The government has encouraged unneighbourly behaviour.
“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” is perhaps one of the most popularised quotations from the Bible. And it is one that is particularly relevant at the moment, as we cast our stones in the age of Covid.
Taken from the Gospel according to St. John, it is in fact “he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” We all know it, even those among us who are less familiar with the Bible. In short, Jesus is telling us not to criticise others unless our conscience is squeaky clean.
Is yours? Because now, many of us are casting our stones. But I don’t know of a single person who has not broken one of the lockdown rules, whether they did so unknowingly or in the spirit of defiance.
It started in the middle of March. After the nation had decried whispers of “herd immunity”, we settled for the new order – accepting that in sacrificing our liberties, we were fighting the good fight against Coronavirus. Stay home, save lives, protect the NHS, we were told. And largely, we did.
Police forces up and down the country noted a spike in complaints from individuals against their neighbours. In Humberside, there were enough snoopers to justify a special hotline for the tell-tales to report their neighbours. – Constance Watson
These rules – clear to some, confusing to others but overall, pretty intelligible – contributed to an environment which encouraged the curtain-twitchers among us to thrive. And so, in the hell of lockdown, people began to report their neighbours for breaking the rules.
At the end of March, police forces up and down the country noted a spike in complaints from individuals against their neighbours. In Humberside, there were enough snoopers to justify a special hotline for the tell-tales to report their neighbours. The chief constable in Northamptonshire received so many calls that the force had to prioritise gatherings of “five, six, seven or more” people. In South Wales, drones were used to monitor “hotspots” – ie, local parks. The Derby Telegraph encouraged its readers to snitch: “If your neighbours are breaking the lockdown rules, you can report them easily.” The list goes on.
However, the government decided that if citizens were caught breaking the rules, they were going to pay the price. Police were allowed to fine members of the public that disobeyed the lockdown commandments up to £1,000. Cue more complaints from members of the public about their neighbours’ behaviour. At the time, Martin Hewitt, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), told the press that the rise in complaints “demonstrates that there is a sense among the population that this is really serious.”
It became clear that the NHS was not going to collapse. – Constance Watson
After weeks of lockdown – and in a few areas, absolutely no sign of infection – it became clear that the NHS was not going to collapse. As a result, some people began to relax the rules (others had been flouting them all along). In “relax,” I do not mean to say that people were meandering around the place murderously breathing Covid fumes all over the aged and the vulnerable. It meant – it means – something different for everyone. Perhaps relaxing means two walks a day (only one excursion was permitted) or not disinfecting door handles 25 times per hour (the virus may survive on hard surfaces for up to 28 days). We had behaved responsibly and, in clear conscience, we continue to do so.
Someone who also maintains that he behaved reasonably is Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, who was accused of breaking the rules in taking a 264-mile trip either to secure childcare or to check his eyesight, or to visit a castle, or to walk in a bluebell wood, or all and none of the above. This was catnip to the moralists, who became quite hysterical with excitement. “We are all equal… but some are more equal than others” cried the protestors.
Politicians, members of the clergy, academics, and other well-known media figures united in their outrage at Cummings’s behaviour. The Daily Mail newspaper, normally vehemently pro the UK’s current government, wrote Cummings “has violated the spirit and letter of the lockdown and, in doing so, he has given every selfish and reckless person in this country a licence to play fast and loose with public health.”
Dominic Cummings’ behaviour was catnip to the moralists, who became quite hysterical with excitement. – Constance Watson
Here is not the place to debate the case of Cummings and his family outing. Nearly two months on from his Durham sojourn, the government’s guidelines are even more furry. “Stay home, save lives, protect the NHS” has been replaced by the less catchy “Stay alert, control the virus, save lives”. The new advice from the government is to “stay at home as much as possible.” Six people are allowed to meet in a garden but schools have reopened with more than that number in the same room (in theory, at a distance). McDonald’s restaurants and IKEA stores are back for business, but churches and places of worship remain closed.
If the guidelines of yester-month allowed curtain-twitchers to thrive, the ambiguity with which we are now advised means that informants can go forth and multiply.
But why do we, the general public, sneak on our neighbours? To make ourselves feel better, of course.
Most children revel in reporting their siblings to an authoritative adult. It is a certain type of pleasure that can spike even in adulthood. The German language has a word to describe this ecstasy: Schadenfreude, taken from Schaden “to harm” and freude “joy.”
Those of us who are inclined to report others for their behaviour probably know that the moral high ground is a five-star resort. One thing is for sure; it’s the only place lots of us will be holidaying this summer.
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