The Three-Fold Virus of 2020

Right about now, people are panicking everywhere in the world. My brother in France posted about the Croix Rouge on Instagram. Friends in Thailand are stuck trying to handle the situation. Even if we're in a city or state that is so far relatively untouched by the coronavirus, we spend all day wondering when it will get to us, like a deadly hurricane we can't see.

But some side effects have taken place that are strong forces in their own right. Racism against Asians has caused some Chinese restaurants to nearly go out of business. An unforeseen shortage of toilet paper specifically has brought out the violent and desperate streak in some. It turns out that disease, while it can bring out the best in humanity, also brings out the worst when it is as mysterious as the current assailant.

The public cannot be entirely blamed for their inability to understand the proper way to handle the situation. Usually in tough times there is an adversary. When it's a mass shooting, we know who to blame. When a storm cripples a town, we still have a direction for our anger - against nature. But now the threat is invisible, and we don't know how to make ourselves feel safe.

The coronavirus has the added curse of being brought on by other people. As a result, people become afraid of each other, and their opinion of everyone around them is cast into shadow. If supplies aren't grabbed quickly enough in the store, there is a moment of believing that the other person will survive instead of you. There is no clear-cut way to 'help your neighbor'.

We fight the virus by washing our hands and keeping away from other people. We fight racism by ordering in Chinese food and treating Asian citizens with respect. But we cannot forget to fight agoraphobia, by being generous and level-headed when shopping, toning down our outward suspicion around others, and curbing our own tendency to find an enemy to blame.