By Kathrine Jebsen Moore
Reading through the daily Lockdown Sceptics newsletter the other day, I was dismayed to see that a petition to allow parents not to send their children back to school had received around 65,000 signatures (now over half a million). I wasn’t overly surprised, having noticed the comments on social media and the reports of worried parents and teachers, but I thought: Surely it’s not just I who, having looked at the available evidence, thinks it’s high time our children got back to their regular routine of school and nursery – not via screens, but the real, physical thing? In Scotland, schools probably won’t open until the autumn, and plans to get children back to school next month in England are being contested by the teaching unions, so I started my own petition claiming the opposite: that children need to get back to school.
The arguments in favour of reopening are many, and have been well made by education experts like Joanna Williams and the Children’s Commissioner for England. It’s disappointing to see the teaching unions, supported by the British Medical Association, opposing the plans and in effect telling their pupils that schools and education don’t matter. For if they don’t matter now – after months where many children have been cut off from their network of friends, wider family and teachers – then when? Yet, as this collective psychosis of fear has taken hold (thanks to the relentless messaging from the government and the media), it seems that large parts of the population have become scared to resume anything resembling normal life.
Fear, when expressed in online comments, can look ugly. I was reminded of this when I shared my petition to a Facebook group I thought might take an interest in the topic. The Edinburgh Gossip Girls, or EGG as it’s known, is a group of 16,000 women in the Scottish capital, plenty of whom are mothers. Edinburgh’s schools have a good reputation, even though Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP has failed to maintain the standards that were once a hallmark of Scottish education. Edinburgh’s private schools account for 25% of pupils, compared to just 4% in the rest of the country. I imagined that many mums at these expensive schools – as well as the very good local ones – were eager to send their children back after eight weeks – the equivalent of a summer holiday, but without the change of scenery and the social aspects. I was wrong.
It seems the evidence that children are largely unaffected by the virus had not made an impression on the majority of commenters, who were quick to state their opinions. Within a few minutes my post had 62 angry emojis, six stunned ones, three sad ones, and only 26 likes – and one heart. The comments reinforced the mood. As well as the simple “that’ll be a no” and “wouldn’t dream of signing this”, it quickly progressed to mud-slinging, strawmen and high tempers. Some comments were, worryingly, from teachers, who failed to show the professional pride that has been apparent among NHS workers and others who’ve continued to do their jobs during the pandemic. Although a few were supportive, I’ll include a selection which conveys the general spirit:
“Eh, not a chance. Most kids are fine without school.”
“Education matters but so does not dying.”
“Can everybody please report to admin and get this goady post taken down.”
“How many teachers are a fair price for your? More than 65 school staff under the age of 65 in England and Wales have died of Covid already according to ONS figures from last week. How many? How sick of your own children are you?”
“Without proper testing and aggressive tracking of the population reopening schools would be dangerous. The petition is dangerous and unadvisable…unless you don’t care if more people die and suffer.”
Another accused me of having had “too many daytime G&Ts”.
“Boo hoo, my kids miss their friends…they’ll miss them a lot more if they’re dead.”
That was the last comment before the admin switched off comments, with the words: “I’m not sure you’re going to get much support here, and this is a post that clearly stirs up a lot of angst and emotion which I’m trying to avoid. This is one for your personal FB, thanks.”
So with that, I had no chance to respond or refute what had been levelled at me. What I had hoped would attract a few signatures instead became a pile-on which ended abruptly. What surprised me more, however, were the many encouraging comments that landed in my inbox. One was from a doctor who said she was in full agreement with my petition and my views but couldn’t speak out in public because of her job. Her message was poignant, but unfortunately I can’t share it as I promised not to – even anonymously. A common theme among the messages of support was the disappointment that the subject had turned so political, and that even innocent questions such as “Is H&M still open?” had been met with a deluge of accusations. With tempers so frayed, I was pleased to get so many encouraging messages, but suddenly there was one that was a bit different, from a name I recognised as one of the trolls: “Got a G&T to get back to, have you? You’re an absolute danger.” To which I replied: “You’re obviously bored at home. I don’t think you understand the arguments.” She responded: “I understand fine, thanks. I am not in any way bored. Right-wing cunts like you make me sick. It’s every civilised person’s duty to stand up to right-wing fanatics wherever they are found.” I told her I would report her to the admin, and she blocked me. The admin of EGG has so far not responded to me.
