Is it just me, or do people get more idiotic as the pandemic goes on?
I get it. We’ve been in this situation for going on a year now, and in some ways it feels like we are further away from coming out of it. Even with vaccines, the fourth just being announced, we are still a very long way from normality. And the longer we go, I guess the more tempting it is to just break a rule. Travel a bit further, meet a friend, hug a relative. And yet, so many of us haven’t. So why do so many think themselves above the rules?
For a few months now, £10,000 fines have been handed out left right and centre. From house parties to outdoor raves in abandoned train station tunnels, private funerals to 400+ strong weddings behind blacked out windows. But for some reason, famous people breaking the same rules just feels that bit more infuriating.
My prime beef is with the situation of Rita Ora’s 30th birthday party. We all know the story; 30 guests to a pricey upmarket restaurant in London, which was at the time a Tier 3 zone, which prohibited such gatherings. This happened weeks ago, but over the last couple of days police have issued further information concerning the set up of this party. Apparently, Rita Ora’s ‘team’ offered the restaurant £5,000 to open the restaurant and hold this private gathering, during which CCTV cameras were switched off (I believe, I know they were done to not capture the festivities, I’m a lousy researcher, and who has the time anyway?) and curtains blacked out the windows. When the police alerted the guests inside, they all fell quiet. Clearly behaviour of those being caught out.
So why is this so much more infuriating to me? I don’t think I’m alone in this either. The fact of the matter is, Ora was able to spend £5,000 just to ask this restaurant owner, who’s business had no doubt taking a hit in earnings, as so many other business have, to open this venue. The fine, which she so graciously offered to pay, was £10,000. Is that fair? This kind of fine might financially cripple so many, but I have an incling that £10,000 is not such a big deal to her. With numerous promotional deals for business ongoing, a new brand of tequila out, and a role in a frankly god awful looking film (yes, I love Oliver! and just let me have my rant) is she really regretful of her choices from an earnings perspective?
So this raises the question; should celebrities be punished more for breaking the rules? In short, I say yay. The fact of the matter is, she is a public figure. So many politicians have lost their jobs over travelling a long distance or going to pubs, partly because of their public image. As for the general public, their mistakes cost them an eye watering fine, potential naming and shaming among relatives, and maybe even blurred out footage posted online. This could be damning to anyone, and that’s why I think standardising the fine for everyone to one amount is unfair. I think a celebrity, a high earning public figure with a thriving career in multiple forms and a large following ought to pay a higher price.
Instead of a standard £10,000 fine, the fine should be worked out in a similar way to tax. A 5 or 20% cut, say, of their annual earnings for that year. Perhaps it should be donated to help towards the covid efforts, PPE and extra staff and all that. I also think that promotions of their own products should be suspended for a period of time. I think they should be held accountable for their actions, and maybe even throw a bit of suspended social media activity. Years ago, that would have sounded like grounding a teenager for staying out too late. Today, so much is achieved through apps such as Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, that it’s become a viable tool to become famous, and keep getting more famous.
For everyone, I don’t think it’s enough to issue adverts of radio asking us if we can look someone in the eye and lie about our adherence to the rules. Instead, I think it should warn those breaking the rules to such a brazen degree that if you choose to break them , no matter who you are, you are wilfully giving the powers that be permission to use your photograph and name and share your identity as one of the few who are potentially keeping us all in this mess. That they were contributing to the spread of a virus that has prevented people from meeting loved ones, from comforting a relative in their last moments, from celebrating life events in the way that they should be celebrated.
I think that if people feel their name, popularity and reputation is threatened, they are much more likely to comply than if they are told that people will die. Sad, isn’t it?
Paint a Mental Picture 