Life is just a misery!?!

Monday, 03 May 2020. We entered in lockdown 3.0. How did it start? We could see people rushing to street only to queue up outside liquor shops. The news of opening of shops in general and liquor shops in particular, spread like wildfire. People made sure they get up early and stand in a queue to get their drinks. I wonder if they had shown the same zeal when their families asked them to go out and stand in queue to get some groceries.

One could easily see people using their emergency savings to quench their thirst of alcohol. Whether it was right or wrong on the part of policy makers or government to allow such shops, is not a part of discussion here. I just want to try and understand the prevailing human behavioural tendencies in the time of crisis.

We all had started getting forwards/ jokes/ memes on social media as to how people are dying to get liquor and thronging streets and shops. Social distancing norms seemed joke to them. Even the scorching heat could not deter them. Drinkers were all set to go and get whatever drink they get. 

While one may understand that it is difficult for an addicted person to stay away from his addiction given that sometimes withdrawal symptoms could set in and turn out to be more deadly than the addiction itself. However, overwhelming number of people coming out only showed that people could no more stay at home. 

Am sure, considerable number of the people who went there in queue would identify themselves as “occasional drinkers”. Also, many would have “arranged” funds after resorting to “domestic violence”! But “Shhh! Don’t you dare talk on that. It’s our personal matter!”!?!  

Whatsoever it be or whosoever it be – occasional drinker, regular drinker, addicted person – flouting laws, social distancing norms and thus putting overall public health at risk can never be justified. True, we all are bored of sitting at home, true we all miss our friends/ relatives, true we all miss our right to utilise public spaces and places but in a situation where we as a country are entering into a critical phase of pandemic is only going to worsen the things for us.

Now some may argue that we cannot be locked down forever and some or the other day we have to step out. Yes. I too agree to this. However, that time to step out is not right time as of. There is a reason why we are under lockdown at the first place. To contain the spread of the virus is the primary reason. But when we collectively disregard the guidelines/ laws/ norms and what not, we are collectively putting ourselves at risk – risk which could be more deadly than the disease itself.

Collective breaching of the rules will only make way for increasing the containment zones, increasing number of patients thus putting pressure on already wafer-thin, super exhausted health system that we have. And this is no joke.

Yesterday a video made rounds of media, wherein one could see dead bodies wrapped & kept in the same ward where patients are being treated. One can easily point out fingers towards inefficient health system. 

However, Doctor working there told that they are already short of personnel. Many of the health warriors, cleanliness warriors themselves have caught up the virus and now being treated. Whatever remaining number of personnel is there is working beyond their humanly possible limits, they haven’t went to their own homes for weeks together, haven’t slept well and is not eating well as well.  Every day new ward is to be opened for rapidly increasing number of patients. And one simply cannot afford to avail services of private hospitals as they charge so much that one will die of debt and not the disease itself.

Many may say that why target drinkers alone - labour too is moving, that too across various states. Whether they are exempted from rules/ regulations/ laws/ norms that we are talking all this while? Answer is no. They are not. However one cannot expect this from them. It is like expecting ethics from hungry person. As one cannot expect a person to not steal a bread when he is dying out of hunger, likewise one cannot and should not expect adherence to the rules from labour class who currently is living the most miserable life one can ever live.

It is easy for us to sit in our living rooms under the fan/ AC, relishing fresh delicacies thrice a day to say what nonsense these labour are. But at least try to get into their shoes. While us, the “privileged class” is struggling with uncertainty with respect to our future and when we will be back to our work, they the “labour class” is struggling to get the basic requirements of the life itself. 

Food came, shelter came, but there is no job, no money left, no way left to connect and call back to the near and dear ones. When in crisis it is normal human tendency to be around with your loved ones. Some desparately started walking back.

Railways did start their transportation back to their hometowns – but how many could actually afford the tickets? Videos went viral showing these labourers throwing away the food and booing the administration. But did anyone bother to go and show the reality? That food which they got was stale and stinking. The piled up hopelessness, frustration, desparation and helplessness was vented out.

But who cares? All we need to do is sit back and utter profanities against them and thus contribute to various “isms” – regionalism, racism, casteism, sexism, and communalism. And why so, because it is the easiest thing to do - to sit and rant about every single thing!

Today also when around 12-14 labours died on railway track, immediately “key-board warriors” and “social media warriors” started blaming that how careless they were to sleep on rail-tracks. 

But these labourers, the tired souls already had enough of agony. They decided to walk back to villages from rail-route so that police on the road will not catch them. Through rail, they will not lose the route. Also they might have thought it to be the safest place. In scorching heat, they sought refuge of the tracks since metal was cooler than the air around. Tired and therefore in their deep sleep, they did not even get a chance to try and run to the safe place and they lost their lives. 

But why should that bother us? What will their surviving families face, will they get compensated, is not our concern! Just sit back and blame them - poor and idiots!  

These were some of the forwards and discussion I got on some groups of social media. This media isn’t toxic. It cannot be since it is non-living virtual thing. The person behind it, we, we all are toxic. We all are dead from inside and have lost our sensitivities. We are not even eligible to call ourselves as humans let alone “social animal”.

This lockdown has afforded us handsome amount of time to reflect on ourselves, our lives and us as humanity. Needless to say, we are collectively failing in this. After all if “Life is just a misery”, then why to even try to get out of it!?!

PS (08.05.2020)