Are people getting worse or were they bad to start with.
At the start of this pandemic I think we saw the best of our community, hundreds, thousands of people volunteering to help their neighbours, get shopping, prescriptions etc. Every Thursday evening they would be outside clapping for the NHS.
Young people were helping the elderly and everyone rallied round to help.
Bournemouth beach - and for some reason while we have miles of golden sandy beaches , people always congregate close to the piers and complain about the mass of heaving bodies while ignoring miles of empty beaches just a ten minute walk away...
We were all in the same boat.
We all had something in common.
We had something else to distract us than arguing and splitting the country over Brexit.
People seemed to rally round and help each other and there was a real sense of a community feel - a friendly supportive vibe all round. People seemed to be concerned for the whole - not just the self.
People were talking over the garden fence with neighbours they had never spoken to before - I know we were - and this gave many the opportunity to get closer to the community that they lived in and to be a part of..
It was nice to see - and people who were around after WW2 said it reminded them of those days, when people rallied round and helped total strangers - just because we were all in the same or similar situation and if something bad happened to your neighbour, it could be you tomorrow.
Everyone mustered to help.
As we’re coming out of the other side and the lockdown is seemingly over - we are seeing the worse of the selfish behaviour as mental health seems to have acerbated in a great many people and the good manners - the respect - the value and the worth people held dear - seems to have eroded over these months and we are now faced with mounting litter, obnoxious anti-social behaviour, a ' don't care' attitude or more to the point - a 'fuck them' attituide, which devides and seperates.
Bournemouth has faced a massive problem with tens of thousands of thoughtless drivers parking all over the place and with absolutely no thought - it would appear - for law and order. We see people camping in our parks - highly illegal - having bar-b-q's in the park and destroying the grass with no thought of locals or even of tidying up behind themselves.
We see caravans parked at the side of the road - so these people have come to Bournemouth and not even spent an penny in a camping ground - brought their own food with them and are going to rape the town and go home leaving a mess and after not spending a penny in the town to help support the crap, the mess and the mayhem they leave in their wake.
This is not normal behaviour in Bournemouth.
This is not normal behaviour for any tourist town.
This is not normal behaviour under normal circumstances and the self centred attitude, the thoughtlessness offered and the mean spirited manner of many leaves me shocked that after being so nice, so thoughtful, and so considerate of others, - some turn into complete selfish assholes - turning the other chek and showing a very different side to their nature.
Shame on them, as I was impressed at how well the people of this country were coping compared to some other nations.
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Maybe it was like this before the lockdown and was more hidden.
Like the white supremists in the USA.
Clearly racism in the USA has been bubbling under the surface for decades - and clearly it was always there before Trump gave permission to let ' the cat out the bag'' and give permission to rant and scream and beat - and now we see it more than we have done so for many decades. Clearly these people, these recists, were racists all along - it has not suddenly become aparant in their lives but has been hidden - and maybe like the loutish behaviour we are seeing now the lockdown has been softened - maybe it’s not getting worse but perhaps more visible after the lockdown hid this for a while and maybe these people are just frustrated and ill equipped to know how to behave and set a good example for others and feel the need to rebel.
That is not going to help anyone.
That is not the way forward.
I truly hoped that the people would be the best they can be AFTER the lockdown as well and continue in the good manners and helpful attitude shown, but it seems, that is just a pipe dream . ( what is a pipe dream ?? )
At Hamilton Hall it is quiet and tranquil. We are safely cleaning the venue 3 or 4 times a day - always 'on guard' and thinking of others all the time.
We receive a little abuse still from those who resent and throw their shit at us, and some is understandable under the circumstances that not everyone has done so well during this periood of uncertainty - but no use throwing your toys out of the pram and attacking others who are in the same - similar - situation. That just means you now have someone who will turn away if you need help. You abuse others - they walk away when you want something - and you will - why would they help ? If they do, they will only get your mire again at some other time.
Then you blame them.
A guest left this morning who was not only paying half price, but we bent over backwards to help him with his scooter parking in behind some gates and in the private part of the garden and we spent time helping him with various things and then this morning as he left I had to give him £2 change for something and I joked about leaving it on the breakfast table for his server, AND HE WENT AND PICKED IT UP AND LEFT NOTHING, and that kind of gobsmacking rudeness actually shocked and took my breath away. £2 - He couldn't leave David a £2 tip AFTER I jokingly reminded him about leaving a tip.
Disgraceful. So be the example you wish to be and while I also find that really difficult when faced with some screaming witch in the park screaming at me because she is afraid for her dpg - ( then leave the park and walk away and stop standing there screaming at me walking my dog ) and it can be hard... as you do want to tell her where to go- that she clearly has something wrong with her and that she is off her trolley... so maybe its up to me to walk away and that, I find hard when confronted as the therapist in me wants to help, but that is a big mistake.
Walk away.
So let's all try and continue being nice to others and realising they are also going through their own shit and do not need anyone elses.
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