The Furies
Furious voices dominates the airways. The three furies : Anger, revenge, jealousy. The public is incensed. People are livid. People are demanding vengeance . People want to know why Dominic Cummings, the Governments most senior adviser and acknowledged as the architect of its policies, got away with driving 260 miles with his seriously ill wife (COVID infectious) and his child to his parents in Durham in March in clear contravention of lockdown rules when the rest of us were staying at home, staying safe and saving lives at great personal cost.
Apparently this was allowable for 'essential childcare'. Really? The rest of us were told to abide by the simple slogan of his devising 'Stay home, stay safe, save lives'. Rules to stop the spread of the virus, to protect the NHS, the vulnerable. Rules we lived by at whatever cost. Rules which broke our hearts. Rules which led to indescribable suffering across the country.
Not, it turned out, for Dominic Cummings. He simply ignored the rules, drove with his wife and child to his parents for them to provide 'essential childcare' . Then was subsequently seen at a nearby beauty spot 'to test his eyesight' for the return journey. In the days since the story broke he has insisted he did nothing wrong and has been supported by the Prime Minister.
Time will tell if history deals Mr Cummings the justice he deserves for this betrayal. His refusal to apologise or even express regret is a slap in the face for the millions who stuck to the rules in the face of hardship and heartbreak. He has become the justified focus of the full force of public fury. He is a symbol of everything which seems , past , present and future, to be wrong with the Government's handling of this pandemic.
As I write, the PM still backs him, has even allowed him a press session in the rose garden at No 10, as if to anoint him indispensable. But our multi media world is reflecting a deluge of angry voices, voices demanding vengeance, and quiet cries full of jealousy from thousands, millions, of us who feel cheated in so many ways. The furies in full force.
According to Dominic Cummings and Boris Johnson those lockdown rules could be interpreted according to need. Really? Tell that to those who had to leave loved ones to die alone in hospitals, to find themselves unable to visit elderly relatives in care homes, to find themselves torn asunder from those they hold dear, forbidden to drive, forbidden to leave their homes for all but essential shopping or exercise.
Whether or not Dominic Cummings will keep his job, the harm is done. His betrayal, his subsequent lack of regret or apology, his complete lack of empathy with the suffering of so many , has led to a universal defiance aptly summed up in this free mask in a daily newspaper captioned 'Do whatever the hell you want and sod everyone else'
Our cautious baby steps as a society to edge into normal life have been replaced with giant leaps. People were already articulating their frustration with endless soundbites rather than sound advice, our daily pointless briefings with repetitive broken promises, the complete chaos of confusion caused by the current 'easing of lockdown' 'rules'.
I have increasingly felt that our Government has lost control (if it ever had it) of this crisis and this is now being reflected in growing criticism. Public opinion has turned against Boris Johnson in a wave of anger. Those we trusted to keep us safe now appear irresponsible, incomprehensible, and, in the case of Dominic Cummings, incredibly selfish.
As the weeks have gone on I have been increasingly angry, increasingly disillusioned with the official handling of Covid . I have already plumbed depths of helpless fury. This latest betrayal has left me feeling totally disgusted.
What next? How seriously can we be expected to take anything seriously now? It is understandable that many are articulating despair as well as anger. Where now? The latest manual coronavirus contact tracking system designed to keep us safe has been introduced today, not exactly good timing at the lowest point of our collective social and cultural unity since this crisis began.
There was one central core to Boris' advice to edging our way out of lockdown and that was to rely on our common sense. Nothing else made sense. My frustration and fury at the utter waste of time and the utter uselessness of the lockdown weeks in terms of finding/funding/devising any safety net to safely release our society from this prison aside, I could work with common sense. Despite the obvious flaw that my common sense could be out of step with other people, I took that at face value.
Using my common sense is now telling me not to behave like Dominic Cummings. Not to let my anger and desire for vengeance, my jealous at his actions, distort my own behaviour. I believe I have integrity, empathy and self awareness. I do not want to catch the virus, I want to keep my family safe and I do not want my actions to endanger anyone else.
So I am directing my rage into petitioning for him to resign before his continued presence drives many into rebellious actions putting us all in danger. I have written to my MP and joined every campaign I can find. This is not a witch hunt, this is about restoring trust and order. Before everything falls apart in a perfect storm of furies.
