UKH

My local area has a community group which communicates by e-mail. - Lost dog, recommend a plumber, community events, etc. Yesterday a guy in the group announced he was setting up a "Name and Shame" Facebook page to name and show photos of people breaking lock-down regulations. This reminds me of some dystopian film. Is it just me?

In reply to russellcampbell:

We've had something similar on our community page but it's all about shops who are ramping up the prices on things like nappies, baby milk, toilet rolls etc.  Some of the vitriol makes me a bit uneasy.

Sure - unscrupulous shopkeepers profiteering from this and holding people to ransom is pretty vile but I wish there was room for the shopkeepers to come back with a response - maybe suppliers and wholesalers are ramping up their prices...? Maybe the option is to not have the items on display at all?  I don't know...(maybe they ARE just arseholes who see that it's a sellers market and are out to screw their customers for as much as they can).  I don't know.  All I'm sensing is that underlying of feeling of a lot of scared, bored, worried people, all a bit stressed at being cooped up for so long looking for a reason to get angry and getting pitch forks and flaming torches out of the cupboard.

In reply to russellcampbell:

We’ve got one here too. It’s the usual suspects who are all over FB etc. Here is mainly about people being outside. Fair enough for the groups of youths gathering about but as (sadly) most people have never actually met or speak to neighbours they don’t actually recognise them as being local! I seen one of these people who was slagging people off for gathering in a group and being out gathering with others on the road outside my house and doing laps of the street through the day. The irony! 
 

It’s not really helped imo by the police putting pretty pictures of themselves out and about in glorious weather saying how we all need to keep inside and to get in touch if they see people. If only they were so keen to attend burglaries etc. 

In reply to russellcampbell:

I've heard of a key worker having had 'spreader' scratched onto the side of their car in Sheffield, and random people have had abuse shouted at them while walking to or from work while not in uniform. 

In reply to russellcampbell:

What are they going to do?  Beat people up from 2 meters distance?

An unpleasant but inevitable development; one only likely to sow discontent and not change behaviour for the better.

The same arguments have played out on my local Facebook group as have on UKC about outdoors access.  It’s absolutely horrifying reading on Facebook though - not about what’s being done but just how dug in, ill thought out, utterly disrespectful and unpleasant and how polarised both sides are.

In reply to Timmd:

Did you made any effort to find out if it's true before you "spread" that rumour?

In reply to Sir Chasm: It was from first hand accounts on a friend's facebook page. 

In reply to russellcampbell:

Same here. I'm staying on the local FB groups for information, but once this is over I'll be deleting myself from all the local groups.

In reply to Timmd:

And we're only four days in!
No one seemed to give a toss the previous few weeks when they were crammed into supermarkets panic buying.  It all confirms my contempt for the human race.

In reply to Taylor's Landlord: There's goodness too I guess. All the traits are out there, weirdness, badness and goodness. It can come down to where one focuses. There's a lot of goodness to be found.

In reply to russellcampbell:

Is his name Hodges by any chance?

In reply to gezebo:

too many would be Gauleiters, bet they'd like the armband and shirt!

In reply to wercat:

Jones.

In reply to russellcampbell:

Don't know what it is about Facebook but if you want to find examples of the worst of human nature, look no further.

Would I be right in thinking that the Norbert Nark you refer to has never done anything positive for the community?

In reply to Removed User:

I've love to say he hasn't but but don't know. I'd certainly never heard of him until a day or two ago.

In reply to russellcampbell:

My wife's a psychologicist. This kind of behaviour is typical of highly stressed people. 

Its given me an insight into how such things as extreme societies work like under ISIS or the Stassi or fascism etc. All too easy to phone your neighbour in for some trivial or imagined transgression 

In reply to russellcampbell:

No it's not just you. I have a personal dislike for name and shame from the point of view it is the internet equivilent of the lynch mob. Very often you don't even see any evidence of wrong doing. Just a picture of some bloke or a shop saying this man hords toilet rolls or this shop charges £40 for a bottle of soap.

I also notice a significant number seem to be Asian shops, or fat people or people who look a bit rough. In short I sometimes question the accuracy and motives for some of the stuff posted

In reply to russellcampbell:

Not vigilantism, but police are now warning NHS workers to not wear uniform or to cover it whilst traveling to work (obviously traveling home we shouldn't be in uniform anyway) as there have been NHS staff having there ID badges stolen as these are now highly sought after as a pass to travel.

Scary times!

In reply to russellcampbell:

There was an article on the BBC wensite yesterday or the day before where a number of "experts" suggested that shaming was a valid tactic to modify peoples behaviour.

I would be less uneasy about it if people didn't seem to be making up their own rules before laying into others.

In reply to russellcampbell:

A friend runs a small gardening business, and has been working within the guidelines in customers gardens (always 2m from anyone - speaking to customers through the window). She's had enough hassle from passers by to put her two part time workers on furlough and SORN her logo'd van to prevent damage.

In reply to russellcampbell:

It's not just you,  there are some seriously unpleasant attitudes being demonstrated right now, often out of all proportion to the perceived transgression.

There's  also some really amazing things being done, we should be putting more of our effort into applauding them. 

In reply to russellcampbell:

Just get a photo of him out photographing people.

In reply to timjones:

People do not modify their behaviour unless:

1) They can see a real benefit to doing so.

