My Reaction to the UK Government's Ads

Hello, long time no see! I am sorry for my absence but I have had a tough time over the last few weeks with my mental health so I decided to focus on feeling better and starting the year with a post I was proud of. I hope you are all well and coping during these times, it is really not fun. 

Today I wanted to discuss something which recently bothered me. I had just woke up and opened Twitter, as you do, and was greeted by an ad from the British Government. It was an older man on a ventilator and it said 'look into his eyes and tell him the risk isn't real".

Now first of all, I was sad because I know how serious COVID is and how many people it is taking away from us. It is so upsetting to see the deaths rise everyday and feel helpless. But then secondly, I thought about how these deaths could be avoided. A quicker lockdown, a better Test and Trace system, not opening shops before Christmas etc. And I wonder who makes these decisions? The Government. 

We have all been constantly ignored and disrespected throughout this pandemic. In the last 6 months, they have: started eat out to help out, opened schools with high infection rates, encouraged people to return to work, delayed a national lockdown which should have carried on until at least the middle of December, blamed people for seeing family at Christmas when they insisted it would be fine, cancelled exams with no notice, forced teachers and parents to prepare for home school again.  

So why are they blaming the British public? Well, of course individual actions will have contributed to the ascension of cases and deaths in the last 3 months. We each make decisions and they will have their effect as well. But the larger reason is, they don't want to accept how many people they have affected. The Government have not done 'everything they could'. These adverts feel like a spit in the face for the 90% of people who have been following the rules. Most of the British public have followed every bit of advice. The blame should not be on the Great British public solely but the Government should accept the blame too.

This advertising truly reminds me of when we had to study propaganda in primary school and evaluate what they were trying to say. But now, I require no time to evaluate these images, I understand the message. I feel like these images are incredibly manipulative. I understand the need for them, because cases and deaths are at an all time high, but I cant help feeling that there could be another way for them to display this message.

These people in the images and videos are ill because the Government failed to lockdown earlier when a new strain was discovered, they failed to give clear instructions and they failed to provide people with the correct information. You can't help but feel angry and at a loss when you are being targeted for something you cannot help or change.

Sir Captain Tom Moore is a clear representation of how the Government have failed us. He raised 33 million pounds to fund the NHS because the Government refused. An 100 year old man had to walk around his garden to raise money which should have been there already from the taxes that tax-payers pay. He visited Barbados near Christmas, because the Government still refused to shut the borders. He caught COVID in January and passed away. The last year of his life shows how disappointing and insufferable the Government truly are. My thoughts are with his family and friends at this time, I recognise and appreciate everything he did to help this country. 

These adverts stirred a feeling inside me in which I felt so much discomfort and sadness I felt like I had to write this otherwise I would let myself down. It is an important message, and we should all be following the guidelines now, but the way in which they went about displaying this feels so wrong to me. 

Blaming normal people will not fix anything. 

Boris Johnson and his government need to take responsibility for their actions and start doing something about this mess, now. Too many people have lost their lives, too many people are struggling. We need a solution.

If you have any feedback or opinions you want to share feel free to comment down below or email me leahdotnott@gmail.com or @leah_nott on Instagram. 

ALL CONTENTS ARE MY OWN OPINION AND I AM NOT CLAIMING THEY ARE FACTS, IT IS MY INTERPRETATION.