Furious voices dominates the airways. The three furies : Anger, revenge, jealousy. The public is incensed. People are livid. People are demanding vengeance . People want to know why Dominic Cummings, the Governments most senior adviser and acknowledged as the architect of its policies, got away with driving 260 miles with his seriously ill wife (COVID infectious) and his child to his parents in Durham in March in clear contravention of lockdown rules when the rest of us were staying at home, staying safe and saving lives at great personal cost.
Apparently this was allowable for 'essential childcare'. Really? The rest of us were told to abide by the simple slogan of his devising 'Stay home, stay safe, save lives'. Rules to stop the spread of the virus, to protect the NHS, the vulnerable. Rules we lived by at whatever cost. Rules which broke our hearts. Rules which led to indescribable suffering across the country.
Not, it turned out, for Dominic Cummings. He simply ignored the rules, drove with his wife and child to his parents for them to provide 'essential childcare' . Then was subsequently seen at a nearby beauty spot 'to test his eyesight' for the return journey. In the days since the story broke he has insisted he did nothing wrong and has been supported by the Prime Minister.
Time will tell if history deals Mr Cummings the justice he deserves for this betrayal. His refusal to apologise or even express regret is a slap in the face for the millions who stuck to the rules in the face of hardship and heartbreak. He has become the justified focus of the full force of public fury. He is a symbol of everything which seems , past , present and future, to be wrong with the Government's handling of this pandemic.
As I write, the PM still backs him, has even allowed him a press session in the rose garden at No 10, as if to anoint him indispensable. But our multi media world is reflecting a deluge of angry voices, voices demanding vengeance, and quiet cries full of jealousy from thousands, millions, of us who feel cheated in so many ways. The furies in full force.
According to Dominic Cummings and Boris Johnson those lockdown rules could be interpreted according to need. Really? Tell that to those who had to leave loved ones to die alone in hospitals, to find themselves unable to visit elderly relatives in care homes, to find themselves torn asunder from those they hold dear, forbidden to drive, forbidden to leave their homes for all but essential shopping or exercise.
Whether or not Dominic Cummings will keep his job, the harm is done. His betrayal, his subsequent lack of regret or apology, his complete lack of empathy with the suffering of so many , has led to a universal defiance aptly summed up in this free mask in a daily newspaper captioned 'Do whatever the hell you want and sod everyone else'
Our cautious baby steps as a society to edge into normal life have been replaced with giant leaps. People were already articulating their frustration with endless soundbites rather than sound advice, our daily pointless briefings with repetitive broken promises, the complete chaos of confusion caused by the current 'easing of lockdown' 'rules'.
I have increasingly felt that our Government has lost control (if it ever had it) of this crisis and this is now being reflected in growing criticism. Public opinion has turned against Boris Johnson in a wave of anger. Those we trusted to keep us safe now appear irresponsible, incomprehensible, and, in the case of Dominic Cummings, incredibly selfish.
As the weeks have gone on I have been increasingly angry, increasingly disillusioned with the official handling of Covid . I have already plumbed depths of helpless fury. This latest betrayal has left me feeling totally disgusted.
What next? How seriously can we be expected to take anything seriously now? It is understandable that many are articulating despair as well as anger. Where now? The latest manual coronavirus contact tracking system designed to keep us safe has been introduced today, not exactly good timing at the lowest point of our collective social and cultural unity since this crisis began.
There was one central core to Boris' advice to edging our way out of lockdown and that was to rely on our common sense. Nothing else made sense. My frustration and fury at the utter waste of time and the utter uselessness of the lockdown weeks in terms of finding/funding/devising any safety net to safely release our society from this prison aside, I could work with common sense. Despite the obvious flaw that my common sense could be out of step with other people, I took that at face value.
Using my common sense is now telling me not to behave like Dominic Cummings. Not to let my anger and desire for vengeance, my jealous at his actions, distort my own behaviour. I believe I have integrity, empathy and self awareness. I do not want to catch the virus, I want to keep my family safe and I do not want my actions to endanger anyone else.
So I am directing my rage into petitioning for him to resign before his continued presence drives many into rebellious actions putting us all in danger. I have written to my MP and joined every campaign I can find. This is not a witch hunt, this is about restoring trust and order. Before everything falls apart in a perfect storm of furies.
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