At the time of writing, my petition has attracted just over 700 signatures. Nothing to match the many who seem to want to protect their children from a virus that has so far killed two children in England and Wales since the outbreak began – a risk of one in 5.3 million – but I hope that a sense of perspective will start to emerge among the wider population as the pandemic retreats. For those who worry about children being “superspreaders”, this seems to have been debunked, and scientists have yet to identify any child under the age of ten who has passed the virus on. It has never been completely safe to send your children to school – or indeed venture outside at all – and let’s not forget that most accidents happen at home. Equating “home” with “safe” has proven a very effective campaign slogan, and primed our thoughts and behaviour to the degree that it’s been reported that it’s worked almost too well. This is not a message we want our children to take in. It’s the opposite of the life-embracing, curious and confident outlook that we as adults should seek to nurture in the younger generation. The longer the schools are closed, the more they’ll miss, and it’s going to be the most disadvantaged who will bear the brunt. The reactions I received in response to my calling for children to resume their education, although upsetting to read, are like water off a duck’s back to me; but it worries me that children are surrounded by adults who hold views like these, and who can’t see past their fear, sabotaging their children’s prospects in the process.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.
“According to the Foundations’ survey, 35% of 18-35 years-olds around the world say that having a leader who “doesn’t bother with parliaments or elections” is a good way of running a country (the highest of any age group).”
But that IS democracy in Western Countries.
And deliberately so, it seems to me.
I would think that nothing pleases the global oligarchy more than an upcoming generation that is all too happy to have them running everything without the hassle of the pretence of democracy.
Good point. That is what PASSES for democracy.
I’m sure just because they believe it’s a good idea at the moment the future will teach them a hard lesson and war or rebellion is the only way to put their mistake right, time will tell, history tends to repeat itself!
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”
I think we’re generally in agreement on our position in the cycle right now.
Although I must say that Dorothy Byrne looks like she’s been enjoying some good times in her local cake shop. Right after she cleaned out the pie shop next door.
Actually, just to continue my conversation with myself, and doing my bit for equal rights, feminism, blah blah blah, I’m thinking you could quite easily refine Hopf’s famous quote thusly:
Hard times create skinny women. Skinny women create good times (I have a long-running disagreement with both Queen and Spinal Tap on this issue.) Good times create fat birds. And fat birds make everyone miserable.
That made me chuckle
I concur
In my experience skinny women are no fun at all – give me a dormouse in preference to a shrew any time.
Thanks for the laugh
LOL
Harsh, but fair.
I’ve got to say that’s the best laugh I had all day. And your “Good times create fat birds…2 version below
That’s an excellent statment
Considering this, the serious hard time Germans went through from 1914 – 1918, soldiers and civilians alike, should have created strong men which ought to have created good times. The creation of the latter whas the third reich, whose good times ought to have created weak men which – in turn – should have created hard times …
This statement is a nonsensical witticism even a cursory look at history easily reveals as such.
My apologies. I shall endeavour to do better tomorrow, Sir.
This O tempora, o mores! howling from the fringe parts of the still pretty much US-dominated internet is usually not particularly sensible, not the least because it’s designed to undermines those it’s also designed to appeal to. The essence of this particular meme is just defeatism — our problems are due to us living in good times and we really deserve to be punished for that!¹ In reality, our problems are a sign of our times very much warranting improvement and we ought to address them instead of whining about their inevitableness.
¹ Another repurposed ‘Christian meme’ …
Yeah I think Shimpling is being mildly ironic in ‘apologising’ to you, RW. (‘Not least because’ – not “not the least because”, by the way)
Oh, really?
I’m not sure that’s the case. The statement merely points out the cyclical nature of stress and consequence. To me the privations of WW1 and the armistice settlement led to the 3rd Reich which by comparison was better that what had gone before. Somehow the strong men became weak and too self assured and failed to leverage the national gain, squandering it on the Eastern Front and a few other mistakes.
But as we know from climate change cyclical phenomena are not simple and obvious and have to be analysed to see the pattern.
Heuristics are notoriously imperfect.
Oh belt up RW! A bit of humour is a great antidote. We hear from you and your questionable grammar constantly; this has started humourously – let it continue that way – for five bloody minutes!
Of course – but I’m sooooo triggered by your patriarchal failure to recognise the part played by women, inherent in that comment.
