It’s morally wrong for government control freaks to tell us what we can do at Christmas
Lord Sumption – Daily Mail Nov 22, 2020
Lord sumption
The debate about whether to let us have a family Christmas perfectly sums up what is wrong with this Government’s handling of Covid-19.
For Christians, Christmas is a celebration of the birth of a redeemer. For everyone, it is a celebration of life.
But we all understand that if mixed generations attend a church service or enjoy Christmas lunch and a sing-song together, there is an increased risk that someone with Covid-19 will pass it on to others.
Understandably, many people believe the only thing that matters will be the risk of death or serious illness.
They will want to isolate themselves with a meal alone, and their decision should be respected.
But for many others, there will be a range of values in play which are at least as important: family, love and companionship, human contact, generosity of spirit, beauty and spontaneous joy.
The question is not which group is right. It is whether we should be allowed to make the choice for ourselves, instead of having it imposed on us by law.
There are many different answers to the dilemmas of a Covid Christmas.
Britain’s caretaker Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, who stood in for Boris Johnston while Johnston was stricken with Covid-19/a bad cold, at a Downing Street daily crisis briefing. Click to enlarge
But for the Jacobins of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) and the control freaks in the Department of Health, theirs is the only answer.
This is because they are interested only in death, whereas the rest of us are more interested in life.
The Prime Minister is not even interested in death, except as an aspect of public relations management.
And that is the heart of the problem – PR has taken over from serious policy-making.
Boris Johnson knows that restrictions over Christmas would be deeply unpopular, widely ignored and catastrophic for the retail and hospitality industries.
So he will soon announce their temporary suspension, behaving as if our lives belonged to the state and Christmas was an act of indulgence on his part.
The control freaks and the rest of the sackcloth and ashes brigade will demand a payback.
They are already pressing for two, three or even five days of extra lockdown for every day of release over Christmas.
There will be calls for indefinite restrictions on our daily lives until a vaccine is generally available, now that it is around the corner.
The problem with these people is that they are transfixed by containing transmission of the virus, even though this is only part of the issue.
The truth is that there is always a trade-off to be made between the damage done by Covid and the damage from countermeasures.
Balance and proportion are for life and not just for Christmas. Yet a lack of balance and proportion have been an abiding feature of Government policy from the outset.
In April, Ministers formulated five tests which would guide policy, none of which took account of the social, economic or psychological costs.
In his press conference on May 10, the Prime Minister proudly declared that the Government would ‘not be driven by economic necessity’ – as if the population’s livelihoods were of no importance.
Since then, he has only casually and intermittently asked himself whether their remedies were worse than the disease.
As a parliamentary committee reported in July, there has never been a proper impact assessment or cost-benefit analysis to assess the wider effects on our society.
The scientists have been no better. They were afraid of being made scapegoats by a Government which pretended to be ‘guided by the science’.
This provoked a defensive and myopic resort to over-reaction.
NHS drive-through coronavirus testing. Click to enlarge
As Professor Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer, candidly told a Commons committee a fortnight ago, the measures taken to suppress the virus are ‘economically and socially destructive’, but it is not his job to think about that.
The result has been a mutually corrupting relationship between politicians and scientists, in which data is selectively used to support extreme policies.
As a recent editorial in the British Medical Journal observed, the pandemic has ‘revealed how the medical-political complex can be manipulated in an emergency’.
The worst aspect has been the misuse of statistical modelling to project extravagant figures for future deaths, based on assumptions which are unexplained, unverifiable and generally prove to be wrong.
According to Prof Whitty and Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, these are not really forecasts but ‘scenarios’, ie ‘what if’ thought experiments.
But they have been persistently presented as forecasts by Messrs Vallance and Whitty, among others.
The recent ‘scenario’ of 4,000 deaths a day which bounced the Prime Minister into the second lockdown, was a disgrace.
It was exposed within hours for the nonsense that it was and condemned by the UK Statistics Authority.
Yet it was only the latest example of a technique that goes right back to the ‘scenario’ of 510,000 deaths used to justify the first lockdown.
The use of statements such as these is not designed to inform, but to scare Ministers into taking abrasive measures and to scare the public into supporting them.
The same is unfortunately true of the Government’s attempt to exploit the popularity of the NHS.
The NHS acute bed capacity was less than half used even at the peak of the first wave of the virus.
Waiting for a second wave. One of the Florence Nightingale hospitals that were set up in Britain to deal with an expected throng of coronavirus patients but which have remained almost empty. Click to enlarge
That was before the lockdown could have had any significant effect and before the Nightingale hospitals opened.
There are localised pressure points now, but the NHS is nowhere near being overwhelmed, even though this time it is being allowed to treat other conditions as well.
The Nightingale hospitals have still hardly been used.
On March 22, Sage advised, in a document which breathes contempt for the public, that people needed to be scared.
Some, they complained, might be reassured by the low death rate in their demographic.
‘The perceived level of personal threat needs to be increased,’ Sage said. There had to be ‘hard-hitting evaluations’ and ’emotional messaging’.
