What I have learnt from COVID-19 so far: kindness, prejudice, empathy and freedom
As I discovered during the Hong Kong 2019 protests, challenging times call for reflection. We are currently on day 19 of the UK lockdown — possibly still at the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. I would like to spend some time gathering my thoughts so far on how societies are reacting to the crisis. After all, staying at home means I get to do things I previously “did not have time to do”, such as thinking and writing.
Before I start, I must say I am very grateful as my life, compared to those of many others, has not been that badly affected. My heart goes out to those who have lost their love ones, those who have lost their livelihoods as well as those who are risking their lives serving the rest of us.
Kindness
Starting first on a positive note, adversity can bring the best out of us all, as human beings. At a community level, I have seen how volunteers have spontaneously come together to set up mutual aid groups, to fund-raise for NHS workers and the vulnerable, or simply to look out for each other. There was without doubt a lot of initial enthusiasm that quickly faded away, but I am most impressed by those who have kept committing a huge amount of their time and energy, tirelessly working away to make a difference.
On a side note, I am fascinated by how, driven by the pure desire to help others, groups can self-organise to get things done under such fast-changing circumstances. In a society where we are used to be dictated by process (even for someone who works in startups), it is refreshing to see how complete strangers can self-organise and create a sustainable structure organically. Yes, processes need to be in place, e.g. to avoid misinformation or to safeguard individuals, but they should not hinder progress at a time of critical urgency. No amount of upfront planning would have led to the immediate and tangible value that some of the local groups are bringing to the communities.
Prejudice
On the flip-side, I noticed an increasing amount of prejudice throughout the period leading up to the current crisis in the UK. As an ethnic Chinese who has lived in the UK for most of my life, I have always felt “accepted”. Yet it is astonishing how the notion of equality can suddenly feel so fragile, when a society is overpowered by irrational thinking and even hatred. Given the outbreak first began in Wuhan, China, COVID-19 was initially being branded as the “Chinese Virus”, which, to some people, meant that every East-Asian-looking person they came across suddenly became a potential virus carrier who must be avoided. Incidents of racial abuse against East Asians have become more common across the UK. Businesses such as takeaways and restaurants plummeted. Even though these acts of abuse were only committed by a minority of ignorant/cowardly individuals, there was certainly a growing sense of unease. I felt that I was no longer a “Londoner”, but a Chinese virus-carrier in London.
Ironically, and rather regrettably, it was only after an increasing number of cases associated with Italy that I felt the prejudice (and focus on the Chinese) was starting to fade.
In such times of crisis, rational and critical thinking is more important than ever. I hope we will all come out of this a better and fairer society.
Empathy
Prejudice comes primarily from fear of the unknown and a lack of empathy. The use of face-mask is still a somewhat controversial topic. Generally speaking, people in Asian countries are much more used to wearing face-masks than those in the West, mostly because of their previous experience with SARS. That said, I don’t think anyone anywhere would want to walk around wearing masks, if they had a choice. Before London became a COVID-19 hotbed, friends from Hong Kong were even telling me that they felt “liberated” when they came to London and did not have to wear face-masks. However, discrimination against people wearing face-masks, as was the case before the UK lockdown, is simply a sign of arrogance and a total lack of empathy.
I have seen how UK’s attitude towards COVID-19 has taken such a drastic turn in the past few weeks. The problem suddenly feels real when the curve does not seem to want to flatten, and when cases begin to appear much closer to home, in neighbouring European countries that are popular holiday destinations. Empathy is about putting oneself in someone else’s shoes to understand what makes them behave differently from you, and not being judgemental.
Individual freedom and responsibility
Finally, a stark contrast between Asian countries and the West is how civilians respond to government advice/order. I am quite an individualistic person — I like my freedom, and I do not want to be told how to live my life. I like to think I am a good person, and I make my daily decision based on supposed common sense. Such attitude of individualism characterises the general response I have seen in the UK. To think that the state can track and restrict an individual’s movement will only conjure the nightmarish image of George Orwell’s 1984.
However, data has shown that civil obedience has been critical in Asia’s fight against COVID-19. Is it therefore possible to balance individual freedom and effective crisis management? I think this is a difficult one, which I am still struggling with somehow. One thing is for sure: as the philosopher John Stuart Mill once said, “the only freedom which deserves the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it.” And how do we achieve this? Through empathy, I believe.
That’s all for now. I will probably write another post as the crisis comes to an end. I wonder what else I will have learnt by then.
