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More protests today in Leeds! Thousand not social distancing! Hardly no masks in sight ! How hard is it ??
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 5:11pm
Super helpful member
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 5:16pm
Super helpful member
And 6000 attended 2 raves in Manchester, no masks whatsoever and absolutely no social distancing! Dear oh dear
UKHandyMan4Hire wrote on Sun Jun 14, 2020 1:41pm:
Before I begin my post properly I want to say that I always make an effort to offer a balanced view and I appreciate lockdown is causing a lot of stress and anxiety for a lot of people and I 'guess' may be leading to some generic and provocative comments being made.
The current UK population is almost 67,000,000. I cannot see any official figures for the number of protesters yesterday but I have seen indications that the number was around 20,000. This equates to 0.03% of the population. Not all those protesters committed an offence or a criminal activity. If...
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... we took it that 1% did, this means 0.0003% of the population 'could' be labelled as idiots. In total, around 200 idiots by my calculations... and you feel that their unforgivable actions represent a country of 67m people? If you are still convinced they do then there is little point reading the rest of my post!
Even IF all 20,000 protesters were categorised as idiots, do you really believe that all of them wish to descend upon Spain for their holidays?
I observed an image of just 1 beach photograph from Barcelona at the weekend, (it isn't difficult to search) which clearly shows people not adhering to the current rulings in Spain, in a similar way that the Bournemouth image was posted in the press which drove another post on this forum ranting about the 'British Idiots' There was also a naked cycle protest about global warming which took place in Madrid, which doesn't appear to have been mentioned much either.
Incidentally, the Bournemouth incident took place at the beginning of June, which would suggest there should be a significant spike in the reported cases of the virus by now and a regional R rating in excess of 1... interesting how there is nothing in the press about that? In a similar manner, it remains to be seen if there will be significant spikes in reported cases and subsequent deaths following the protests, specifically considering the BAME community are the most susceptible to the virus?!
So for all the Brit Hating comments on this forum, a lot from ex-pats who I suspect still hold a British passport and I also suspect still draw a British pension, it may be more appropriate to consider the views and comments to those people who look to this forum for help and support.
Yes, you paid into a system and yes you have the right to hold a British passport and take the pension, my point is if you really find the country so abhorrent then perhaps it is time to completely disassociate yourself altogether and relinquish your passport and pension. I thought not!
As for not letting the Brits in, as I previously mentioned when that throwaway comment was made in a previous and similar post, it would be interesting to see how the implementation of the ban you so wish for would affect the community you reside in, the lack of tourism, the downturn in trade, the closure of local business all because a large proportion of the capital invested from tourism comes from the British population.
Think about the potential for that Brit Hating view to start to creep into the Spanish mindset in the tourist areas, yes, in a racist way, who knows if the Spanish then don't start to believe that it is ALL Brits who have brought the misery to their land, where does that leave you ex-pats who get tarred with the same brush? I am sure it would not be a nice place to live.
So in closing:
Am I proud to be British? Yes, I am, but I am embarrassed by the actions of a few.
Am I ashamed to British? No, I am not, I am not defined by the actions of people in the UK.
In all walks of life, in all countries, there will always be pockets of excellence and pockets of 'idiots' and unacceptable behaviour.
It appears to me there is a classic 'not in my back yard' mentality to a lot of these views and it would benefit the forum a great deal more if we out a little more thought into some of the comments being made.
"perhaps it is time to completely disassociate yourself altogether and relinquish your passport and pension. I thought not"
What a ridiculous comment! Why would any British pensioners (living in Spain) want to do that?
It is extremely difficult to gain a Spanish passport without being able to speak fluent Spanish and have excellent knowledge of Spanish history. I have a residency certificate that states that I am now a "Permanent Resident" in Spain which is good enough for me. As you rightly pointed out in you statement that pensioners who are receiving UK pension "have paid in" which is correct so as that is true then the said pensioners are fully entitled to "Draw it out" as they are a private pension. Yes I am British too, proud or not doesn't come into it when you reach pension age and want the absolute best out of what time you have left. So it's up to the individual to decide how to spend that time and not be persuaded by an online opinion.
