Sir, – It is utterly exasperating to see so many people shamelessly neglecting to wear a face mask inside shops, and to see how many think they can get away with a mask hanging below their nose like some sort of horse’s nose-bag.
They can’t all be asthma sufferers, and it is pitiful to watch the nose-baggers guiltily pull up their masks when they think they have been spotted.
They are all just trying it on, but this repeated and open flouting of the rules gives our so-called leaders the perfect excuse to impose arbitrary lockdowns, to the detriment of us all.
It is also highly offensive to those who do comply. Wearing a face mask is not purgatory, nor is it demeaning.
Even if you don’t believe in the rule, wearing a mask demonstrates your social awareness and is a politeness to others.
Let us just follow the rules and get on with it.
It is not difficult.
Roderick Stewart.
Dronley House,
Dronley,
Angus.
Most Scots now want to run own affairs
Sir, – Maaike Cook (Do what I say, but not what I do…, Courier, November 14) wrongly compares President Trump with the independence movement.
The facts are that Americans have changed their minds about President Trump because they now know how bad he really is.
Scots have changed their minds about Westminster rule because they now know how bad it really is.
Now that most Scots want to run their own affairs, it is the Westminster government that is behaving like Trump by refusing to accept the settled will of the people.
Andy Collins.
Ladyburn House,
Skinners Steps,
Cupar.
One Covidiot gone, one more to go…
Sir, – So we have one high profile Covidiot, Dominic Cummings, down but the other – Nationalist MP, Margaret Ferrier – is still to go.
Nicola Sturgeon may call her a friend, yet Ferrier’s rule-breaking was much worse than Cummings by travelling on public transport and attending Westminster while knowing she had symptoms and then testing positive.
She put countless lives at risk, yet refuses to resign. Could this be something to do with the c£82,000 pay?
Martin Redfern.
Melrose,
Roxburghshire.
Faced with adversity they flounder
Sir, – Every day we hear of the rise in the incidence of depression and there is evidence of the link to the Covid virus and its restrictions and constraints upon life and its current quality.
We all feel for those caught up in the depth of depression, yet one can’t help wondering if our present society might carry much of the blame.
We now live in a world which is largely based upon the over-protection of the individual.
Going back over the last two decades much energy has been directed upon ensuring that youngsters be cocooned from all adversities and possible mishaps.
As an example, at many school sports days the competitive elements were erased.
Children were placed in small groups and thereby set easy targets.
Thereby no-one would see him or herself as coming into a lesser place than an outright winner and facing any possibility of feelings of inferiority.
In essence this culture has permeated our everyday lives, and thus excessive shielding and protectionism has become commonplace.
From an early age our children have had little or no experience of, and preparedness for, disappointment and hardship in their lives.
When faced with adversity from any direction they flounder as to how to overcome or bypass it.
As such it is blown out of proportion and many struggle to cope and suffer feelings of hopelessness.
Food for thought, it might seem!
David L Thomson.
Laurence Park,
Kinglassie.
