EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF?

With a bottle of disinfectant in my shaking hands, my mind whirring with the consequences of touching the handle of the freezer of a popular and always crowded supermarket, I let out a tremulous sigh. What option did I have? The frozen foods my children are so fond of were calling out to me, beseeching me to pluck them out of that enormous freezer and take them home.

                                 

I braced myself, sucked in a deep breath and opened the door. And as the chilly air hit my face I felt no—saw an arm reach out from behind me, reach over my shoulder and grasp two of the packets of the frozen food items, pulling them out. I froze.

What just happened? What happened to maintaining social distancing, leave alone the fact that this person, had compromised and invaded my personal space and dehumanized me as if I was the freezer in front of us. It would have been bad if this had happened during the era before the pandemic gripped us in it's ever growing tentacles but to have it happen now was both scary and frustrating.

The man who seemed to be educated and smart at least on the outside had trespassed  on my space and God only knew if the corona virus had accompanied him too. I looked over my shoulder. His mask was on. Thank God for small mercies. And before I knew it, the covidiot had withdrawn his snaking arm, moving to another part of the store looking for other unsuspecting fellow shoppers and targets.

Now, I need to mention here that this took place not in the days of panic buying just before the country locked down. The lock down had long been over so the stores had become a little lax in handling customers too.

Not one for confrontations and handing out unsolicited advice—especially to strangers who would actually spit the well-intentioned message of social distancing and keeping ourselves safe in my face—I finished my shopping, did my duty by requesting the manager to ensure all rules laid down by the government and health officials were being followed especially when people were in no mood to and then scurried out of the store as fast as I could.

My home beckoned and I couldn't get there quickly enough. I deposited the groceries in the space demarcated for them, and then rushed into the bathroom, scrubbed myself clean with soap and water, washing off any droplets of the dreaded virus I might have on me.

With a cup in hot tea in my hands I finally took a breather from my adventures of the day. Grocery and vegetable shopping had now become a dangerous sport. I craved for the outing but knew I could come out of it infected and tormented.

I had hoped things had changed for the better since the pandemic hit us all? At that moment though I began debating that question. Every time I step out of the house to buy essentials, or for that rare unavoidable task, I look for signs that the small world around me has changed. That we stand united against the crisis we find ourselves in. That this calamity which has befallen the world has brought a shift in our thinking and actions. Sadly and clearly, for some it hadn't, as evidenced in the store.

Social distancing, stress on personal hygiene, wearing masks at all times for our own protection and for the many others we come in contact with was obviously not everyone's cup of tea. I see so many without masks, "this is a free country they say and no one can force us", not bothering about social distancing, going about as if they are completely immune, caring nothing for others let alone for themselves, waving away the precautions they need to take.

On the opposite hand I do see many instances of people looking past their differences in the face of the common enemy and coming together. The only thing getting me through this crisis is the many examples of human goodness, compassion and generosity of spirit.

Our local vegetable vendor told me his family refuses to let him step out of the house fearing like all of us for his life. He lies to them telling them nothing about going from society to society delivering vegetables. He says this is his job and he is the primary breadwinner. If he stopped working like many others, how would life carry on?

As I sipped my tea, the sacrifices made by the covid warriors—the doctors, the nurses, the police force, the others involved in essential services, the garbage collectors, the vegetable vendors, the small grocery store owners, the people providing food to the poor, came to my mind. These were people who put themselves out there when we remained safely ensconced in our homes. 

Has their work in the face of life threatening danger changed our perception of society, made us more empathetic, created stronger bonds among us, taught us to respect boundaries and personal space.

To a large extent yes. When I see the small shop owners disciplining people requesting them to maintain distance and stand in queues, when I see the guard of my building making sure everyone who walks in sanitises their hands, when I see my household help taking extreme precautions when they come to my home, I know some of us have understood. 

But on the other hand there will always be some who may just let the hard work of all those who sacrificed their health and safety go waste. Their blood and sweat all washed away by the carelessness of the few who just don't get it.

Will we be able to fight this enemy and eliminate it as a undivided collective force or is it going to be every man for himself? You decide!