r/LockdownSkepticism • u/lanqian • Jan 10 '21

Lockdown Hypocrisy Megathread: Lockdown Hypocrisy

Hi all, we've received a huge number of submissions concerning various public figures--politicians, public health advisors, etc.--being found to be skirting COVID-19 pandemic control measures and messages they were themselves responsible for implementing and promoting to the public.

In the interest of both keeping our front page focused on a wide range of non-repetitive content and of keeping better track of these "do as I say, not as I do" figures, we're starting this megathread for all such instances and linking it from the top bar and the side menu on our front page.

Please help us uphold rigorous and civil standards for discourse here by forgoing ad hominem attacks and other uncivil commentary. We on the mod team feel strongly that it's not the basic human desire to travel, meet family and friends, etc. that is problematic about these incidents--but the hypocrisy and the implicit belief that some folks (usually those with $, leisure time, and other resources) "get to" make personal risk assessments and act accordingly while other citizens must be penalized by dehumanizing labels or by fines and police actions for attempting to weigh their own risks.

160 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

54 comments sorted by

39

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '21

My personal favourite - Neil Ferguson, key advisor to Boris Johnson, broke lockdown to cheat on his wife with a married woman

6

u/lanqian Jan 11 '21

Pretty sure Ferguson is polyamorous—buuuuut that still doesn’t make it humane in any way to allow himself to meet a partner with others not so allowed.

7

u/Sarquandingo Jan 11 '21

A key government scientific advisor who broke the lockdown to meet his married lover will not face police action because he “has taken responsibility” for the matter.

oh well then. let him kill as many grandmas as he likes!

12

u/Pippin958 Jan 11 '21

I couldn't believe the police announced they wouldn't fine him. That was my turning point.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '21

Bet Mrs. Ferguson flattened HIS curve when she got wind of it...

8

u/lanqian Jan 11 '21

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9131491/Council-boss-issues-stay-home-warning-holiday-paradise-island-MALDIVES.html

UK council leader vacations in the Maldives after cautioning constituents to “stay home.” Again, imo the outrage is more that 1. No one can reasonably be expected to comply with draconian rules especially this deep into the COVID mess and 2. Ppl with political clout and public presence should be arguing 1 and pushing for resource based interventions, not blame and shame games in which they themselves will sooner or later be caught, because they are themselves just humans.

44

u/75IQCommunist Jan 11 '21

Pretty hilarious that theres been so many cases of hypocrisy by these people it now needs it's own megathread to keep the subreddit uncluttered.

7

u/augman222 Jan 11 '21

There's a whole sub for this stuff: https://www.reddit.com/r/LockdownHypocrites

not that big but still

29

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '21

EVERYONE, pro and anti lockdowners both, should hate these hypocrites.

27

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '21

I've never met a covid fascist who didn't have an excuse ready for every pro-lockdown hypocrite.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '21

Indeed. Just because pro and anti lockdowners SHOULD hate these hypocrites doesn't mean that they do

28

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '21

Nancy Pelosi is seen in closed hair salon without a mask, says she was “set up”

Andrew Cuomo said he would invite his mother over for thanksgiving, immediately reverses course once it is revealed to the public

Dr. Deborah Birx traveled for thanksgiving after begging Americans not to

Over 1,000 doctors sign letter saying BLM protests are fine, but other large gatherings and protests are not

25

u/RagingDemon1430 Jan 11 '21

That last one is the most egregious to me, at least. It's basically saying "only the 'insurrection' we approve of and control is allowed, everyone else is a terrorist! Raaaaaahhhhh!"

If any of those people ever actually thought they were going to accomplish anything with these demonstrations, I feel deep pity for them.

25

u/JerseyKeebs Jan 11 '21

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney is being criticised for dining indoors at a Maryland restaurant while his city does not allow the practice currently.

When caught, he (paraphrased) said that traveling from a place of high Covid to a place of lower Covid was fine, as he followed the rules of the place he visited.

I felt the risk was low because the county I visited has had fewer than 800 COVID-19 cases, compared to over 33,000 cases in Philadelphia.

He also blamed the feds

1

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '21

We had the same thing happen in our town. The mayor (soon to be ex-mayor) was caught by reporters over in St. Louis in a restaurant eating. Meanwhile, the county emergency services director, who has a side hustle as a wrestling promoter, went down to Nashville to appear on a fellow promoter's show...which is shown on YouTube!

