OneOffDave wrote: ↑Wed Apr 01, 2020 8:11 am
What people don't seem to realise is that the more they bitch about this rather than smiling, nodding and not acting like a dick, the more likely it becomes that the police will be given wider powers to enforce a stricter lock down. The other weekend when people showed they couldn't do social distancing and all piled into the national parks and the seaside brought the current measures on faster.
Hi OOD. Hope the work isn't getting you down.
The key point is 'not acting like a dick'.
The cases we are discussing are where it looks like the people acting like dicks are the police, not the members of the general public.
Most intelligent people 'get' physical distancing, and will decry the crowding at beauty spots. Hopping in a car and driving somewhere where you are less likely to meet people, and keeping a physical distance of more than 2 metres is easy, doesn't look dickish. Being told not to by someone with an arguably incorrect understanding of the law, but who has the power to make your life difficult doesn't make the general public think the 'powers that be' are being sensible (in both senses of the word).
Doing things like requiring people to park in every other parking space, sitting in every other seat on public transport and in public seating, and instituting one-way systems for walking in popular spots would be sensible. Sending up drones to target isolated walkers: not sensible. Telling people they can only spend an hour on their allotment: not sensible.
The general public are pig-headed, and if they
think they are being bossed about for no good reason, they will kick up at it. There is a fine line to be walked to maintain the good will and cooperation of the general public, because if you lose it, it is very hard to get back.