A magnifier of epidemic proportions
A magnifier is usually used to see things that are not clear with the naked eyes. However, there are a lot of things in life that are in plain view, but we choose to ignore them, or we keep to our comfort zones and acknowledge but do nothing about them — it is way beyond our realm.
Then came the epidemic, and we had to stop the continuous running and take a breath, not because we wanted to but since that was the only way to stop the spread. Did we like that? Of course, not. And, we still don’t, but it was the only way. Not just people who needed to rest; the earth did too.
COVID-19 or coronavirus has acted as a magnifier for many social and racial issues that have always been there. Still, once the virus took epidemic proportions, it highlighted and brought into view things that we can no longer ignore or say that they are not there.
COVID-19 had proven beyond doubt the effect of humans on climate change.
People in authority are riding the wave to try to gain more influence or take advantage of the state of chaos.
The poor are getting poorer, losing even that fine line of self-respect that kept them at the edge.
The poor find it almost impossible to protect themselves from the virus, and in England and Wales, Blacks have double the number of deaths as opposed to whites.
And, in the home front
Families are creating new connections that they had lost due to the fast rhythm of life.
The interactions are creating new ways of connecting as they are forced to be with each other all the time.
The magnifier effect is in action — they see each other with more clarity, but that is a double-edged sword as defects that could have previously been ignored are pronounced with only two options — deal or put aside. But in both cases, it is there and can no longer be hidden.
We are cooking and inventing in the kitchen with the negative side effect that we are overeating!
The other side of the coin is not so pretty
Locked up, there are those women who are locked up with their abusers, even the relief of going to work — nil. Taking into consideration that their spouses might be losing jobs, abuse is magnified.
Anxiety, depression, and many other emotional problems are reaching monumental levels.
Seniors are left alone for days on end, and especially widowers find that it is not just loneliness that they face.
Perhaps, it is the fact that there is so much time to analyze and work on our issues, see deep into ourselves, and while connecting with family. For those locked up together — it is excellent; it also serves to magnify things we would rather have left alone. On the positive side, it is time to solve other things that had been left on the shelf to long.
Magnify and deal — that is what it has amounted to; be it positive or negative — Covid-19 has done it and, monumentally.
Original post by Salwa Michel @mixreading.com