Shoppers are queuing outside Primark this morning for a million reasons. Maybe just because they're really happy shops are open again and want some joy in their lives. Maybe because their kid grew two feet in lockdown and has been wearing shorts that are actually intended as trousers since schools reopened. Maybe they're sick of staring at their house and want to get some jazzy homeswear. Maybe they are seeing their mate for the first time in months and didn't fancy sitting in the cold. Maybe they just love Stacey Solomon and were hoping to bump into her when she went at the crack of dawn this morning (and instagrammed about it).
Well, whatever the reason - and there's a lot of reasons, because there's a lot of people in those queues - the internet is FUMING about it.
Meanwhile, people who are sat outside the pubs drinking ale on Breakfast telly are being heralded as quintessentially British, getting the economy moving again. And everyone showing off their nails and hair freshly done in the salon (I salute you, no shade, hit me with those Reels).
But Primark. HOW EFFING DARE THE MORONS.
'Is it Giro day' went one particularly vile comment. 'FFS why, nobody can need the utter shite they sell that bad ... get a grip'. 'are people THAT desperate to get their £2 underwear sets?', 'Smells of body odour and despair'... I could go on with the Tweets.
As yet, no comment I've seen on those shopping at Zara, popping to Bond Street or anything else to be honest. It's just ALWAYS Primark.
It's a self-fulfilling thing maybe, lots of people queue outside Primark, news outlets report on it, the internet feeds, and then it happens all over again.
And it was only June last year where Grazia mused on the issuethe first time the shops reopened and people were total arseholes about anyone daring to head to Primark when they were legally allowed to after months of isolation and misery. All the arguments again snobbery around people shopping and queuing outside Primark were laid out there and pretty much still stand. Again. Same same.
The fact that we're doing this all over again though is pretty galling.
Because the same defences still stand. Some people need access to cheap clothing that can't be bought online. Some people's bodies have changed and they want to buy clothes. IT IS NOT ILLEGAL. Some people like shopping and that's ok. Some people like the style and fit of Primark (who as standard stock a lot of plus sizes). A lot of those people are probably popping to Primark for some bits, then going across the road to M&S, Zara and all the cafes that have reopened too.
To be honest if people were making an actual stand about the ethics of cheap clothing and fast fashion, I'd be more inclined to welcome that debate or at least it would have some credence maybe.
But honestly, all the jokes I'm seeing are just mean, snobby and cruel about those on low incomes. And that I can't really stand.
Leave off, let it go, enjoy your day - there's plenty you can do now and there's also plenty else to be annoyed about.