2) They're suffering and are taking action to reduce that suffering. 

So, maybe shame is the answer? 

In reply to russellcampbell:

One of the unfortunate effects of this "crisis" is that there are a great many over-enthusiastic minders of other people's business crawling out of the woodwork.

It's like East Germany under the Stasi.

In reply to bouldery bits:

You might be right if the things that people were being shamed for posed a serious risk.  I think we may well have got it wrong when we are shaming people for a short drive to take a walk somewhere quiet.

In reply to timjones:

Yes, you're definitely right. It's difficult to know where to draw the line. The problem is, leaving it to 'common sense' clearly isn't working.

In reply to Removed Userrabthecairnterrier:

Saw your sensible posts elsewhere about going up a lowish hill outside your house. Couldn't comment as I left forum in huff many years ago.

In reply to russellcampbell:

Occasionally, out of curiosity I have a look at the profiles of people posting bile on social media, shaming others, virtue signalling, dictating to, posting excessively ranting comments ('string him up', 'fine him', 'make him pay', 'ban him', 'idiots') etc.

Generally I have found that they are people you would not want to, A) be friends with, B) take advice from, C) leave alone with your kids, or perhaps more importantly D) trust to belay you. 

Also many (from the type of image they post on their pages), seem to have a strange obsession with something, be that wolves, . . . . . . or wolves wearing leather whilst riding a motorbike, . . . . . . . or even wolves with tattoos wearing leather whilst riding a motorbike with perhaps a scantily clad female as pillion.

Occasionally though they just turn out to be leading really, really dull lives.  That's a shame when that happens.  Like a metal detectorist getting excited about digging up an old casket on the beach, only to find out when opened up that it's not pirate's treasure, it's just some seaweed, a couple of miserable looking shellfish, and an old rope!

Just joking by the way.  Six days in and I'm writing sh*t already!

In reply to Northern Star:

Dont worry mate, there are much worse than you already 

In reply to russellcampbell:

This is all pretty worrying and isn't just isolated to Facebook. Just look through this forum and there are various posts suggesting things like having a shaming of people logging climbs etc.

In reply to SAF:

I heard this started as an attempted snatch of an ID badge that led to a hospital recommending that staff didn't display them. 

They were so incompetent that they couldn't even snatch a badge. Worrying, but not a serious threat. And then the Mail has turned it into this idea that it's a post apocalyptic wasteland out there. They have spread unnecessary fear, and possibly made copycat attacks more likely. I bet your actual chance of being mugged is reduced by 50%

In reply to Dan Arkle:

‘NHS staff warned to hide ID after spate of targeted muggings’ was a headline in the Guardian yet upon reading the actual story there was one incident where two doctors were involved and then a whole load of supposition and speculation.

One might expect the Mail to be sensationalist but the Guardian?

In reply to Dan Arkle:

The only place I've heard it from is my NHS trust daily Covid19 bulletin where it was described as advice from the police. 

In reply to Dan Arkle:

I've been worrying about this. In all this talk of people not being able to work has anyone spared a thought for the burglars? How are they supposed to go  about a dishonest day's work when everyone is at home? What help is the Chancellor giving them?

I suppose they are, strictly speaking, self-employed but probably not filling in a tax return

In reply to russellcampbell:

Facebook warriors or Keyboard Cops.   Got to love them. (Not alot).  Our village and local town is full of them.  Most  know little if anything about the regulations or guideliness because their FB friend told them something or they "heard someone say".  

Not too bad in our village but the next town it's turned into vigilante groups picking on any sector or individual who they think doesn't comply with what they think is acceptable.  They even shamed, shouted at, and insulted one popular take away enough to close down.  That was last week, now some are campaigning for it to open again for the weekend.  

 

In reply to wercat:

Or it's an (unacceptable) outlet for tension and anxiety/concern?

https://www.thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2020/03/28/council-worker...

Some council workers have been spat at and faced verbal abuse for unknown reasons. nb: I get my news from a range of sources.

In reply to Timmd:

I suppose this is not the time to expecxt people to be rational.

Personally, obviously I am extremely concerned but panic would not lead to careful personal bio-security (to use the FMD terminology used a lot round here in 2001) easures.  We need the same thoughtful mental state about it as you would use climbing or mountaineering or a host of other potentially dangerous activiites that require a degree of cool

In reply to russellcampbell:

Just swamp it with photos of Johnson, Prince Charles. Farage etc

In reply to Wiley Coyote2:

There are a lot of empty business premises out there at the moment. I'm damn glad mine has a very good alarm that comes both directly to me and to a security company and I can be there in under 5 minutes and that includes getting dressed and putting my very large boots on. 

According to the wife our local FB page is great, it's all about helping and making sure we are looking after the old and vulnerable in our area. Got to admit I'm very surprised, living at the entrance to a sink Estate I expected it to be pretty grim. 

Oh and someone further up mentioned shops, particularly Asian ones putting prices up. Our local shop owned by 3 Pakistani brothers have kept their prices the same, they are rationing the numbers of products you can buy (way before the supermarkets started), keeping the essentials in the back and bringing them out for locals, dropping supplies off for the elderly and extending credit to the locals who they know are struggling. 

All in all top lads looking out for their community. 

In reply to Wiley Coyote2:

Diversification is the order of the day, plenty of closed up businesses to visit. Might even qualify for a retraining grant?

I