Happy Christmas, everyone!
One of the fascinating aspects of the ongoing saga of the Covid-19 pandemic – latest development the “discovery” of the Omicron variant believed by some to have first occurred in southern Africa, if not South Africa itself – is that the battalions of both the “No other way to deal with global pandemic other than via concerted ‘Big Brother’-style Governmental interventions … i.e. lockdowns, 
jabs (and more jabs), masks, social distancing, limiting social gatherings etc.” faction, and then the “Oh for Gawd’s sake – okay, do what you’ve got to do, but are you aware that there’s an Economy to run and a “normality” to get back to … and that therefore we need a massive amounts of ongoing Governmental funding for a furlough programme to cover us whilst any lockdowns are necessary, plus also limitless emergency business loans to be made available, tax holidays to be awarded etc. … and (by the way) in any event we have to get back to ‘law of the jungle’ capitalism as soon possible otherwise we’ll all be going straight to Hell in a hand cart …” have become more entrenched in their respective beliefs than ever.
All of the above, of course, are complicated and overlayed by similar warring factions on either side of the “vaccinations” argument, by which I mean to refer to:
On the one hand are those who believe that the right way to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic would always have been – and will always be – to vaccinate every human being on the planet (whether they like it or not) and then, without fear or favour, mount an oppressive “whack-a-mole” full-out attack on any new variation or adverse development that subsequently emerges;
On the other hand are those who either worry to the point of panic about compulsory “anythings” – but particularly medical things – being imposed by Governments from on high and/or who are fundamentally “vaccine-sceptic” to one degree or another and/or have somehow become convinced by “fake news”, crackpots and/or deliberately engineered hacks of Western media outlets by “secret service” units acting upon the orders of nefarious communist/right wing dictators of dubious integrity (and indeed probably mental health as well).
When it comes to the UK Government, there is little doubt that – starting from an essentially ‘close to zero’ state of readiness to cope with any pandemic, still less a global one – taking its cue from the Dear Leader (Boris Johnson), it was always going to have a haphazard approach leading to a patchy, chaotic response steeped in the mire of both “wanting to be seen to be doing the ‘right thing’ and making bold, dynamic and far-reaching decisions at a time of national crisis” and yet also being simultaneously obsessively concerned with “being all things to all men” and thereby (hopefully) remaining constantly popular.
The one thing I will give the Government – and indeed would have given any Government – is that, during times like these, “in the court of public opinion” they were probably on a hiding to nothing, come what may.
Given the different factions that exist (and I have set out above), on every new development in the crisis – and then every new decision taken to try and deal with it – as night follows day, the responses in both the media and on the Clapham omnibus would have divided roughly 50:50 every time and, for the Government, eventually and frustratingly become yet another case of “whatever you do is wrong”.
Over the past two years our lords and masters must have resorted again and again, consciously or not, to the resigned weariness of bemoaning the fact that, of course, “hindsight is a wonderful thing” for anyone opposing them and also having to resist a compelling desire to be able to bellow across the House of Commons floor “Well, given the circumstances of that moment in time, what would YOU have done?”
During my occasional opportunities for reflection this week – no doubt prompted by the Government’s latest flurry of responses to the dangers of the Omicron variant – I first began addressing the issue of which other medical diseases, mental afflictions and perhaps also “bad” human practices might possibly be eradicated by (for example) a benign world political order that could – by simple edict – impose measures designed to said purpose.
From there it was but a small step to begin considering such unfortunate historical blights upon humanity as the Slave Trade (first abolished by law in the UK in 1834).
In the last couple of days Prince Charles’s visit to Barbados to mark the removal of The Queen as head of state – and thereby monarchical rule – as that country became a republic, including his speech referring to the iniquitous practice of slavery, has featured prominently in the newspaper/media headlines.
Elsewhere the UK’s general “woke” witch-hunt to vilify any historical figure (and/or remove any statue of same) ever connected in any way to the Slave Trade – and indeed change the name of any street or building carrying his/her name and similarly “out” any current living descendants thereof – continues.
This caused me to begin thinking outside the box.
In the current 21st Century political climate – and media/public interest in “woke” issues – I began to wonder what other trades or industries inherently harmful to ordinary members of the public might justifiably become future targets for similar treatment.
Dear readers, you may find this a sign of quasi-madness on my part, but I soon alighted on a worthy example.
The betting industry basically takes advantage of the weak and impressionable by feeding them the line that – if they e.g. put enough money on the right horse at the right betting odds – all their troubles will evaporate and they’ll live forever after in an eight-bedroom mansion, surrounded by thirty acres of land, in the Cotswolds.
This while the business model of every bookmaker is built upon the certain knowledge that so few people will ever realise that dream – yet so many will be seduced into believing that it is always but a wincingly-sizeable outlay by them from their grasp – that they (the bookies) be laughing all the way to the bank.
So let’s vilify every single bookmaker who ever lived and took great chunks of money off susceptible punters. Let’s impose punitive taxes upon them.
Let’s eradicate this heinous evil once and for all – and indeed all the illnesses and addictions it causes.
Let’s force them to pay massive reparations to all those families with members who ever succumbed to drink or suicide because of their betting addiction.
A century from now, betting would hopefully be remembered only as an unedifying and uncivilised historical aberration committed by one set of human beings upon another.
You know it make sense – and, anyway, what’s not to like?
