.
Then this rather chilling warning: "These rules must be observed. So, if people break the rules, the police will issue fines and disperse gatherings." In this context 'gathering' has been defined as 'more than two people'! So not much doubt there then that what we considered the ancient right to peacefully move and gather freely has been suspended for as long as the edict is in place, this apparently without any proper discussion in Parliament. (People will recall the emergency legislation was passed without debate, on the last day of the sitting, when most of the members had already scuttled off home and Parliament adjourned sine die.)
If nothing else it proves that fundamentals of our constitution are actually flimsy charades that can be swept away on a whim. As if this was not enough there are ominous suggestions the Government is prepared to go further. The letter states: "We will not hesitate to go further if that is what the scientific and medical advice tells us we must do." How much further is that? Already the emergency legislation allows the police to stop anyone and demand information as to their activities and making it an offence not to supply it, even if there is no suspicion of crime. The power to remove and detain persons for up to six weeks, and the forceable removal of children from the home, if suspected of having any of the symptoms, besides other measures the Government has empowered itself with. Will the claimed emergency be used to justify compulsory vaccination, identity cards, or semi-permanent restrictions on movement and activity. Will everyone be required to be chipped and tested to ostensibly fight an imaginary foe?
Mr Gove, in Mr Johnson's enforced absence, in answer to a question as to how long the restrictions would continue, replied ominously it "depended on compliance continuing". I thought this very odd as one would have expected it to have instead to have depended on when statistics of morbidity and mortality - if such there is - showed they had peaked or were no different to what might be normally expected. It certainly raises questions as to the legitimacy of the restrictions and the purpose of the lock-down. Is Covid-19 merely a pretext for unprecedented social control of the population? Is it there to allow other subversive changes to take place without challenge or public protest.
This unprecedented state of affairs is sold to us generally, and specifically in the letter, to support the National Health Service (NHS) to prevent it being overwhelmed by cases. Apart from the fact that there is no evidence of this and that past government has intentionally reduced NHS bed capacity as well as staff which has reduced its ability to cope with quite predictable circumstances, it is clear that the government has tapped into a powerful emotional motivator. Everyone supports the NHS's work. The government has cunningly equated support for the NHS as support for its draconian measures. Who could object to them if it meant our wonderful doctors and nurses were subject to greater pressures and stress.
All of this convinces me this is a carefully pre-planned psychological operation to achieve quite exceptional levels of social control and loss of fundamental freedom. The PM's letter states: "We know things will get worse before they get better. But we are making the the right preparations." "Preparations"? Preparations for what?
People are clearly complying with the instructions. In fact most seem terrified to death afraid even to touch handles or sit on benches, to stand closer than six feet, to go outside. Those that do, although posing no risk to themselves or others, are subject to harassment, fines or arrest by the police, obviously diverted from less pressing demands of crime prevention. Even open spaces are off limit and parks are closed. What awful physical and psychological health consequences are being caused by this extreme irrational approach?
Boris and the government asks us to take all this on trust: that the interventions are necessary. The government is paternally looking after us and only has our best interests at heart. In Boris' words: "The more we all follow the rules, the fewer lives will be lost and the sooner life can return to normal." What sort of normal we might ask. Is this the new normal at ever health or other threat? I hear killer hornets are now on their way from Europe. (I joke you not)
The trouble is that after the events of 9/11, the 'dodgy dossier', 7/7, multiple terrorist events, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Russia, drugs, pornography, financial corruption, Government has lost the right to demand our unquestioning trust that what it is doing is actually in our best interest and not for some other ulterior and nefarious purpose. So far the predictions of UK deaths (500,000) on which policy has been predicated, have proved to outrageously over-estimated. Overall death rates are not significantly different from those to be expected. This whole scenario may prove to be an over-reaction - whether benign and misguided or devious and malignant awaits to be seen.
So thank you Boris for your letter and for the advice contained therein. Although the Government believes it is doing what is best for me, I still believe that I am best placed to protect my own health and well being. My body is not unique in being an incredibly complex organism that millions of years has adapted itself to fight alien organisms. I am also, as an intelligent human being able to assess relevant risk, Coronavirus being but one of many. Given the number that are killed or injured in road traffic accidents and the pressures they impose on the NHS, there is certainly a case for retaining the injunction to 'stay at home', for that cause alone. I'm wondering if we shall ever be let again or if the England we once knew, famed for freedom of expression and movement will ever be the same again?
Yours sincerely,
Who would think all this legislation was required to deal with a flu bug?
Coronavirus Act 2020
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2020/7/contents/enactedThe Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020
This is not an isolated incident, but a national policy directed by the Home Office headed by Priti Patel, previously sacked for pursuing unauthorised negotiations with the Israeli leaders. Chief Constables have obviously been instructed to divert resources from crime investigation to this social control. Although sensible precautions in daily life may be desirable, the way police have been told to implement the law is quite ludicrous, as this videoed incident illustrates. Park benches have actually been police taped off to stop people sitting on them! How under any circumstances, could a person sitting alone on a bench, pose a risk to anyone? The policy implementation goes far beyond disease control principles. It is designed to intimidate people to stay home and to remain outside for a bare minimum of time. It appears that it feeds into the police predilection to impose their will on others. Only yesterday I spoke to a man who told me he was accosted by officers whilst he was parked in Sainsbury's car park, demanding to know what he was doing there. Some might think that was a stupid question. They are obviously tightening the noose on what they think are acceptable explanations and itching to roll out fines at the least excuse. This is antipathetic totalitarianism in action and the brainwashed population appears to think it is all perfectly OK!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ljEwXNBUF0&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR35RJbexo4x-xPZoWHsNyRqW4Hfm63d1JOcNWP7Rk04_1SJU1WoJmWIGv0