Personal Responsibility Part 1

As we come out of each lockdown, we are always faced with the notion of personal responsibility. The government want to relax rules so that we are freer to pursue the normal activities that we enjoy and see loved ones we have missed, as well as maintaining some vigilance and restraint against licking every door handle we see in a frenzy of excitement. They relax the rules in stages and are clear what we can and cannot do… some of the time (that is a completely different post.) But a lot of this relaxation depends upon the population as a whole taking some personal responsibility. We actually have to assess for ourselves what we think is safe and whether we want to do ‘that thing’ just yet or if it can wait.

Now we’ve been doing this for more than a year and we have rules around social distancing, face coverings and what we can and cannot do. And what I’m seeing from some is a complete lack of personal responsibility that is infuriating. There’s whinging about face coverings because they’re uncomfortable. And I’m not talking here about those who are medically exempt. I hate the fucking things, but when I need to wear one or am asked to wear one I will… because it’s polite, because I’m not selfish, because if it makes the other person feel a little safer, I’ll be uncomfortable a little so that we can all get along. Wear a fucking mask.

I’ve heard whinging about taking the vaccine. One of the common ‘reasons’ for not having it seems to be, ‘well if everyone else is vaccinated then I don’t need to be.’ Again this is selfish behaviour. I hate needles, thinking about them makes me feel sweaty and nauseous. But I, like many others, will happily have the vaccine because it will protect me and protect others. And again, I’m not talking about those who for medical reasons cannot. I’m talking about the idiots who claim they have a needle phobia whilst also being covered in tattoos. Get your fucking vaccine.

It comes down to selfishness. Those who won’t take responsibility for themselves and rely on others to do the right thing are simply selfish. They would rather make up excuses than actually do the right thing. And if the effort they put into squirming out of their responsibility was actually put to good use, we’d all be farther along this shitty virus path towards everything going back to normal. And don’t get me wrong, I’ve bent some rules here and there, but I can actually take some responsibility for myself rather than laying my poor decision making at the foot of an implausible technicality that is a rusted façade covering what is right.

And if you want some motivation, click on the button below. I’ll warn you now, some of the images in the article are harrowing and you may find them upsetting. Have a look and then talk to me about whether you want to do everything you can to help stop the spread of this virus.

O and I’ll reiterate… we’ve been doing this for over a year. I want it to stop. You want it to stop. Step up and make the right choice.

Part 2 coming soon.