A result that could trend…
Since there is rarely any real choice between policies, agendas of globalists are taken up by both leftists and rightists, elections are riddled with corruption, polls are fixed (and elections a la US 2020, politicians use state funds to line their own and selected pockets of corporations that fund their election runs, they never accomplish anything, print and spend into inflation, mismanage borders, lecture everyone on globalist norms, climate lies, while jetting around to international conferences while ignoring their nation’s failing services, mandate poisonous injections, demand you get fingerprinted and face scanned when you cross borders…
Yeah it’s getting ripe for Dictators everywhere. But we have totalitarianism now so…
Yep——These young people who imagine they live in a democracy are already being dictated to. Their governments that they think are not making the right decisions are also being dictated to by the globalist treaties they all sign up to. We already live in a dictatorship. Voting just gives the illusion of choice.
“And then one day, for no reason at all, people voted Hitler into power.”
Hitler really only got about a third of the popular vote. It was through backroom dealmaking that he became chancellor.
Excellent article.
This isn’t news.
https://www.britishelectionstudy.com/bes-findings/age-and-voting-behaviour-at-the-2019-general-election/
shows us that the turnout among young potential voters at the 2019 election was around 50%. The other half did not engage with the process of democratically electing their MP.
I think we’re past worrying. We know we’re screwed. It’s not just the young. Lots of people of all ages just snoozing through the destruction of our civilisation.
It’s seems worthwhile to repeat here that the great Brexvote ended 49:51 in favour of leaving, presumably mainly due to Londoners not voting because of bad weather (that’s a guess of mine — I have no real information of that). It follows that about half of the population was taken for a Brex ride very much against their declared will. Does it surprise you that such events, combined with Only Brex is democratic, SUCK IT UP, BUTTERCUP, YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO YOUR OPINIONS!!27 rants like the above, even claiming that Johnson’s Brex it harder! government was secretly working against it, has weakened trust in so-called democracy?
It’s perhaps time to pull your head out of your Brex and realize that the other half of the population matters, too.
I voted Remain, though not out of any serious conviction; on the plus side I selfishly liked the idea of being able to move somewhere warmer at some point in the future, on the down side, who wants another layer of parasitical bureaucracy telling you what you can and can’t do, and paying for the privilege, and those cookie warnings on every website… don’t get me started.
The whole Bus thing entirely passed me by.
But still, I picked up on the mood music in the MSM, and the predictions of doom, and I ticked the Remain box.
Perhaps it was because I didn’t really care, but on finding out that Leave had won, I just thought to myself, OK, that’s the decision, let’s get on with it. We had a vote, side A won, now we all get behind it.
But that’s not what happened. It suddenly seemed as if a good proportion of the population were behaving like toddlers having a tantrum. I didn’t like these people, or this attitude. These were not people I wished to be associated with.
I don’t regret voting Remain, but if another referendum were held tomorrow, I’d vote Leave. I feel no animus toward people who arrive at a different decision.
As (at that time) German living in the UK exercising so-called treaty rights, I belonged to the group of objects which were being voted upon. I agree with the toddlers/ trantrum observation except that I’m seeing it on the other side — the winners are still busy telling the undesirable half of the population who dared to disagree with them that they – at best – people who’ve been played for a fool by the evil establishment and at at worse, more likely than not, simply evil traitors and enemies of the ‘real’ people.
Incomprehensible. “the group of objects which were being voted upoon”??? What the hell are you on about? There was a vote. One side lost, the other side won. That’s how democracy is done here. I’ve voted and lost, and voted and won. In your words, Suck it up, buttercup.
There was a vote. It was held by all the right and good people, especially those from Pakistan and Jamaica, and it was about the fate of all the unright and ungood like people. Let’s call them “Poles” to simplify things.
Primitive enough for you?
You don’t need to move anywhere warm, you just need a fat bird to keep you warm.
Been there, done that. After we split up one of my so-called mates admitted that the gang had named the Silentnight hippo and chick after us.
Needless to say, I wasn’t the hippo.
“Against their will”??? When 90% of the media tried to keep them in the EU with endless scaremongering about the dangers of leaving and still failed what more evidence do you require that people wanted to LEAVE? Why should we assume that being part of a political union with 26 other countries is necessary for prosperity and well being and being an Independent country is not? 170 other countries are not in the EU. How are they ever going to manage without being members of the Protection Racket?
Against their declared will. When ignoring the issue of voter turnout, about half of the electorate voted against leaving, hence, this is not an issue of The Evil Establishment™ vs The People™. Despite my official status as income tax cow without any political rights, I sometimes even aspire believe that I belong to the group called people as well.,
EU citizens were able to take advantage of our lax electoral system and vote in the referendum, and I’m sure many of them did. I complained to the Electoral Commission before the referendum – telling them how it was done – and Lord Owen backed up my complaint taking it up directly with them. They weren’t interested.