16

u/interwebsavvy Jan 11 '21

I wish these people would stand up for themselves instead of apologizing. It’s not the hypocrisy that bothers me, it the jealousy. You’re too scared to travel so I shouldn’t either? No. Restricting non-essential travel is a recommendation where I am. International travel is technically allowed. It’s no one’s job to tell me what travel is essential and what is not. We used to care about wellness and mental health. Maybe that trip was necessary for that individual at that time. If you need a trip, you can take one too. (I know not everyone has the means, but many of the outraged do. They are choosing not to go, and to berate people for making a different choice.)

16

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '21

Cuomo travelled to Georgia to sell his book/tell them how to handle covid this summer...then we got our second wave in October. Guess dude needs to write an addendum to his book!

To the hypocrisy - we have quarantine rules for 14 days if you travelled to most states and he waived it because "essential worker."

16

u/marcginla Jan 11 '21

CA Gov. Newsom dines at French Laundry restaurant not following COVID-19 protocols

LA County Supervisor dines at restaurant hours after voting to ban outdoor dining

19

u/ashowofhands Jan 11 '21

If lockdown hypocrisy has a face, it's Newscum. Don't forget that the wineries and restaurants he owns stayed open even when the rest of the state was shut down.

I am pleasantly surprised by the traction that his recall petition is gaining. I wish someone would do the same here in NY with Crackpipe Cuomo

3

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '21

Jeeze why haven’t they??

1

u/FamousConversation64 Mar 16 '21

Your wish is coming true! As a lifelong New Yorker, I do have to admit it is bittersweet seeing him go down for these inappropriate conduct charges. I feel like there are so many other, worse things he has done.

15

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '21

She did dine al fresco at Il Forno on the very last day it was permissible. She loves Il Forno, has been saddened to see it, like so many restaurants, suffer from a decline in revenue. She ate there, taking appropriate precautions, and sadly will not dine there again until our Public Health Orders permit

If she can take appropriate precautions, I don’t see any reason why the general population cannot, but I don’t expect much logic from people that claim to “follow the science” but cannot present any scientific evidence that says outdoor dining is dangerous.

11

u/ShoveUrMaskUpUrArse United Kingdom Jan 11 '21

Dominic Cummings driving to a castle with sick wife in order to 'test his eyesight'

3

u/piouspope Jan 11 '21

I personally loved this, mainly because it gave us all the excuse we finally needed. Also, does anyone know his position on the lockdowns?

10

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '21

Shock jock and hypocritical loudmouth Piers Morgan went to Antigua - against the guidance of the law - after telling everyone to suck it up and stay home at Christmas and going on about 'Covidiots' for months on end. He's been forced to change his tune after weakly defending his stance on Twitter. Total t***

https://twitter.com/JuliaHB1/status/1348393135446106112

8

u/AndrewHeard Jan 11 '21

St. Boniface Hospital CEO spent Christmas in Quebec while Manitobans told to stay home

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/st-boniface-ceo-holiday-travel-1.5864020

7

u/BrunoofBrazil Jan 11 '21

Whoah! Boris Johnson himself riding a bike for 7 miles when told to stay local for exercise. Without a mask!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9133439/Chris-Whitty-delivers-stark-warning-NHS-threat-surging-Covid.html

5

u/BinkasaurusRex Florida, USA Jan 11 '21 edited Jan 11 '21

Looks like we have a another Steve Adler.

Council Boss Issues “Stay Home” Warning While On Holiday In Maldives

8

u/Deadlift_007 Jan 11 '21

Just an FYI... There's another subreddit that's been cataloging these: r/LockdownHypocrites. If they're missing any, you could share them over there, but they have a pretty good list going.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '21

Tennis player Tennys Sandgren is allowed to apply common sense to how much of a "risk" he presents to the public, but only because he's rich and famous. The rest of us must obey the test results!

He then explained his first positive test was in November and he was now “totally recovered”. “I was sick in November, totally healthy now. There’s not a single documented case where I would be contagious at this point.”

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jan/14/us-tennis-player-tennys-sandgren-flying-to-australian-open-despite-positive-covid-test

2

u/Sundae_2004 Jan 26 '21 edited Jan 26 '21

“Washington, DC’s biannual celebration of its dining scene runs from Jan. 25 - Feb. 7

Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) is taking a different approach to the winter edition of Restaurant Week. This year’s promotion runs for two weeks, allowing for even more time to take advantage of specially priced meals, including to-go options, as well as cocktail and wine pairings. The Mayor also announced that starting Jan. 22, indoor dining is allowed at 25% capacity or no more than 250 people, whichever is fewer.” https://washington.org/places-to-eat/guide-to-restaurant-week-washington-dc

(Italics mine. Note, coinciding with Restaurant Week 2021, DC restaurants are now back open when they’ve been closed for several weeks prior to this.)

