BLOCKED highways, vaccine requirements, angry unions and the continuous school closures – just some pleasant highlight of the year thus far.
Sigh.
Upon my own somewhat semi-intellectual analysis of the issues currently facing us, I have come to the conclusion that many of these issues could have been solved through clear, simple communication and cooperation.
It is safe to say the Government and people suffer from communication issues; as such we have developed a dangerous sense of distrust in what our leaders are telling us.
Let us look at the situation that happened in the Beetham this week. You cannot blame the residents, if any of us had to live with the stench of raw sewerage we would riot too.
Now had the MP from the area spent a little more time talking to his constituents and listening to their concerns, he probably would have understood their predicament (smelled it too) and put the project to repair the sewerage issues into turbo.
Likewise, let us look at the situation with the Government requesting public sectors employees be vaccinated or furloughed. Naturally, they made decisions without communicating with the unions first and naturally the unions got pissed.
Now had the Government and the unions come together from the start and respectfully listened to one another, there may not have been so much animosity between the two factions. I mean there would have been disagreements but had they heard each other’s concerns mayyyyybbbbeeee some resolution would have come about.
In regards to communication, one must also look at the words being used. “Mandate” is what is being used for the Government’s vaccine requirements. “Mandate” implies you have no choice, when in fact you do have a choice. Public sector workers are being given a choice.
Should a public sector employee wish to keep their Government-issued paycheck they need to be vaccinated. Should they wish not to be vaccinated, they have the option of seeking employment elsewhere.
It’s not an easy choice, but it is a choice and therefore not a vaccine “Mandate”.
I understand why many people have concerns about the vaccine. It’s difficult to trust the Government, especially since they tend to be vague and have historically been caught carrying out some practices that lacks transparency.
Unfortunately, the Government’s methods of communication especially during the pandemic have been severely flawed. From the handling of cases to their definition of vaccinated, to their failure of correctly educating the public on vaccines and to the lack of clarity as to how Covid relief funds are being spent, people are confused, exhausted and sceptical.
A lot of people have concerns over the side effects of the vaccine. They are hearing stories of people getting sick, disabled or even dying from the vaccines.
So how has the Government handled it? They have dismissed them.
You know what might have worked? Had the Government from the get-go addressed these cases in a serious manner and shown the public they were taking them seriously and been clear with their findings, even if it didn’t suit their narrative, people might have believed them.
But now, we are too far gone. The unions have presented people who have had alleged adverse reactions to vaccines. They presented them with no proof and people believe them. Even if the Government live-streamed their investigation into these claims, people would not believe them.
All the medical statistics and cute little infographics won’t gain public trust, not at this point.
So to say this lightly, we’re screwed.
Scare tactics haven’t worked. In fact all they have done is pushed us further behind in tackling the social and economic challenges of both the pandemic and society in general.
What needs to happen in all aspects of public life is clear communication, no fancy words or complicated terms. If a contract is given, the Government should publish how the funds are being utilised and why contractor xy and z was chosen. The public should be made privy to the entire process of selecting our next Commissioner of Police.
Wrongdoers, even those in high places, should face consequences. The Government needs to talk to their people and provide answers to their questions in a timely manner. Then, and maybe then the trust will be rebuilt and from there maybe we can move forward.
Anyway I apologize for this less than thrilling opinion piece, I’ve been busy trying to resettle my two feral children back into school because again the Government has failed to communicate that school opening is actually what is being recommended and can be done safely.
Instead they keep trying to scare people by vaguely reporting children contracting Covid in efforts to scare up interest in vaccination and surprise, surprise its doing more harm than good.
Doing More Harm than Good
BLOCKED highways, vaccine requirements, angry unions and the continuous school closures – just some pleasant highlight of the year thus far.
Sigh.
Upon my own somewhat semi-intellectual analysis of the issues currently facing us, I have come to the conclusion that many of these issues could have been solved through clear, simple communication and cooperation.
It is safe to say the Government and people suffer from communication issues; as such we have developed a dangerous sense of distrust in what our leaders are telling us.
Let us look at the situation that happened in the Beetham this week. You cannot blame the residents, if any of us had to live with the stench of raw sewerage we would riot too.
Now had the MP from the area spent a little more time talking to his constituents and listening to their concerns, he probably would have understood their predicament (smelled it too) and put the project to repair the sewerage issues into turbo.
Likewise, let us look at the situation with the Government requesting public sectors employees be vaccinated or furloughed. Naturally, they made decisions without communicating with the unions first and naturally the unions got pissed.
Now had the Government and the unions come together from the start and respectfully listened to one another, there may not have been so much animosity between the two factions. I mean there would have been disagreements but had they heard each other’s concerns mayyyyybbbbeeee some resolution would have come about.
In regards to communication, one must also look at the words being used. “Mandate” is what is being used for the Government’s vaccine requirements. “Mandate” implies you have no choice, when in fact you do have a choice. Public sector workers are being given a choice.
Should a public sector employee wish to keep their Government-issued paycheck they need to be vaccinated. Should they wish not to be vaccinated, they have the option of seeking employment elsewhere.
It’s not an easy choice, but it is a choice and therefore not a vaccine “Mandate”.
I understand why many people have concerns about the vaccine. It’s difficult to trust the Government, especially since they tend to be vague and have historically been caught carrying out some practices that lacks transparency.
Unfortunately, the Government’s methods of communication especially during the pandemic have been severely flawed. From the handling of cases to their definition of vaccinated, to their failure of correctly educating the public on vaccines and to the lack of clarity as to how Covid relief funds are being spent, people are confused, exhausted and sceptical.
A lot of people have concerns over the side effects of the vaccine. They are hearing stories of people getting sick, disabled or even dying from the vaccines.
So how has the Government handled it? They have dismissed them.
You know what might have worked? Had the Government from the get-go addressed these cases in a serious manner and shown the public they were taking them seriously and been clear with their findings, even if it didn’t suit their narrative, people might have believed them.
But now, we are too far gone. The unions have presented people who have had alleged adverse reactions to vaccines. They presented them with no proof and people believe them. Even if the Government live-streamed their investigation into these claims, people would not believe them.
All the medical statistics and cute little infographics won’t gain public trust, not at this point.
So to say this lightly, we’re screwed.
Scare tactics haven’t worked. In fact all they have done is pushed us further behind in tackling the social and economic challenges of both the pandemic and society in general.
What needs to happen in all aspects of public life is clear communication, no fancy words or complicated terms. If a contract is given, the Government should publish how the funds are being utilised and why contractor xy and z was chosen. The public should be made privy to the entire process of selecting our next Commissioner of Police.
Wrongdoers, even those in high places, should face consequences. The Government needs to talk to their people and provide answers to their questions in a timely manner. Then, and maybe then the trust will be rebuilt and from there maybe we can move forward.
Anyway I apologize for this less than thrilling opinion piece, I’ve been busy trying to resettle my two feral children back into school because again the Government has failed to communicate that school opening is actually what is being recommended and can be done safely.
Instead they keep trying to scare people by vaguely reporting children contracting Covid in efforts to scare up interest in vaccination and surprise, surprise its doing more harm than good.