Why Are We Behaving Like The Pandemic Is Over?

Asks Rupam Jain amid the chaos that has ensued across the world with lockdowns being lifted and people dealing with the ‘new normal’

- Rupam Jain

Pretense is humanity’s greatest identity. Because it strikes a familiarity. A familiarity we have grown up with, learning to ‘overlook’ things, ‘act’ as if nothing happened, and ‘behave normally.’ It’s so ingrained in us that we know nothing more than to go back to our own way of pretense.

That’s exactly what we are doing right now. Pretending that there was (is) no pandemic.

Come to think of it, we have just two reactions to everything catastrophic. Panic or pretend. We have done the former. Now on to the latter.

My sister tells me she can see traffic jams from her balcony. This is in West Bengal. Can you believe that? How many people and vehicles must be out on the streets for there to be a traffic jam! And here, I was thinking traffic jams were a thing of the past. But no, we like our chaos. Anything shutting it, we shut ourselves against it and, yes, pretend.

The highest single-day spike of COVID cases hitting new records every other day is a proof of what we are putting ourselves through in the garb of pretense, amidst allegations that fear is being spread unnecessarily. Really? I mean what will anyone benefit by doing so?

We have crossed one million cases, remember that.

Let’s face it. There is an economic slowdown. People have lost jobs, homes and loved ones. Every other person I know is jobless, packing bags to leave cities where they have worked hard to make a living; and going home, to now save the cost of living. So, what are we talking about – unnecessary fear! We ought to be scared. Only then can we mend our ways.