Yes or No?

Before heading out this morning, I was struck by the sight of a man playing with his toddler son in the playground in front of the apartment block where I live. Despite the fact that there was a sign stuck next to the playground entrance, which clearly said that the equipment could not be used due to lockdown restrictions, and the fact that some council workers had actually locked the gate and chained the swings to prevent them from being used, the man and his child had jumped over the fence, and were merrily playing on one of the trampolines that is present there. They seemed so carefree, unaware of what our present terrible situation is.

Left: swings in the playground that have been chained up by the council

At first, I was inclined to criticise them. Was the man really setting a good example to his son? It was lucky that the child was too young to read, since, if he had been literate, he might have seen the sign before going in, and wondered whether his father or the government was more correct in their actions. It might breed a lack of respect for higher places and a belief that doing blatantly forbidden things is acceptable - clearly undesirable traits in a young person.

Yet, the more I thought about it, I could not bring myself to be so harsh regarding the father's conduct. After all, it was only natural that, as somebody with a young child to care for, who was most likely very bored after spending day upon day cooped up at home, he would want to take his son outside to enjoy himself and get some fresh air. Furthermore, the signs that the council have put up next to the playground and the basketball court have started to lack any sort of real meaning. It is true that there are stern warnings against removing them or tampering with them - as the text states, 'it is an offence' to do so - but they don't actually expressly forbid people from playing on the park equipment, or kicking a ball around on the court. 

 Left: the council's sign

I cannot really judge whose conduct is more questionable in this situation: that of the father, who disregarded warnings, or that of the council, whose only actions have been to put up messages of authority. There may not be any further point to keeping those signs up; lockdown is basically being lifted as it is, what with the number of people outside exercising, chatting, walking around or shopping. Perhaps, in the first month or so of this situation, such notices made sense to keep the people safe. But many are now getting tired of this situation, and longing to be outside again, especially since the crisis seems to be easing. In such a case, some people may doubt the council's instructions. Would you say Yes or No?

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