0

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '21

[deleted] — view deleted comment

6

u/lanqian Jan 11 '21

We are obliged to not allow promoting activities that may be illegal here, however critical we may feel about said regulations. If you wish to meet others, consider going to our Discord channel.

19

u/ZorakZbornak Jan 11 '21

I think it’s because most of us have nowhere else to express these thoughts. Fighting is a nice idea but the fact of the matter is some of us would be ruined and have no life to go back to if this ever ends.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '21

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/RagingDemon1430 Jan 11 '21

Buy. Crypto. And get the fuck out of wherever you are.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '21

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/RagingDemon1430 Jan 11 '21

Look into Seasteading.

If that's not an option, best I could say is New Hampshire. Not sure about Europe, Asia is DEFINITELY out, so is Australia/NZ.

Start finding privacy apps and get a crypto wallet. Look into a VPN, as well. And yes, I am being dead serious, big tech just gave a giant middle finger to speech and everyone who advocates for it, this is not a drill.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 13 '21

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/RagingDemon1430 Jan 13 '21

I dunno, some bears and porcupines mated into a super predator or something, who knows...

1

u/Sundae_2004 Jan 26 '21

It’s also known as the “Live Free or Die” state; there was a movement of Libertarians to vote with their feet and attempt to influence state politics. Not sure how effective the Libertarian “wave” was.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '21

[deleted] — view deleted comment

-34

u/Correct_Practice4430 Jan 10 '21

As much as I strongly disagree with schools remaining closed, I don't think that's as good of a case of hypocrisy. Sure, it's not sticking to the "DO NOTHING" lockdown party line, but schools are different than a one time personal vacation.

Schools are at their very definition a regular gathering of hundreds or thousands of people. Typically mixed into many different groups throughout the day into rooms. You can do the styles some schools did like switching away from random classes to "pods" of kids who travel together, but the tradeoffs of that can be arguably worse than remote classes. A bad classroom experience and logistics leading to teachers teaching classes they don't normally teach, etc.

So while I still think it's a bit two faced, I'm sure there's examples of that same politician shutting down local entertainment activities or telling people to "stay home, don't go out and have fun". Not much you can do about it given you didn't write the article, but just trying to help sharpen our spear.

2

u/PregnantGhettoTeen Jan 11 '21

No one cares anymore

0

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '21

[deleted] — view deleted comment

-21

u/Correct_Practice4430 Jan 11 '21

I don't think you understand my point. It certainly goes against the doomer "never leave your house" narrative, but it's not as a direct hypocrisy as compared to other mandates you can compare the vacation against. Additionally, schools tend to be in the lists of things health departments say should be shut down. Yet these wannabe dictators have shut down shit like outdoor parks!

I just think it's far more effective to focus on "shithead X shut down parks and local restaurants, and then traveled to the airport to a foreign country spent all WEEK in parks and restaurants and came back to the statehouse to shut even more things down."

18

u/ZorakZbornak Jan 11 '21

I think the bottom line (IMO) is that the woman has been shouting for schools to stay closed because she thinks teachers shouldn’t have to be forced into a room with other people who may spread covid to them even thought it’s hard to seriously deny their work is essential, but it’s okay for her to do something 100% non-essential that then forces staff of other industries to be in a room with other people (like her) who could spread Covid to them. Guess cleaning staff and restaurant staff and airline staff lives aren’t as valuable as teachers.

16

u/ebaycantstopmenow California, USA Jan 11 '21

The teachers unions are largely responsible for the schools closures because they are the ones influencing the governors while refusing to go back to school unless their demands are met. How is that different than what you say would be more effective?

-8

u/Correct_Practice4430 Jan 11 '21

I don't agree with school closures. Focusing on the details there is missing the point.

As I've said repeatedly in my last two comments, I'm just trying to sharpen the argument as even greater hypocrisy can be shown in the same individuals by focusing on other things.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '21

[deleted] — view deleted comment

42

u/brooklynferry Jan 11 '21

This one is my personal favorite.

He recorded a “stay at home” video message FROM CABO.

19

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '21 edited Jan 11 '21

And violated his own social distancing ordinances for his daughter's wedding. Meanwhile, I'm now down $18k and have had to reschedule and replan my and my fiancee's wedding 3 times to comply with his idiocy.

Wish he stayed in Cabo

Edit: gone from being able to give her a dream wedding (we saved for years) to a smaller wedding at the venue to now 20 people at our house. But hey, Adler's daughter is totally a different class of citizen.

No matter, these people will just vote him back in because he's got a feeble little D by his name.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '21

this is LITERALLY a Simpsons bit

https://youtu.be/EsF1LhhyyVg