#oneyearoflockdown

[claire5hip]

It’s crazy to think that it’s been a year since the first lockdown. #oneyearofcovid #oneyearoflockdown (at Colney Hatch, Muswell Hill) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMwxkthD7FP/?igshid=u6kse9kvbr96

[claire5hip]

Today marks a year since the first lockdown. Can you believe that? #oneyearofcovid #oneyearoflockdown #dayofremembrance #dayofreflection (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMwxdsqj9Gw/?igshid=1vkbxrrsgdsc3

[cameforagoodtime]

In honor of one year of quarantine, I think that we should reflect on what this last year has shown us about our society.

I remember that for the first month, the pandemic felt unifying. I truly felt like there was a shared responsibility and identity. We cheered for essential workers (especially nurses and doctors). There were weird comments from celebrities (the Imagine video comes to mind) where they showed their lack of empathy, but for the most part we all did what we needed to do.

Then, very quickly, things went downhill. Come summer people stopped doing what they needed to do. Does anyone else remember that picture that came out of 100s of people at a pool party early in the summer, because I will never forget that. Very quickly people stopped caring. I know for me this has brought up many questions about human nature, because I truly don’t understand how people can think that their behavior is acceptable.

This pandemic has exposed the inequality more than anything has before. Celebrities have shown their true colors (I’m talking to you Kim Kardashian with your “my multi-million dollar birthday vacation was so humbling”). The virus has shown the socioeconomic inequalities in health, in healthcare, and most importantly in vulnerability. And it has especially exposed how racially divided socioeconomic status is. There is a reason that black people are 2x as likely to die of COVID than white people, but have the same likelihood of being positive. The problem is even more pronounced amongst hispanics and especially Native Americans (though the two groups are more likely to be positive on top of being significantly more likely to die). It has also shown us how selfish our “friends” are. The other day I got mad at my friend for going out to bars, and he had the audacity to call me an immature bitch with no friends. Way too many people stopped caring about the impact of their actions after a month, but this is not something that has gone away because we don’t want it anymore.

This virus has also exposed and worsened many other structural problems. Overdoses are at an all time high, we are in a mental health crisis, and the amount of people being radicalized online is enormous. We are at the beginning of a mass homelessness problem (because people are being evicted because their jobs went away, and how are they going to be able to get back on their feet after that?). Many of the issues with poverty that this pandemic has brought will be issues for a long time. Yet the stock market and the housing market, both things that are primarily invested in by rich people, are at an all time high. We will be dealing with the consequences of this pandemic for a long time to come, but just like with all major recessions, the impact will not affect everyone equally. There will be a group of people that are impacted by the loss of their jobs and houses for the rest of their lives, and there is a group of people that haven’t been affected at all, in fact it has even helped them.

Happy birthday quarantine, may you rot in hell for the rest of eternity