No, in our admittedly smallish extended family only myself (71) and our younger son (44) are sceptics and we are treated as if we are Ill educated "Thicko's.
When I plead with them to examine the facts (the Swedish situation,etc) I am brushed aside as at best "deluded" and at worse part of a left/right/papist/anarchist,etc,etc plot to take over the world.
Fear not, be of stout heart for we will prevail and future generations will thank us for our resistance to this present madness.
I suspect that most people would not jump off a bridge when instructed to do so.
However, Stanley Milgram demonstrated that most people will obey legitimate authority (whether benevolent or malevolent) when combined with a presumption of scientific expertise. (Milgram, Stanley. 1974. Obedience to Authority; An Experimental View.)
His work generated a large body of clinical research on social influence (e.g., belief perseverance).
Which no doubt influenced the government's 2019 Mindscape document which laid out the guidelines for the use of psychological measures to influence the populace, particularly with reference to times of crisis.
My wet finger in the air guess is:
25% fully or mostly sceptical
25% soggy bed-wetter irrational masketeers
25% will go back to normal when told to do so because they are sheep
25% would swing sceptical but the barrier to this is not worth the trouble (bed-wetter partner, or it's the path of least resistance, or maybe they do have a health problem (I won't blame them for being cautious)).
Hi, I am kind of skeptical too about this. There seems to be a lot scare mongering going and senior members in government flouting the rules. It does not make sense.
I can only echo the reader's comment about "less educated" youngsters.
In a very busy Wetherspoon's in Bramley in Leeds 3 weeks ago I had a great chat with two young Rugby League professionals who became more and more sceptical as I told them the truth. My son has an MA but is working as a labourer (he loves it) and his mates are 100% sceptical. I'd say in Leeds, about half my friends are sceptics. The Pakistani taxi-drivers I use say that 9 in 10 punters want the driver to be masked.
This is why I will always be happier in a Working Men's Club than a wine-bar. I have a degree, too, by the way, but I've always been a sceptic.
The AIDS scare was a scam.
The Salmonella in Eggs thing was rot.
Mad Cow Disease was another Ferguson canard
Y2K was a total scam
WMD in Iraq was another fat lie
Climate change has been totally exaggerated
Racism is NOT original sin






