HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRIPE-VINE
Don’t look now, but all the talk and fears of a global COVID second wave look very real – and this second “alon” should make us all count ourselves lucky, and extra vigilant, that we’re in a part of the globe where things seem to be better controlled and contained. Whether this better situation is purposefully managed, or out of sheer luck, is beside the point. What’s important is that we find ways to keep it the way it is, and not embark on some foolhardy route of “Recovery” that foregoes safety and prudence. Yes, the economy has to jumpstart; but it can’t become a situation of ‘one step forward, three steps back.”
As reported during the week that just passed, there’s a dire outlook in Europe. A massive number of COVID cases were reported in France and Spain, while the United Kingdom is projecting up to 50,000 fresh cases a day by mid-October – unless restrictive measures are reinstated. When you consider this coronavirus has been on everyone’s radar for six months now, creating havoc with the economy and livelihoods, it’s not surprising that the news of the second wave and the corresponding lockdown measures elicited strong, violent reactions from the citizenry there.
In Spain’s capital Madrid, protests were held denouncing how the COVID measures in place were discriminatory, highlighting the inequality between the rich and the poor. The argument being that, for example, in the case of online education, factors such as smart devices for each child of school age, and the tech capabilities of the teachers, would favor private schools for the affluent. Even when it comes to maintaining mental health and handling restrictions, it’s far easier to do so in an estate or a house with a garden, than in some cramped “pension.” I understand where the protestors are coming from, but the inescapable truth is that the virus doesn’t distinguish between the rich and the poor – a sad fact of lockdown life.
In his interview with Bob Woodward, US President Donald Trump graded his COVID-response a glittering “A+.” With 41,000 new cases a day in September, COVID deaths breaching the 200,000 mark, and 24 of 50 states reporting rising figures; it’s clear someone is living in abject denial. And the sad fact is that so many of the MAGA-faithful are ready to ignore the facts & figures, and believe hook, line, & sinker every word uttered by their President.
So for those whose businesses actually thrived during the pandemic, for those nostalgic for the allure and enjoyment of travel, it looks like those planned visits to European capitals, or to the USA, will still have to be put on hold for the immediate future – unless, you’re ready to face the serious health risks.
Chalk it up to the traditional Asian character, or to built-in habits and rituals, but we’re fortunate that so many of the countries on this side of the world are faring better than Europe or the USA. In Japan for example, their water rituals, obsession with hygiene and cleanliness, have served them well. Vietnam and New Zealand are sterling examples of how to address the virus on a national scale.
Here in the Philippines, our easy acceptance of the wearing of masks and shields has to be seen as admirable – unlike in the West, where their sense of entitlement or privilege has turned an obvious “safety first” directive into something politicized. There, for so many, it’s all “Me, Me, Me” and they refuse to see the wearing of PPEs as consideration for others, and see it as a transgression of their guaranteed and sacrosanct personal liberties. And they’re ready to blindly follow the mixed signals coming from Mr. Donald.
In truth, it’s still a topsy-turvy world. During the virtual ceremonies marking the 75th year of the United Nations earlier in the week, there was a bizarre reversal of roles. In the course of his address/campaign speech, President Trump was espousing isolationism, his “it’s OK to be Alone Again theme – along with his diatribe against China. The fact that this was all done online saved him from once again experiencing the stifled, but still audible, laughter that surprised him in 2018, when he started waxing about how in just two years, he had done more than any administration in US history.
When it was China’s President Xi Jinping’s turn to speak, he was waxing rhapsodic about multilateralism, about democracy, and declaring a plan to turn China into a “green champion.” Coming from the country that’s now the world’s biggest polluter, highest in carbon dioxide emissions, and is known for its authoritarian regime and repression of free speech, that was quite a lot to take with a straight face. It seemed we had stumbled into an alternate universe, a wormhole where plausibility and credibility were fictitious attributes.
And our own President Duterte did rather well, winning kudos from even his harshest critics here. Begrudgingly, they had to admit it was a praiseworthy statesmanlike effort from the President’s speech writers, finding the right forum to bring up our stance on the South China Sea; and that his delivery was lucid, coherent, and concise.