Am I being unkind?

QUESTION:  Am I being unkind?

I think that everyone should question their position, including myself, so, prompted by a question from someone I love and respect, I have been asked the above question of myself for the last few days.

I can’t deny that the bottom line of my views/opinions on the current situation regarding SARS COV-2 (the virus) and COVID-19 (the illness) seems unkind, and yes it would be insensitive of me to share them with someone who has recently lost a loved one related to COVID-19.

But, in questioning myself, I’ve been asking the “Why Questions”... why do I think that, why am I responding this way, why do I feel so strongly about this?

Going to back to my first memories and notes made in the early days, I have been 'questioning' the action being taken by Governments since the early days of Lockdown 1. The folder I created in my work email inbox as Lockdown began was called "CoronaCrisis". The first time I heard a pastor, Steve G, speak about his rising concerns, I remember thinking how he was saying out loud EXACTLY what I had already been thinking. And his main concern which I resonated with was about the inequality being shown through the reaction to "CoronaCrisis":

• While the UK Government was putting into place systems and schemes to cover those who couldn't work and businesses that couldn't earn, I was acutely aware that this would not be the case in many countries around the world, and then I heard about the use of physical force being used against people in some countries to keep them in their homes, like from those at the church in Nepal which King's Church supports, even when leaving their home was the only way to feed their family,
• Delivering food parcels for our local Food Bank led me to think about children going hungry and/or stuck in neglectful homes, and adults being abused behind closed doors, here in the UK... I found myself asking if I would rather these things were happening than I or my family becoming ill with COVID-19?
• I was in regular text conversations with a couple of young adults who were struggling mentally and emotionally, and I was aware that there were numerous other youth and young adults who were feeling despondant, depressed and even suicidal,
• I knew of older adults unwell (unrelated to COVID-19) in hospital and care homes and their families were unable to see them or say Goodbye regardless of the reason for death, and then were unable to commemorate or celebrate their lives, and it "hit home" when I found out that my Nana no longer recognised my Uncle after a few months of him not being able to visit,
• Ross and I both procrastinated about contacting our GP for minor things even after the initial Lockdown eased, and when we did we found it so hard to communicate with them or to see someone, which got me thinking about others with more serious conditions who either weren't contacting their GP or weren't receiving treatment... looking into it, I found statistics for people who had died at home of treatable conditions since the start of Lockdown, and then I heard from a neighbour whose father had done just this,
• Communicating with people from all walks of life for work and in our village, I noticed the disparity in circumstances... with the exception of doctors and nurses, those 'well-off' were "safe at home" for work and study, while those with lower incomes were the ones most likely to be continuing to work, and risking contracting SARS COV-2. Every time I ordered something to be delivered or picked up an order to collect, because the shops were closed, I saw a face of someone who couldn't stay "safe at home" because they needed to keep their job,
• Already being of the opinion that good nutrition and health can play a large part in one's body being able to efficiently deal with any virus, from knowledge gained prior to CoronaCrisis, I wondered how many of those who had no choice but to risk exposure were also those most likely to not have good nutrition or health due to economic status (and I totally recognise that this will not always be so, but statistics do show it to be more likely),
• By this point, it was clear to me that the "treatment" was doing more damage than the "disease"... the virus was affecting such a small demographic of people and yet, in addition to the above, businesses were closing permanently, people were losing jobs, and hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money was being spent on keeping everyone at home.

Yes, many people had died and there were still deaths occuring, but the Government and Mainstream Media were not reporting on any of the damage being caused by the restrictions and Lockdown.

So, while I was blessed with a good-sized home and a garden, able to work from home on my laptop, able to order and collect my shopping and we knew our jobs were secure, there were so many others who weren't.

THIS is what has fuelled my frustration and motivated my research. My opinions are based on my research, but the reason for my research is my love for people and concern for those less fortunate than myself.

I am not the only one being accused of being 'unkind', but I also know that many of the others labelled this way (including medical staff, virologists, immunologists, etc) are also acting out of concern for those who are not statisically vulnerable to COVID-19, but ARE vulnerable to the effects of current restrictions in place and decisions being made in reaction to it.

If one only uses the figures being reported by the Government and Mainstream Media, and especially if one listens to and believes the messages being given by them, then fear will understandably be the reason for one's opinions about and reactions to the current situation, and I don't blame anyone for that, given the figures and messages (I do, however, blame the Gov and MSM!).

See my other blog post for why I choose NOT to use the figures and messages being given by Government and Mainstream Media, but the bullet points above are the reasons "why I am responding in this way" and "why I feel so strongly about it"... and, after consideration, I still believe that I am doing so out of kindness and compassion for others.

"Compassion and realism need not be enemies"

https://www.wsj.com/articles/an-american-epidemic-of-covid-mania-11618871457