The U.K. woke up in the last 24 hours.
For those who don’t know, a third of England has been placed under a new “Tier 4”, which is simply the March lockdown rebranded. The areas affected are London and the South East, because there is a “new strain” there that they cannot prove exists. Originally, free movement was to be allowed for five days around Christmas, but this has been forbidden in Tier 4 areas and reduced to one day in the rest of the country.
This is the final straw for most people. Those who have stayed inside for the last nine months waiting patiently for a vaccine they now know will come are disobeying. The affected area experienced a mass exodus last night, with huge traffic jams and train stations crammed full of people. Default U.K. subs, usually willing to kiss the lockdown boot, are full of vitriol towards Johnson. Users are widely claiming that they will break the rules and they don’t believe the government. A song called “Boris Johnson is a Fucking Cunt” is currently at Number 2 in the U.K. singles chart.
And that’s not to mention the mainstream media’s reaction. Johnson and Hancock are widely being portrayed as Grinches with the words “Christmas cancelled” on the front of every newspaper, even those that would normally support the Conservatives, lockdowns or both. The new strain is either being downplayed as “not as deadly” and “still compatible with the vaccine” or being outright denied. The top story on BBC News right now is an interview with a terminally ill woman who is now forbidden from seeing her sister before she passes away, a perspective that has been widely ignored throughout the year.
We’re finally unplugging from the Matrix en masse here. Shit’s going to get real.