This is exactly what the Government has done. And in scaring the public, it has also limited its options, because it has had to live up to its own doom-laden narrative.
This explains, at least in part, the oddest feature of Government policy – namely, its obstinate refusal to differentiate between vulnerable and invulnerable people.
Infections do not matter unless they lead to serious illness or death.
And serious illness or death is a negligible risk for those under 50 and a very small risk for those under 70, except for those with identifiable clinical vulnerabilities.
The much-trumpeted long Covid is estimated to affect only two per cent of confirmed cases, according to Prof Whitty himself.
These are facts. People are right to be reassured by them. Yet, the Sage paper complains that they will blunt the message, and the message counts for more than the facts.
The cost of this slippery approach to truth is prodigious.
Under the various Treasury compensation schemes, we spend £40 billion a month (more than three times the monthly cost of the NHS) on preventing people from working who would experience only mild symptoms if they were infected.
The risks posed by Covid-19 and the impact of social isolation vary enormously from one person to the next.
The risks posed by the disease vary according to age, health, gender and perhaps ethnicity.
The impact of isolation varies with employment status, income, accommodation, family relations and way of life.
In all of these respects, only we know enough about our own circumstances to judge what is right for us and those around us.
Put simply, we can look after ourselves better than the Government, whose solutions are indiscriminate.
The insistence on coercing the entire population regardless of personal circumstances is disproportionate, inefficient and destructive.
It ignores most of the social, psychological and economic considerations. It is indifferent to basic considerations of humanity.
It has serious collateral effects on other aspects of our lives, which may be more important to us than they are to scientists and politicians.
It is also morally and constitutionally indefensible in a country which is not yet a totalitarian state, like China.
The Government has not earned our trust. Sooner or later, people will take back control of their own lives and do the right thing, whatever Ministers say.
Lord Sumption is quite correct on everything he says in this article. The important factor which is missing, is the motivation of Government and SAGE to impose such draconian measures on the public. The reason is the vaccines. The intention is to drive the public to such a state of fear and sheer misery, that they will gladly take the vaccine which will be touted as bringing an end to the misery. But that will only be the beginning. There will be more vaccinations required on a regular basis in order to “keep us safe”. This of course is utter b.s. The vaccines are not only a huge money spinner for all involved, but they are another weapon in the Globalist’s agenda. No-one outside the Industry knows what is in them. We do know that there have been no long term studies carried out. We do know that a gene altering vaccine -a type MRSA (_M for Messenger) has never been marketed before. Treating millions of people as guinea pigs is a crime against humanity. There will be a heavy price to pay.
This fellow has raised a few good points recently but as is common with people who are comfortably off, or in his case part of the establishment, they don’t raise concerns when less-connected people go through turmoil by government design. They only start speaking out when a policy affects them personally.
Seasonal flu every year brings with it unavoidable deaths and affects the most vulnerable (underlying health issues being the most obvious). This latest flu is no different only in the sense it is being exploited for purely political agendas.
Politicians and their mouthpieces in the media focusing ONLY on policy strategy rolled out by the PTSB (powers that shouldn’t be) are avoiding the elephant in the room either through inexcusable ignorance or cunning design.
Whichever the case, they are doing the bidding of those same powers working against public interest for a political agenda – the distraction techniques for ALL false flags – “don’t look here, look over there”.
What he should be saying, is that we should never have gone into lockdown in the firstplace as the whole thing is a orchestrated event, to change the way the people of the world live.
This essay sums up what is happening, the political class will be behind Bars before long.
While agreeing with the points raised, I want to point out, yet again, that this “virus” DOES NOT EXIST. There has never been a “virus” capable of causing illness in Humans, and there never will be because that’s not what exosomes are supposed to do. Far from being the cause of illness, these misnamed “viruses” are the body’s RESPONSE to an attack, part of the “clean-up crew” if you like.
This imaginary “killer plague” is a long-planned cover for a communist power-grab. THERE IS NO KILLER DISEASE, just a group of (((criminals))) scaring the gullible into acceptance of unacceptable and unlawful attacks on our basic Human Rights.
Clap for the NHS??? Not likely! They’ve lost all credibility over their willing involvement in this SCAM, and the same goes for the police (now retrained as Orwellian thought-police), politicians of all parties and their lying mouthpieces in the MSM.
Click on this link to learn what Bozo the Downing Street monkey REALLY thinks of the British public.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/boris-johnson-is-urged-to-apologise-after-1995-magazine-column-in-which-he-brands-single-mothers-irresponsible-and-working-class-men-drunk-criminal-and-feckless-resurfaces/ar-BBXusNq
These useless eaters (parasites) would quickly starve to death without those of us who grow the food and create the wealth they STEAL from us.
Btw, Rixon. Just my opinion, but I don’t like the new site layout or the grey text in the comment box. It was better as it was imho.
https://youtu.be/deDIRPaI5IQ
Agree with most of above comments including the one criticising the new format. Information on the old one seemed easies to read and the side bars made some back -referencing quick and easy. The only slight annoyance was when returning to the header bar, which always took one back to the first item, rather than the one you were just leaving.