If only paying tax – as you complain – were a prerequisite for voting. I think that would be fairer.
This was explicitly prohibited. The ‘electorate’ for this ‘vote’ was the people entiteld to vote in so-called general elections, ie, citizens of any Commonwealth country legally in the UK at the time the vote took place, including people with temporary leave to remain. I don’t know if someone bussed in Pakistanis etc for this specific purpose, but doing so had been perfectly legal.
‘aspire to believe…’ Your poor English is exhausting.
Leaving the issue of “not everyone’s a native speaker of English” aside, Schwachkopf, sometimes, a typo is just a typo.
People who harp on about this are like those who want the cup final of 1978 replayed because their team lost. ———I would probably be the same if I could have the 99 Champions league final replayed when my favourite Bayern lost in injury time to Man United. But I have to live in the real world, and accept Bayern lost. —-So did Remainers.
“that’s a guess of mine — I have no real information of that” – You’re expecting to be taken seriously after a comment like that? You’ve herewith forfeited any right to attention from adults. Go back to the Guardian and take you dreadful grammar with you!
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2023/12/no_author/democracy-the-illusion-of-liberty/
Most people have come to realise that our democracies are just fake democracies.
The PMC is in charge, and there is no real difference between it and the CCP anymore: 5000 like-minded people meeting in various locations to sign off on the pre-agreed upon agenda vs. 5000 such people meeting in 1 location to do the same.
https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/ns-lyons-china-convergence-interview-banger?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=617396&post_id=139726665&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=97oj4&utm_medium=email
Maybe they are just pseudo populists. They see politicians do their own thing and pander to the UN and WEF rather than to their own voters and think a dictator would not have to do that. But ofcourse they could only hope that their dictator would be a benevolent one. —How likely is that?————- If Democracy is broken then fix the democracy, do not clamour for totalitarians. If Capitalism is broken then fix the capitalism, do not clamour for socialists that want to run your life for you and decide what you need and can and cannot have, based on their collectivist world view.
It comes from an unspoken acknowledgment that the democratic method can no longer bring about any sort of redemptive change. This is what happens you get nihilism, a drawing towards extremes, an emotional life so toxic and devoid of hope that human minds become warped and atrophied and lacking in perspective. Terrible augmentations of everyday reality have occured in the last few years. There is no going back and no real faith in any alternative vision. It’s just grasping the nettle and experiencing the pain to the utmost.
If you spent your adolescent years in the late twentieth century you did well because nothing like that is coming back. When writing about the end of literacy Neil Postman talks about how childhood is essentially built upon a literary tradition and he makes a convincing case. There can be no childhood without literature The loss of interest in reading, perhaps its an attention span thing – this is a serious matter because when the nuance of the word breaks down you have to triumph of spectacle which makes totalitarianism much easier. Just the easygoing and endlessly forgiving tempo of literature reminds us of what it is to be human.
Well with Channel 4 now being one of the Establishment’s chief propaganda wings and a device for injecting raw sewage directly into the brains of the youth, this does not surprise me.
They know what’s been done to them and they know that they have been stunted and they know who they really are. They are having to be way more stoical than we ever were they just don’t voice it. If you really care about them then you can easily unlock their energy.
Not just the young. I’m 72 and it is clear that “democracy” as we used to perceive it has gone. The points noted above are absolutely correct.
My parents’ generation must be spinning in their graves at what has been done to us.
Do not comply. Say NO. And always speak the truth, whatever the cost
I think they are being defiant it is in such a way that they decided years ago to keep their mouths shut. Throughout school these days. I am on the side of the young because when I speak to them I do notice a diffidence and withdrawal but at the same time a depth of application to more important issues.
Don’t worry about anything. Either you provde them with leadership or they find it elsewhere. You might be a bit quiet if your leadership has been a tightly and quietly controlled power grab over the last thirty years. You know who you are and the young know who you are. A time comes when you need to take a grasp of things.
That said, at least the majority still don’t. Or do they? Actions speak louder than words. And as we saw in recent years, at least half the population (of all ages) is happy on their knees.
Terrific article.
Another brilliantly simple piece by McGrogan that says it how it is.
But yet they still seem to be the first to scream that democracy has been subverted or threatened whenever someone that they don’t like is voted into power via a democratic vote…