Steve
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 7:48pm
Very helpful member
@Steve - My point about relinquishing elements relating to the UK was aimed at those people who are so appalled with the UK and so vocal about wanting nothing to do with the country yet they are still happy to take the money.
If they wish to disassociate then disassociate full stop. Otherwise, simply put it is hypocrisy.
I appreciate you further picked up on my 'balanced view' that they have quite rightly paid in so quite rightly are happy to take out what is rightly theirs. But hopefully, with a little more explanation, you can understand my remark?
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 8:10pm
Legendary helpful member
This post that was quoted has been deleted.
Castleman,
I find your sweeping generalisations ridiculous and insulting. My husband and I are early retirees, having lived permanently in Spain for 4 years.
I made no comment about exchange rates, but if I had it would be no different to any UK tourist wanting to make the most of their holiday money when they come here.
My post was supportive of law-abiding UK citizens being allowed to return, especially those who have invested in property in Spain, but being denied that opportunity by a minority of idiots behaving in a manner that risks increasing the UK's infection rate.
If you have an issue with a particular post, please respond to that, don't make inaccurate generalisations about all posts.
And by the the way, we're not expats, we're immigrants.
Regards,
Kim
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Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 9:18pm
Helpful member
Hi Kim, I hope you and your husband are well?
I understand and agree with you about sweeping generalisations being ridiculous and insulting. But this whole thread started with a series of sweeping generalisations based on the behaviour of >0.05% of the UK population? It doesn't get much more sweeping than that.
Stay safe
Paul
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 9:44pm
Legendary helpful member
Hi Paul,
I agree there are two, maybe three, posts that are not balanced, but for Castleman to wade in with insulting, inaccurate assumptions about everyone in the thread isn't acceptable. He's been on this forum long enough to have learned how to use the "Reply quoting this" button.
All good here, thanks, hope you and yours are well too? I think wearing masks in July and August is going to be a challenge, but at least I have a choice about whether I go out - I feel sorry for the workers who don't have that choice 😷
Stay safe.
Kind regards,
Kim
Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 11:00pm
Helpful member
This post that was quoted has been deleted.
Hi Nicola,
I understand why you responded to Castleman in the way you did, but will you also be calling those who suggest all UK visitors should be bared from Spain stupid, because they have an irrational fear predicated on the action of 0.05% of the population?
As you've said & championed before, let's all try to be kind to each other and have grown up conversations based on fact not fear or prejudice.
Stay safe
Paul
This post that was quoted has been deleted.
I have read some of your previous useful & positive posts before.
But, simply your generalization today certainly does not iterate´s all others. Certainly after many years & experiencing from hardly ever seeing a British immigrant in this town to more than approx 400 UK & other European non Spanish & South American immigrant families, I have never heard the locals & residents of all ages ever explained, " the expats who been here a long time dont want newcomers moving over".
Perhaps your opinion is either unique or your experiences. With respect.
Villas
Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 11:48am
Helpful member
Hi Nicola,
I think you've missed the point. The "utterly stupid generalisation" you reacted to was posted in response to several equally silly generalisations about the risk of infection from UK tourists based on the behaviour of 0.05% of the UK population. Yet nobody accused those posters, or anyone who found their posts helpful, of being "stupid". I don't agree with Castleman, but I'm not surprised when people respond in kind to "ludicrous" and ill informed comments.
And for the record, those of us in the UK are just as concerned about safety as you folks in Spain. You may not be aware that whilst the UK infection and mortality rate continues to fall, all be it painfully slowly, Spain's is rising again. Taken together with the recent research which traced 34% of all UK infection to having originated from Spain, and perhaps it's we who should worry?
Paul
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