Adversity & human behavior!
The corona virus pandemic swept all of complacent mankind off its feet, literally, in the most frightening manner.
A wise man once said that adversity teaches us to become more compassionate and caring but this pandemic has proved otherwise.
The bugle of a lock-down sent panic waves throughout the globe. All we saw around were desperate measures for personal survival. From hoarding and fake news to law-breaking and more, people did everything but heed the warning sent out to them. Every dawn produced a new conspiracy, each more ridiculous than the other. The blame-game had begun from accusing a Bill Gates to blaming China and yet, the mystery remains unsolved.
Some countries offered more than 96 hours for everyone to ready themselves while others, only a few hours. The constant buzz of 7 billion people on the planet was muted. Earth looked isolated in a matter of days! There was a spooky silence that had engulfed the environment.
What was shocking was how people around the globe reacted. The first few days of a lock-down suddenly triggered a desperate urge of the outdoors and, this from people who always craved for the indoors. If you compile the reactions of individuals from around the world, you’d probably roll in non-stop laughter; missing the beach, breathing fresh air ( what air do we breathe at home?), gossiping at the grocer’s, watching the flowers grow in my garden (ahem!), watching cloud formations (not possible from your window / balcony?), calling out to my neighbor to tell her that her cat was spotted on her roof ( did you lose your mobile by any chance?) — the reasons were as crazy as mankind ‘s interpretation of the pandemic.
The corona crisis exposed human meanness like never before.
Racism, when everyone talks about ‘fighting this together’, domestic abuse when its only your family you can stay close to and who could care for you and help you, salary-cuts when you know the same people have stood by you always and lay-offs, only because you want to hop on to the band-wagon that states ‘no cash reserves’.
On the other side of the fence you have the rebels who love to enjoy their 15 minutes of fame by holding placards displaying thir displeasure at the lock-down. We see people snarling at the civil authorities, the cops, health personnel and ridicule perhaps their own neighborhood folk who abide by the law and the follow the rules! Their excuses are equally feeble — we need to feed our families, pay our loans, manage the tuition fees of our kids, the list is long.
There will always be those who bend the rules and one wonders what triggers off such behavior?
Even while medical authorities are trying to fight the corona virus to the best of their abilities, the super powers have started discussing arms deals amongst themselves.
Will mankind ever learn?
#covid #pandemic #adversity #humanbehavior
