HERE'S WHY SOME PEOPLE HAVE GONE CRAZY
or Explaining Why The Pandemic Made Some People Go A Lot Bananas
“Enough about the pandemic!”
I hear this from one or two people in response to any reference I make lately to the historic global health panic that shut down economies and killed millions.
It speaks volumes.
It’s akin to a fox being only mildly mauled during a fox hunt and escaping only to be told to stop telling stories about his ordeal at the local fox pub because it makes the other foxes uncomfortable.
It was kind of a big deal.
He’s gonna need to talk about it.
But I’m not going to dwell on the details of the pandemic.
We know those.
What has been a mystery to me has been seeing some otherwise nice, calm and rational people go a bit, or a lot, bananas during and since the pandemic.
Actually, yes… a lot bananas.
Anti-Vaccination.
Global Government Conspiracies.
Claiming to have lost their freedom.
Why?
Why suddenly go anti-vax all of a sudden if you had no problem getting a tetanus shot when you were a kid because you saw that one ad that showed a guy stepping on a nail and you were positive that the chances of stepping on a rusty nail were extremely high, like encountering quicksand high, and without your tetanus shot you’d get lock-jaw?
Why suddenly be convinced our own government was out to take all our money and make us slave workers for some mysterious new world order when we’ve otherwise spent the majority of our lives complaining that the government can’t get anything right?
Why suddenly claim to have no freedom while demonstrating said complaint freely while police look on? Or at least look on for weeks before acting because I mean, come on?
These are all regular people.
They have jobs.
They went to the same schools as we did.
They drive cars and own homes.
Why did they suddenly go… a lot bananas?
Then it dawned on me.
This is a group of people that have not been without struggle.
They have absolutely had their struggles that they fought through to survive and thrive from.
They are not all coming from a place of privilege.
However, this is also a group of people that didn’t really need to pay attention to the news.
It didn’t ever really affect them.
This is a group of people who didn’t really need to pay attention to politics.
It didn’t ever really affect them.
This is a generational group of people who didn’t really need to pay attention to much of anything outside of their own small communities and lives.
It didn’t ever really affect them.
Then suddenly… boom.
The news directly affected them.
Politics directly affected them.
What was happening elsewhere in the world directly affected them.
That would be terrifying.
They were being threatened with death, claims of being murderers, financial ruin and more if they didn’t get in line and fast.
Some of us heard those threats as warnings and felt compelled to do what we had to do.
Some of us just heard them as threats.
I’m not saying that those of us who didn’t go a lot bananas are better people.
I am saying that we may have been more prepared to accept what was happening for whatever reason.
I’m also not fully excusing the behaviour of some of the people who went a lot bananas.
Some of it was reprehensible.
However, this realization made me understand their position a bit more clearly.
I’m sure people much smarter than me (low bar) have made this realization as well and are using that insight to help us better weather future storms.
I also hope that those same smart people are finding ways to remind everyone that we’re all in the same swimming pool.
Someone pees the pool at the other end, it’s still our problem.
News may not directly affect you today but it may eventually.
Politics may not directly affect you today but it may eventually.
What’s happening elsewhere in the world may not directly affect you today but it may eventually.
You don’t have to over-consume news, politics, or global events… but it’s good to be aware.
Now… that’s enough about the pandemic.
Be kind and be mindful.
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This is a great post! I love reading your stuff, as it is a dose of proof that Canadian irony has not died, as all those poor people trapped in long-term care homes run for profit, not people. It remains sad, maybe tragic, that those who chose to be uninformed selected the most disreputable sources of opinion. We are in a maelstrom of disinformation, otherwise known as performative B#llSh$t.
I also feel that Conservative governments take advantage of these uneducated-about-politics-and-how-science-works people and play on their fears. Many of them spread disinformation and yell about how EVERYTHING is our PM’s fault; yet, most of what they’re yelling about are provincial matters. Where is our media? Where are the journalists ripping apart the disinformation and NOT giving this nonsense a platform? My MP consistently lies and blames, and her followers pump their fists in the air and talk about WEF taking over and how their rights are being eroded and how Trudeau is to blame for all of it! It is exceedingly tiresome. They don’t want to hear that Canada is usually at the top of any metrics showing us to be one of the best countries in the world to live. I fear what will happen if the CONs win federally next year; however, if provinces can turn away from Conservatism then we may have a fighting chance. But people need to get out there and VOTE, and to do so responsibly. Thanks, Stewart, for your keen insight with a large dash of humour; it helps keep us sane—no bananas in this bunch! Lol