Haves and have nots, nobody is invincible

I see these individuals up and about (healthy, fortunately) behaving like the pandemic is really no big deal.

The world at any point of time gets divided into the haves and have nots. It is an idiom used to speak of the differences in the poor and the wealthy. Whilst its usage is mostly confined to the comparison of the possessions or the lack of it, its wider use does encompass the other differences as well. In 2020, the pandemic once again put us in two large categories – positive and negative. We were clubbed into those who’d faced the Covid-19 and those, who hadn’t, yet. Furthermore, the virus divided our lives’ timelines too – into pre-coronavirus and thereafter. In 2021, we once again have found ourselves into two camps again – those, who have taken the vaccine and those who haven’t. Of course, the subcategories included the first dosage vs. both dosages, under the subheads of the chosen vaccines.

These groupings don’t bother me much, for I have come to understand that we’re all dealing with different realities here. However, it’s the callous attitude of those who fall into the bracket of having tested Covid-19 positive and recovered that has got me worried, anxious, and a tad furious as well. I see these individuals up and about (healthy, fortunately) behaving like the pandemic is really no big deal. They made a narrow escape due to better immunity, age factor, et al. and have decided to discard any pieces of advice, precautions, and more. This, even as experts stay divided on whether we can get infected more than once. This group of people have already decided otherwise.

Let’s blame it all on the DNA of human nature, which has time and again suggested that our memory is indeed short. Once, we’re back on our feet, we forget what it took us to get there – we move on, swiftly, until we fall, yet again. Especially if we did overpower the enemy once. As I scroll through timelines on social media, I am confronted with lengthy posts on how individuals have once again found their mojo, after an episode with Covid-19. So, they’re back to hosting gatherings, clicking selfies, and in some cases, offering unwarranted pieces of advice as well. They fought well; one can’t take away that from them. But they can’t blame us to be the party poopers if we choose to decline their invitation to the post-Covid 19 bashes.

Yes, once again, our realities are different, and hence our experiences. But the bottom line does lie in another idiom – once bitten, twice shy. There is wisdom hidden in these words, only if we care to pay heed.

purva@khaleejtimes.com