Social networks are not a representation of the real world. An extension of it, perhaps, and a parody, but not they aren’t real life. For all that, you don’t need to look too far to find that on social networks there are worrying portents of what could be to come as our country grinds to a halt. And it all stems from fear.
The fear covers a variety of aspects. Above all, I fear for family and friends, especially, and not just older folk. I have been furloughed from my job with my full consent and the financial hit, whilst significant, is not catastrophic. Losing family and friends is, without question, my biggest fear and I am not going to pretend that I am not concerned for my own well-being, too. If I thought things were normal and everything was going to be fine, it’s probably fair to say I wouldn’t be fully understanding what was going on and how serious this was.
I certainly worry for those who run small businesses and fear for their futures. You’d need a heart of stone not to feel for them. A few short weeks ago, the future looked bright, with work scheduled far into the future, luxury holidays planned and now the future has turned dark. Who knows what things will be like when Covid-19 is finally in retreat? My guess is that many thousands of businesses will never recover and that many of those that do will do so only by the skin of their teeth.
The working poor and the the sick and disabled already know that the social security safety net has holes so wide that many simply fall through it. Suddenly, those who never believed for one second that they would join those who claimed benefits in order to exist and are finding, even with current DWP easements, just how pitiful benefit rates really are.
Then, what happens when we have been in lockdown for many weeks and people start running out of money? When people have tired of Netflix, Houseparty and getting pissed out of their minds on cheap supermarket lager? The bills are still there and they still have to be paid. What happens when you have nothing and you have nothing to look forward to? Will people simply go back to work, ignoring emergency laws in order to put bread on the table? Or worse still, will we have social unrest? Desperate people do desperate things and fear is often the driver of desperation.
We’re two weeks into the semi-lockdown and while most of us are hanging on in there, doing what the government is telling us, there is a sense of unease. Has the government done enough to prepare the country for this, does it actually know what it is doing and what is the end game, and when will it become clear?
We either stick together in this national emergency, or we don’t. We either value the lives of our family, our friends and everyone we don’t know, or we don’t. Margaret Thatcher infamously said there was no such thing as society. Boris Johnson said more recently there was such a thing. I hope Johnson is right because if there is no such thing as society, we are in terrible trouble.
