Reactionary

While the world is going through a pandemic of completely unforeseen scope and consequences you probably don’t need to be taking advice or listening to someone who writes fantasy for a living (technically true at this point) but here’s the thing, I’ve been sitting in more or less self-isolation for the last two months or so, and I kinda have nothing better to do right now that write. Switching tracks from my novels to a blog post is kind of refreshing.

My company restructured at the end of last year and I talk voluntary redundancy after turning down one of the new roles. That means I’m sitting on a reasonably nice bank account balance and a cupboard full of toilet paper, because I despise shopping so I buy that in bulk. It’s made job hunting a little more interesting but I just tweaked my CV to say I have a clean bill of health from all that isolation. Clever, right? Here’s hoping they think so. We’ll ignore the fact that my current/former industry, broadcast television, is reeling from how to deal with a period where shows are being cancelled left right and center and there is no live sport being played. But moving on…

So here’s my take on it; pay attention to everyone around you. You’re going to see the best and worst and indifferent of people. The ones who take a macabre pleasure in the chaos, the ones trying to do good, the ones who barricade themselves  with an ‘every man for themselves’ mentality with their cache of bog roll and canned goods.

Most people will know some medical professionals in their social circle. Really pay attention to them, they’ll be the ones recirculating the good advice, the posts and the social media. They know and understand this better than you or I could so please, listen to what they’re putting out there.

You’ll probably see some people lashing out and assigning blame. Come on, not helpful. If you see people posting racial, xenophobic, homosexual, religious, whatever, call them out. If you or your friends are the kind of people who blame the government, well, regardless of whether or not that’s justified, it’s not helpful. If you want to see things done differently, go stand for office. Start with a local community board, then council, and move on up the political ladder. Be the change, don’t sit on the sideline throwing stones from your self-isolated keyboard bunker. Also, do you need a speech writer? I can work from home, right?

You know how you wanted to spend more time with the family? Get that job done? Work remotely from home? Well, I have good news for you! Did you know uber-eats and most supermarket chains deliver as well?

Not everyone can though, especially those in a gig economy. A lot of people, your friends included, will be doing it tough for a while. This is actual trickledown economics but in a bad way, things get cancelled it affects all the staff involved, think caterers, cleaners, people who don’t have things to fall back on. No concerts, no sports, no festivals, no to shows being produced. It does add up and even a few weeks can add up. It doesn’t cost anything to reach out and see how people are though. You don’t have to be in the same lifeboat, because personal space, but you can wave to each other while the ship goes down.

If you’re one of those savvy entrepreneur type people who have your own and preferably online businesses, you might be doing ok. It’s a wakeup call to all of us how quickly things can change and how people deal with that. Who would have ever thought there’d be a black market involving hand sanitizer? I hear it’s going in the schoolyard for a dollar a squirt. But not for long, because they might close the schools and then you’ll all be stuck at home with your little angels. The bad news is playdates probably aren’t an option, the good news is Disney+ is fast-tracking Frozen 2 to your account. Your opinion on good news/bad news may differ. But just think of the awesome blanket forts you can build with your rug rats out of toilet paper rolls and canned goods!

You’re going to see a lot out of everyone, the people you know and people you look to; good, bad and ugly. I see people who go above and beyond to make sure everyone else is ok, but also those who I have to question my relationships with who do nothing but take and bring everyone down. It’s stressful and scary and would be hilarious if it wasn’t so serious. But humour is a coping mechanism and that’s ok too.

There’s a very good take on this by one Jonathan Pie that sums it all up; “My first thought when I heard that a bunch of clueless, stupid, reactionary fuckwits were stockpiling bog roll, my first thought was…clueless, stupid, reactionary fuckwits. My second thought was…must buy loo roll. Lots of it.”

Now, with that after way, I need to get me some of that.