What virus.
Just say “No, Hell no!” to (((central banking elites))) mRNA/nanoHydrogel “vaccines”.
Almost nobody is dying in any country..
The PCR tests are ALL false positives for RNA and DNA debris found in all nasal mucosa, and the polymerase chain reaction is run 35 – 45 cycles, giving almost anyone tested a positive result. More tests = more cases.
The so called Covid-19 virus genome has NEVER been isolated.
This “pandemic” with global lockdown and the mandatory “vaccines” is a 100% hoax.
Tyranny through gradualism.
First social distancing optional, then social distancing recommended, finally social distancing mandated.
First masks optional, then masks recommended, finally masks mandated.
First testing optional, then testing recommended, finally testing mandated.
First “vaccinations” optional, then “vaccinations” recommended, finally “vaccinations” mandated.
The Portugese supreme court found PCR testing of “Covid-19” unreliable and thereby outlawed all measures based on the unscientific test results.
The (((central banking elites))) are boiling frogs so to speak around the world.
Hop out of the pot before you and your family die.
Seriously.
Absolute minimum: Say “No, Hell no!” to mandatory mRNA/nanoHydrogel “vaccines”.
Peace and love
Good for Sumption to keep speaking out. His is a powerful, respected, intelligent voice and we need more like him speaking out about this massive crime against humanity. What I’d like to see is Sumption call for a major independent investigation into the whole thing and offer himself as legal counsel.
As for the comments about the changes to the website, I like the change and think it’s a nice facelift. I think some people forget this website has no advertisements to suffer through or sponsors to whom to pander. I am extremely appreciative of the hard work, expense, and dedication of Rixon Stewart and whomever else may be helping in this noble effort.
What is the state but the monopoly on the use of force. The state doesn’t beg you to pay taxes, they use force, and if you don’t obey they might take everything, put you in jail, and if you resist they might even kill you. And that is true for anything the state mandates, like parking tickets to traveling on airplanes.
Every year tax resisters to state tyranny are killed and robbed. During the contrived Vietnam War the state lied about what it was and called it a conflict, they did not follow their own laws and get a Declaration of War, but they did institute the military draft and they used force of law and imprisonment to force young men to go fight people in mud huts on the other side of the planet who were of no threat to national security of anyone in the west whatsoever.
How many peoples lives were ruined by the Vietnam War? Millions. And not one politician was hanged for their crimes against us. Vietnam is now Communist, and now we buy their shit and take vacations there.
So here comes a vaccine for a non-existent make believe virus, and these Johnny come latelys are upset about Christmas being canceled by that creep Fauci
“It’s morally wrong for government control freaks to tell us what we can do at Christmas”
You know I have to say, are you f-cking retarded, did you just figure out the state has no right to cancel Christmas? What about all the other evil rotten things the state does, do you object to those also? Were you a retard and vote?
What are you doing when you vote, you are putting your stamp of approval on the most corrupt institution ever invented, the biggest killer ever. The government points a finger a Charlie Manson, but what about the state, how many people has the state killed, it is in the hundreds of millions.
So if you are a fool you will get your covid shot. If you do, you are taking a huge risk because of who is giving it you, Big Pharma and the State, who work together to screw you over, even kill you.
And in the meantime, what about the freedoms of those who refuse to wear a mask in public or in their own homes? Do you support the idea that the state can tell you to wear a mask, or force you to wear it to buy food at the grocery store. And what about the morality of those police officers who will come in with guns if you don’t wear a face diaper for a make believe virus? Do you have a right to meet their guns with deadly force on your own?
The answer depends if you a real human being or a slave. A slave says you have to obey. A free man says hell no and picks up a gun and kills his masters.
Yes, of course we all appreciate the hard work
But why did he have to make it harder to read with the smaller print?
Even browsing the articles is confusing to the eye, a bit like camouflage with too much dark and not enough contrast.
This new format gives me eye strain 🙁
EAT OR HEAT
The British people have fought many racist wars for its criminal government
and it is repaid by Governmental people trafficking huge numbers into the country and granting them Positive discrimination over its own citizens and electorate,
Racism is a horrible thing but Governmental racism is the worst.
When British people are taxed to death, many old people have a choice Eat or Heat
the warm public library is full of old people who cannot afford to heat their homes.
Institutional Racism, is that which comes from authority and penalises its own
to favour foreign nationals for jobs homes and benefits.
Racism by government is a hate crime of monumental proportions
and Ministers should be in prison.
As an ex soldier, where is the sense in sending us halfway across the world to commit great acts of terror on brown people, then people trafficking them all over to the very country that did all the damage ?
POLITICIANS = shit for brains
I know how unpopular this will be but you might want to consider serious resistance rather than whining about your rights being violated.
Your rights,,, your responsibility.
Just saying….
This replaces the previous link that YT removed:
https://www.bitchute.com/video/GVrrldTYr6gk/