Is coronavirus a misdirection?
Is coronavirus
a) An attempt to distract the populace from the evils of 5G?
b) A bio-weapon that escaped its US lab and has spiralled out of control?
c) Actually even more dangerous than the media are making out?
d) A weapon developed by the Bill Gates Foundation to weed out those who are politically opposed to Bill and Melinda Gates?
e) A distraction from other, more important and destructive issues the planet is facing?
All these options are opinions that have been held by people at some point during the current spread of Covid-19 and, as it stands, there has been so much media hysteria I'm not sure it's possible to rule out any of these insane possibilities.
Except e). I'm no conspiracy theorist but I am a cynic, and while I'm not sure it is governments' intention to distract populations from the far more destructive impact of climate change, I'm afraid that's what's happening.
And it irritates me beyond belief.
Climate change is happening. I don't think it's going over the top to state that it's not just change, it's chaos. Personally, I'm confident that much of the chaos is manmade, but I have no time for arguing the toss over that one. Basically, it's happening, and we need to adapt – it's like the Joel Pett cartoon: "What if it's all a big hoax and we create a better world for nothing?"
Fortunately, there are companies, organisations and individuals around the world who are adapting and making the transition to sustainability, who are forging new ways of doing business without having such a negative impact on the environment and communities.
But you wouldn't know that, because most of the mainstream media is filling airtime keening and wailing about an illness.
Now, I'm in danger here of denigrating those who are taking the impact of coronavirus very seriously; notably those with compromised immune systems. I'm assuming every fast-spreading illness that rears its contagious head fills such people with dread. And I am genuinely sorry for that – this is why we have vaccinations, and I am glad of it.
But. BUT. If people are having to be told only now to wash their hands and cover their mouth when they sneeze or cough, what in the name of heck were they doing before? And. AND. Vaccinations can't really do much for viruses. (This is another argument I am keen to avoid, because we really don't have time. The flu vaccination is one of the least effective – 15%, as opposed to at least 70% for BCG.)
Basically – there's very little we can do about a virus. An illness. We can't and shouldn't stop living our day-to-day lives. "Stay at home!" says the government. Really? Who's going to pay the bills? "Ban buffets in hotels and restaurants!" Hmm. What about the self-pick fruit and veg areas in supermarkets?
Which reminds me, it's all very well people flooding the supermarkets to stock up on toilet roll (why?!) and hand sanitiser, but are they wearing gloves when handling the shopping basket or shopping trolley?
No, didn't think so. All of this hysteria is just leading to half-arsed attempts to halt the unstoppable, and in the meantime...
In the meantime, there are forest fires, melting ice caps, rising sea levels, and the threat of mass extinction. That's ours, by the way.
And this isn't hysteria, either. This is brutal, cold, hard, inescapable fact. The media aren't wringing their hands about that. Governments around the world are not leading systemic change. They're not even drawing attention to or applauding those who are.
In fact, the only good thing to have come out of the coronavirus backlash is the cancellation of flights, which is having a marvellous effect reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
As I said before, I'm not so paranoid that I think governments are purposefully shifting our gaze away from the far more harmful climate chaos. There are so many ways of mitigating that, and adapting to it. It's such a shame the organisations seeking to make the world a better place are not being given a platform. In this time of mass frenzy it would be nice to read about something positive.
In the meantime – sneeze and cough into your elbow; wash your hands with soap; turn off the lights; and walk, don't drive.
Book coach & copy editor. Author of Making Pearls From Grit cancer memoir
4 年And if you would like to hear the people who are actually trying to make a difference, head over to Sustainable: The Podcast to listen to them