Relaxation of Restrictions, Part XII *Read OP For Mod Warnings*

Oh, you as well. Go on, show me where I said that I can go a whole week without being restricted. You can't because I didn't. I do give a ****...but my culture hasn't been destroyed and my way of life hasn't been decimated.

Just to clear up for once and for all what was actually said - someone posted hyperbole stating that restrictions have effected EVERY aspect of our lives. I replied to say that they haven't effected EVERY aspect of our lives and that I could, in fact, go for days without them effecting me in any way. Sin é.

Blatantly ignoring where I mentioned places of interest, eating out, public celebrations, tourism and music and the arts.

OK...Enjoy your next trip over the boarder for pints, where you abandon your own culture

People are afraid to visit relatives out of fear of giving them covid. Elderly are living in more isolation than before because of covid. Social gathering are nothing like before, most are gone.

Ways of life have changed massively for many

Since when is Tony a ‘government figure’?

Government cautiously optimistic - and Tony’s head in the picture. You have to laugh at this stage.

No he mentioned artists performers and musicians - which covers theatre, opera, pantomime, classical music recitals, comedy, street performer festivals

He mentioned sports - GAA but of course all sports are affected. Couldn't even train for a team sport during many highly-restricted periods due to isolation rules.

He mentioned tourism - need I produce a big list of tourist attractions..? No one can start or maintain a tourist business because they never know when they'll have access to customers.

Yes drinking is on the list as well, and why not there's nothing wrong with it. It encompasses a big part of the dating scene, the music scene, the tourist experience, after match drinks or meeting your friends to hang out. Wine and conversation in cocktail bars.

To maintain this nullification we have to swallow all kinds of fudged statistics, rationales for extended closures which make no sense and real economic activity (trade) is replaced with monetary stimulus which while it might not lead to economic collapse is neither harm-less nor preferable.

Many of us remember

What do you mean? They're the gigs I was at last year and the ones I'll be going to this year.

Changed massively? Debatable. Destroyed? No.

Yeah, they're not eradicated. Everything is still ticking away.

Not one. What does it matter? Am I not allowed to travel to gigs now?

Could you consider getting out of your own head for just one second and thinking about how it affects people who are not you personally, before you make sweeping judgments about how everything is grand?

Like, imagine an older couple in a rural village with no car. Maybe they don't drink that much, but they go the local pubs a few times a week, once for dinner, once for a live music show, once for a quiz. Other than that, they don't really go anywhere.

Do you see how their way of life is:

1: Completely **** valid, regardless of condescending pricks on Boards dot ie, and

2: Completely decimated by restrictions.

Like it's bad enough that you pull this **** repeatedly, but then you have the audacity to throw yourself a little pity party and pretend you're being picked on when people point out that you seem to have an inordinate amount of trouble seeing past the end of your own nose or imagining anything outside of your own experience.

On hold for two years (and counting), not ticking away. Varadkar/Martin already said there would be restrictions until mid-decade with "pockets of freedom". This year we will have mid-summer off it looks like - a few weeks or, at best, months.

Until mid-decade can become until end-of-decade.

When something is put on hold for years with talk of it being put on hold for many more years its being suppressed. There's a sliver of deniability because someone will occasionally use the word 'temporary' or say 'we don't know'.

Irish people don't object, just make excuses and get angry at people who want restrictions ended or don't go along with some rule due to paternalism (Daddy Varaddy knows best) and demoralisation, which is total.

But if it's that long, many will move, people will stop coming here, people will stop wanting to live here, and the giant tech companies that have kept our economy afloat while SMEs have been sacrificed on the Covid altar will go elsewhere to attract talent.

The people have now moved on the politicians scientists and media are completely out of step

they lost whatever power they had over Christmas when they went on holiday and we as a people didn’t have to listen to them anymore and had time to think

when they returned their empty threats just seemed silly

So you don't think we've eradicated our culture and destroyed our way of life? Why did you post it in the first place then?