As I am currently at my Mum’s place, I have seen a certain amount of broadcast TV. In particular, yesterday I saw about an hour and half of BBC coverage of the current CCP virus situation, including the live briefing by the Prime Minister and his scientific advisors.
90 minutes of speculation about what might be in the briefing, then the briefing, then repetition (and a little amplification) of what was in the briefing. The figure of approaching 90,000 deaths was repeated several times, the potentially “more deadly” new variants were talked of at length. Anyone watching casually could be forgiven for being scared witless.
Online I see a lot of folk claiming everything from this all a bit overblown to it’s a complete fake and one big conspiracy. I saw a comment somewhere saying the total deaths on the UK for 2020 is only the 9th highest in the last two decades. Not being content either with BBC fear fest or unsubstantiated ‘facts’ I did a little digging for myself.
I looked at the death rate per 1000 people for the last 20 years. Total numbers would be misleading as the UK’s population has grown from less than 59 million in 2000 to under 68 million in 2020.
Given that in the 2010s the total annual number of deaths in the UK was around 600,000 to 616,000 with 80,000 people dying of a brand-new disease in 2020 you’d expect a distinct rise in the deaths per 1000. I did find that 2020 was higher than the previous few years, but not remarkably so. In fact, it represents a slight plateauing off. Here’s the graph.
In fact, to get a higher death rate you have to go all the way back to the dark and far-flung days of 2007! I’m sure you remember the harrowing news reports from shocked reporters standing in devastated London streets, red crosses painted on the doors, the carts going down the streets as bells were rung and the cry of “Bring out yer dead!” echoed around.
I’ve double checked these figures, after seeing ‘fact checks’ of other death stats for 2020 that claim they don’t count because they don’t include the Covid deaths, I can confirm that this graph uses all deaths in the UK, from all causes.
It’s easy to criticise, and I wouldn’t swap places with Boris for all the tea in China, but it’s really hard to shake the feeling that certain groups are very much making the most out of the situation to push a generally collectivist agenda.
Now, I am not suggesting that the Covid/CCP virus is a hoax. I’m not suggesting that it’s not a dangerous disease. It’s all too real and dangerous enough to the most vulnerable. We’re in our third national lockdown while nothing seems to be being done to protect care and old age homes, where the lion’s share of the actual Covid deaths are cming from. I find it hard to accept the blanket measures being taken that are having utterly ruinous effects on the nation’s economy, social cohesion and individual mental health. The coverage also seems very much weighted towards engendering fear and creating compliance.
These measures certainly are having an effect on much more than the Covid R rate. It’s impossible to get any meaningful suicide stats, but various annectodotal sources of mine are suggesting they’re up by at least 100%. Lack of face to face contact and interaction is leading to a siloing and hardening of diffferences, I’m seeing this online among folk I’ve known for decades. The whole feel of the country is different, a nauseating timidity and a deference to ‘authority’ is in the air. Although the UK has never had the frontier spirit of the US it does have a solid tradition of bloody-minded individualism and scepticism towards authority. That is weaker now than it’s ever been. Anyone daring to ask questions (other than “why don’t we have more restrictions?”) is turned on by a snarling pack and condemned as someone who wants your granny to die.
Out shopping yesterday, I nearly lost it, wearing my face nappy, signs on walls and floors to tell you where you may and may not walk or stand, posters and tannoy announcements warning and nagging. I find myself feeling deeply ill at ease in my own country and for the first time I’m wondering if I want to live here. All over a death rate lower than 2007’s!
2 replies on “Funny, 2007 seemed ok to me…”
I understand where you’re coming from. The UK has had longer to suffer before the craziness hit the US.
But I no longer recognize my country either. Reminds me much of other periods in history.
I’m angry at the political BS, but I want to SCREAM at Americans who continue to cower or snitch or ask for more punishment.
I believed we were stronger than this!
Make no mistake though . . . this isn’t about the rona. It’s about power, money, and control. They are purposefully breaking the economies of all countries. Making millions of new welfare recipients from people who used to work or have a small business.
Eradicating the Europeans, nationalists, or patriots to make all the countries less white and more government dependent.
Blessings to you and the UK. I hope citizens from all countries will finally call bollocks on all this tyranny and actually stand up and take their countries back.
Couldn’t agree more. I’m sickened by the mindless obedience to the assault on our freedom of person and speech, and the blind acceptance of questionable (at best) information from whatever source to which one turns. Trust has been destroyed.
I believe a maelstrom has been created, or capitalized upon, meant to turn the majority into beggars, so fearful and demoralized they will ask for and be grateful for the pittance (UBI) and hand outs (Cuba-style healthcare) the government will provide. This is NOT how I want to live.