Teach and people ought to follow. Discipline is taught at an early age. Mothers teach their children (assumed all mothers do) about discipline, rules and regulations which is further reinforced with exposure to schools and people. Personality, character development and changes happen along the way but basic discipline is assumed to stay. If that was true, how would we explain the motive for ‘covid parties’ that were hosted by college students?!
With the pandemic spreading gravely, all we have to do is protect ourselves (and others) through simple measures. It involves simple masks, gloves, soaps, sanitizers, social distancing and indoor confinement. These simple measures can protect you from a disease that is debated to have a minimal mortality rate but sadly known to cause permanent harm to one’s health. You are bombarded with information and advertisements on how to protect oneself during these times. Whether it’s on tv, newspapers, mobiles or computers, the safety measures are hard to miss. In spite of it, you have people who are oblivious to it and demand a life of normalcy during these times. While the nuances of normalcy may vary from person to person, the basic goal of survival should remain the same. However, you have people openly defying these measures and some who have gone to the extent of questioning them. Apart from ‘stupidity’ being the key factor for this behavior, there are few more reasons that make them act irrationally and almost all of them can be fixed only if they choose to.
In many places, demanding people to wear masks is considered a breach to one’s freedom and privacy. They feel that they cannot be instructed to do certain things that were previously not mandated as rules. Selflessness takes a backseat and personal liberty of choices takes precedence. For them, it doesn’t matter if their personal choices go against the good of an entire nation; they will do what they please. At times, it has even led to violent retaliations.
Recently, there was an incident where a bus driver was assaulted by a group of passengers for asking them to wear masks. He was declared brain dead when brought to hospital and died five days later. There were incidents of restaurant staff being attacked by customers who didn’t want to wear masks. Such inhumane treatment for demanding safety is ridiculous!
In another place, parties (‘covid parties’) were organized by college students in order to see who contracts the disease first. This is beyond stupidity! It seems that such activities are held for a short claim to fame. With social media dominating the world, publicity of ridiculous and absurd events are hot favourites. This motive easily fuels bizarre behaviours amongst those who don’t live by rules. When the world is battling a pandemic and simple safety measures are advocated everywhere, how hard is it to obey them? I somehow believe the ones who defy these rules are the ones who have always had some form of disciplinary problems. It could be from a young age or it could be in their adulthood where levels of ignorance and arrogance have been built into their personality.
It’s interesting to think about how the type of news that is spread through the media also has an influence on how people think. People have largely become combative on an online platform. There is fake propaganda, online bullying and news busting which leads to distortion of reality. This somewhere leads to non-acceptance of basic preventive health measures. Some people would want to question these as well; when, in fact, in times like these, such measures require full compliance with no questions asked!
In this strange world, we live amongst those who believe they are superior to everything. Unqualified people judge the virulence of a disease based on its mortality rate (somehow the permanent damage that it causes to their body is not important) and behave callously if they ‘deem’ the numbers to be low. Then, there are other over-confident ones who believe “it won’t happen to me” and go around with their so-called ‘outdoorsy’ life. A simple sacrifice for the good of others (and yourself) is a concept alien to many, just like the concept of ‘selflessness’. Sad, but true.
