There is no doubt: stay home. No one is questioning that (or at least very few are questioning that). And yet we still see images and social media posts outraged at those who go out, infected or not. To many of us it seems irresponsible, and sends people into endless online rants. I am often tempted to get angry too. But maybe there’s more to it, and maybe those who are not respecting lockdown rules are not as ignorant and stupid as we think.
People respond differently to stress, to grief, to fear and anxiety. Whether you can call it fight or flight, or something else, we are all responding differently. I’ve seen friends who have gone into lockdown and have worked more and harder than they ever have before. That way they are too busy to digest this new reality. Others go into fight mode, stock up and get new systems in place for this new life, new rhythms, tackle lockdown head on.
Then there are others who are so freaked out by this current situation that they are in denial. Or they can’t bring themselves to go into full lockdown like the rest of us and face the truth of what’s going on.
Maybe those who are not honouring the lockdown and isolation rules are not doing so out of idiocy, defiance or ignorance. Maybe they are just so frozen in their fear and stress that they can’t bring themselves to do life differently.
That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t call them to respect the rules, flatten the curve and stay inside. It just means before we rant and get angry, lets be kind, on the off chance that they are not handling it as well as the rest of us.
Be kind. To everyone.
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