'Lockdown referendum' and addressing the 'arrogance of youth' among public's bizarre ideas on how to lift Scotland's coronavirus lockdown

Scots have been responding to the Scottish Government’s call for ideas on how lockdown restrictions could be lifted.
One of artist Antony Gormley's "6 TIMES" statues wears a protective face mask as the UK continues lockdown, with the Scottish Government asking for ideas on how to ease the restrictions.One of artist Antony Gormley's "6 TIMES" statues wears a protective face mask as the UK continues lockdown, with the Scottish Government asking for ideas on how to ease the restrictions.
One of artist Antony Gormley's "6 TIMES" statues wears a protective face mask as the UK continues lockdown, with the Scottish Government asking for ideas on how to ease the restrictions.

From free Netflix for all to the need to address the arrogance of youth, the Scottish public have been responding to the Scottish Government’s call for ideas on how to ease lockdown with strange and some downright bizarre ideas.

Ideas, submitted through the Scottish Government website, stretch from the serious – looking closely at how social bubbles might work – to impressions of William Wallace with one response simply stating the solution should be ‘freedom’.

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Among the more sensible included pleas from members of the public to allow people to play socially distant lawn bowls, squash courts to reopen, and surfing to be allowed as part of the allowed daily exercise.

‘Legalise cannabis’

Others have called for the legalisation of cannabis, something that could “employ more people than the coal industry” with the idea described by the submitter as “not personally motivated, just thinking outside the box”.

One person called for the closure of the Scotland/England border, while another called on the government to impose ‘The Footpath Code’ where joggers, walkers and cyclists are provided with Highway Code-style guidelines on how to use pavements.

Included in the code include people being told to “circulate clockwise like a roundabout” around features such as junctions and duck ponds.

‘Address the arrogance of youth’

Some, however, are angry at other generations, with more than one submission centring around the actions of young people.

In one, a member of the public calls for the “arrogance of youth” to change. User KMCgilmore writes about their experience in a supermarket and coming into contact with a “young American couple” failing to abide by a one-way system.

Their behaviour, “due to the perceived protection of face masks, general ignorance or invincibility of youth” should be “addressed” by the Scottish Government.

Maybe a colour-coded outdoor activity timetable for the whole population, as suggested by another user, could be imposed to keep the generations apart?

Two-year lockdown and free Netflix for all

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Some are calling for lockdown to be continued for the forseeable future, with one submission titled ‘Let’s all party! (until no-one is left)’ suggesting laws should be kept as strict as possible until a vaccine is found. Another suggested lockdown should last for between two and three years.

If that was the case, the Scottish people may be in need of an idea submitted by user hazelnuttygames which would see the Scottish Government provide ‘free Netflix for everyone’, something they said would help “keep people occupied”.

Alternatively, the government could be inspired by William Wallace and listen to user ‘rms’ who simply posted “freedom” under the title ‘Open everything and let people decide’.

Of course, the differences in opinion could all be solved by a Lockdown Referendum, as suggested by one user.

You can submit your ideas on how the Scottish Government should reduce lockdown by visiting their website here.

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