Will 2020 be known as the year of rage at ‘Covidiots’ and the rest?

Jim Duffy is furious at people who wear their face mask around their chin or not at all and fail to socially distance

In the very different world that we live in, which is changing really fast, I have a question for you. What are your tolerance levels like just now?

Let’s contextualise the discussion and hone it into sharp perspective. We are living in a pandemic where we had a go at trying to manage it, manage each other and kill it off. It has failed dismally.

We have companies laying off workers all over the place, with big operations like Gatwick Airport scaling down to what’s starting to remind me of the old Inchinnan Airport in Glasgow. Incredible to see.

We have a Conservative Government in Westminster that looks like a bad episode of Fawlty Towers, with the Prime Minister in a side role as the hapless Major Gowen.

We have an SNP Government in Scotland that is stale, without spark and unfortunately unchallenged by any credible opposition.

We have riots on the streets of America amid the Black Lives Matter movement, Jeff Bezos now worth $2 billion and telling us he’s worth every penny. And the whole world is now on the edge of financial meltdown.

That just about sums it up. So where is your tolerance level sitting right now? One dictionary definition of tolerance is “the capacity to endure continued subjection to... conditions without an adverse reaction”. Ostensibly, what threshold do you have these days for “stuff ” until you react, hit out, snap, mouth off, complain, tweet or simply walk away.

I’ll be brutally honest, I’m getting to the stage where I want to hit out. And while the 50-something educated person in me says that’s completely the wrong response to observed stimulus, I don’t think the rational part of my brain can take it any more. And I’m not alone. Raised anxiety levels are causing many of us stress that in turn is reducing our tolerance levels. But, I’m not here today to advise, counsel or remedy that. No, I’d rather let everyone know how it feels for me and ask if you feel the same way. Perhaps a temperature check for the politicians as they continue to play party politics while Rome burns.

First up, my tolerance levels for those who are “Covidiots” is dangerously low. Having spent months in lockdown – like you – and having to be disciplined in going to the shops, not seeing family and so many other things, I’m sick to my back teeth of the undisciplined and the cavalier.

Those idiots in pubs, on beaches and elsewhere who think they are immune and don’t care about anyone else. Last week a neighbour near me had more than 100 random people at their house for a party. And what happens one week later? Two of them test positive for Covid-19. Idiots. Idiots. Idiots. I guess I’ve made my point and you can see where my tolerance levels are on this one.

And what about masks? Well, I hate wearing my mask. It makes my glasses steam up and, after a while, it definitely affects my capacity for work. But, I am wearing it as I believe that it can offer some protection to me and others.

I wear it more out of respect for others rather than as a scientific barrier to catching Covid-19. The government tells me to wear it. So, when I see idiots not social distancing nor wearing their masks – or indeed wearing them around their chin – I get angry.

My tolerance levels are bust here. I wonder how you feel about it too? This week at a Tube station in London, a passenger called out another