Get a grip, humans- How we're behaving is making this pandemic worse

This is a rant- I’ve really started to dislike people. They don’t necessarily have to be people I know, and it doesn’t matter if they’re white, black, brown, or even orange. Four months of being cooped up at home have given me a lot of time to sit back and observe a lot of human behaviour, most of it done through social media. And what I’ve seen really frustrates me.

We’re in the middle of a pandemic, a life-changing one, the likes of which have not been seen for a little more than a century. It’s an unprecedented time and the first real crisis of a lot of people’s lives. I understand that it’s not something anyone wanted, or thought would happen, but it is what it is, isn’t it? Aren’t we’re lucky we’re in 2020, where we’ve made so many advancements in medicine and technology, and if we’re sensible and listen to those who know more than us about this mess, should have the worst of it behind us in a year? So is it that big of a deal that we can't do what we love for just 1 year if it means many more years of being able to do so? How have we got so impatient and developed such a sense of entitlement that we can’t function as a society and throw a tantrum if we don’t get to go to the beach or barbeque or travel to Europe this year? Seriously, we have turned into a bunch of 5-year-olds who haven't got our favourite toy, and need to get over ourselves. What drives us to want to rush to the gym and pack bars while thousands of people continue to get infected with this virus, God forbid if one of them is someone we know? No one is trying to infringe on anyone’s freedoms, you won’t be around to enjoy these freedoms you so cherish if you continue to be an irresponsible bonehead.

Also, this is an event that should have brought the world together. Our world has got closer, but at the same time, our prejudices have also been openly exposed in the past few years. There was hope at the beginning of this pandemic that this would be an occasion to put these differences aside, even if it were temporary. After all, the pandemic doesn’t care what race, religion, or gender you belong to, so neither should we. But not for the first time, we have let ourselves down as a human race. Starting from the very top, there’s been a blame game in almost every country, and this pandemic has been seen as an opportunity to sow divisions further. Maybe it will help them win the next election? The masses, of course, have fervently lapped up the opportunity to uncover their deep-rooted biases and hatred. No discussion can be had without some level of divisiveness, there is no room for constructive dialogue and a willingness to listen to the other side’s point of view if there even should be differing points of view on how to deal with this unprecedented situation. It’s both mind-numbing as well as disappointing to witness, like what is it even going to take for us to realize that our commonalities outnumber our differences and that there’s a time and place for everything.

I get that we need to ultimately move on with our lives, but the callousness displayed while talking about this is horrible. These are actual people who are suffering, every case is a person, every death means a grieving family left behind. These are not just numbers. Maybe that’s people’s way of coping. When you’re faced with 10,000 cases a day, what’s another 100? It’s difficult and unrealistic to expect people to care about every single person affected, but at the same time, it doesn’t call for the insensitivity that’s displayed while rushing to get back to our normal lives. And guess what? It’s not going to be normal for a while. And that’s fine. Generations before us have gone through far worse and made it out okay, otherwise, we wouldn’t be here today. This is, by all accounts, the safest and most prosperous time there’s ever been for humanity, and we take that for granted. It sucks.

We’ve been through a lot, and there is more to get through. But can we please try to have some kind of long-term vision, try to get along and choose a better time to whine about what we can’t do and what we don’t like about each other?

Thank you for reading!