So they buried old Sir Captain Major Tom. What's one more death in the scheme of things? One out of voer 100,000 no more or less important. But he perambulated for us. What a tragedy, that an old man felt he had to waste his dotage during a pandemic to make sure people got the health care they deserve. Correction: while everyone deserves health care as a fucking birth right, the health service is paid for out of the common purse. It's not some privilege granted by the great and good. It's ours. That doesn't stop the Tories selling it off. A massive contract in London has gone to another American firm. Hundreds of thousands of patients, under the brand name of the NHS, now being cherry picked for profit. The difficult/poor (what a conflation) will be sent to the back of the queue. Poor doors for your health.
This won't change until revolution. It is the only answer. Even if Labour weren't such a mess. Even if their leader wasn't such a shambolic quisling, that fact would still remain. Nothing wrought through Westminster will fundamentally change things. It's up to us; either we fight for it or we lose it. The Tories are not going to suddenly curtail their privatisation agenda just because we are in a pandemic, it's in their DNA.
Sadly efforts such as those undertaken by a frail old veteran (and no disrespect intended) will always be exploited. As long as they remain within the confines of the overton window - what is acceptable under capitalism - they are so vulnerable, and are thus useless. Intentions unfortunately count for nothing. It's good that people like Tom care, but caring alone, or in concert with good intentions, won't save the NHS. In fact the ruling class can use people like Tom as a safety valve; get everyone clapping. Pretend you care by clapping alongside the proles. But nothing actually changes, except everyone's dopamine levels. Everyone except the staff dying for lack of food or PPE. Tom's garden excursions have done nothing to stop nurses needing foodbanks, but instead divert what should be outrage from fermenting into revolution.
Spring is definitely in the air, which is a good thing. Unfortunately (perhaps) so is the end of lockdown. Wait, what? I mean that there are loads of people outside. The lockdown Boris' roadmap entails isn't the one I'm seeing. One of the local pub landlords is selling barbecue food/burgers from the car park. The play area is full of parents and kids. People are everywhere, walking with friends/family/bubbles. There is no going back from this. I can only hope these are responsible and healthy (more importantly) people because the genie ain't going back in the bottle at this point.
Only a week before kids go back to school en mass as well.
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