Covid clouds will roll over and sun will shine again in Mayo
by Auld Stock
PROTESTS are an important part of any democracy.
Farmers, truck drivers and several other groups have protested in recent times to pursue what they regard as legitimate complaints. The protests were well run with due respect for other members of society.
However, it is difficult to understand the reason behind protests against regulations introduced to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Some people, for one reason or another, are refusing to be vaccinated. This is their right.
In this country protests have been reasonably peaceful and haven’t caused a great deal of disruption.
But protests against Covid-19 have got completely out of hand in some countries, with police attacked and members of the medical profession abused and assaulted.
This ugly behaviour must be condemned in the strongest possible manner.
I know of one young man working in Mayo University Hospital who has been spat on, a despicable action by any standards.
Auld Stock has visited the hospital with a family member on several occasions over the past few weeks and has been treated with the highest degree of professionalism, courtesy and efficiency.
Various staffs of hospitals throughout our country are working under the most difficult conditions and deserve the respect and support of the general public which, in the vast majority of cases, is readily forthcoming.
Of course, in every country under the sun there are people who are easily influenced and will jump on the bandwagon, shout and castigate those in authority.
Some have an axe to grind with authority and one way of doing this is to join in street protests.
There has been some criticism of our government about their performance in relation to the introduction of anti-Covid regulations. It is impossible to keep everyone happy and there are bound to be complaints. This is the nature of mankind.
There is merit in complaints about mixed messaging on the part of government spokesmen. This confuses people and it should be cleared up as soon as possible.
Many people are often critical of the actions of scientists. However, they have come up trumps in developing a number of life-saving vaccinations in record time.
By and large, the Irish government has done a good job in coming to grips with the virus. It is easy for some politicians to criticise them but it is questionable if they would do any better if they were in power.
In any event, the virus is too serious a matter to be politicised. This is a time for all politicians to come together and work in unison for the people of our country.
The health of our nation is far more important than scoring political points.
The virus will pass in time and our country will return to a normal situation. In the meantime we should all obey the regulations and toe the line.
The sun will shine again in Mayo and elsewhere.