Winding down the virus lockdown a lesson in confusion

We thought we’d buy some handkerchiefs - shouldn’t it really be nose-kerchief? from a local clothing store that’s had its ups and downs lately. You know, buy local, support merchants who are your neighbours etc..

We entered said store, a large one and not a narrow boutique, and were immediately greeted (confronted?) by two employees in full hazmat gear (OK, maybe not the smocks). They ordered us to wear a mask (which they supplied), not touch anything unless you really seriously plan to buy it, and provided a personal escort to surveille us while we browsed - sorry, no browsing. And also, sorry, no handkerchiefs.

After a cursory examination of some sun hats from a safe distance, we were out of there, by the specifically designated door, vowing to never return until hell freezes over or a COVID-19 vaccine is readily available.

By contrast, the same week we visited two big surface hardware and reno stores, and after a cursory hand scrub at the entrance, went on a freefor-all, doing our best to keep a distance from similarly unmasked shoppers, follow the arrows on the floor and not paw or slobber on too many items not intended for the shopping cart.

On the other hand, at a local grocery store we were not allowed to put our purchases in our own cloth bags, as we planet-respecting folks now do as a matter of course. The cashier put all our items in plastic bags (as we groaned) and told us if we wanted to transfer our purchases into our bags we’d have to do it outside the store.

Then there is the head-scratching example of hair salons. As of last Friday, hair chop shops outside Montreal with street doors were allowed to open subject to distancing and sanitary procedures. Salons in shopping malls, however, remain shuttered. It is hard to imagine customers desperate for a trim crowding spacious mall concourses and creating conditions comparable or worse than in grocery or hardware stores.

We could go on and on, and so could everyone else, about the maddening inconsistencies of pandemic practices and procedures. The rules of re-engagement, if you will, seem improvised, random and strangely devoid of a scientific basis. The most prevalent and glaring example of all is the wearing of masks.

In this regard, we see the mysterious and baffling workings of the human mind on stark and disturbing display. Young men whipping by on skateboards and bicycles, folks alone in the hermetically sealed chamber of their automobiles, workers alone on a home reno project, all wearing masks, all abiding by some suggestion, rule, guideline, law, whatever, they heard about somewhere.

To mask or not to mask has been a major conundrum as we enter what might be called the end game of this pandemic. Or is it the beginning of the end game, or the end of the beginning of the game, to borrow from the ever-quotable Churchill.

As it turns out, predictably, we suppose, the hardest part about this pandemic is turning out to be how to wind down the lockdown. In retrospect, particularly given the exceptionally miserable weather, the government edits to stay at home, work and learn from home, make silly videos from home, were relatively easy to respect and obey.

Now, with warm weather beckoning folks outdoors, discipline has melted as briskly as did the snow. One of the most heart-wrenching examples of this phenomenon was the Montreal nurse who tearfully talked about working desperately to save COVID-19 patients in the hospital and then seeing “a park crawling with people, playing soccer and basketball, hanging out, having a great old time.

“I can’t help but wonder, how the hell do people encourage us and praise us every single day and then go out and do that?”

We have now arrived in the pandemic zone where the overzealous impulses clash with the anarchic tendencies in society. There’s bound to be more chaos, confusion and contradiction ahead as we navigate this coronavirus storm.

Ca va bien aller - one way or another.

We must consider ourselves at level zero.

As a society we can sink or swim, or we can make supreme efforts to build a new economy.

Since there won’t be work for everyone, we must share what work we have. Consider the following method; I call it the ‘one in three’, three periods of activity of four months each.

Four months of employment; four months layoff with E.I.; four months stand down with E.I. benefits if you are in training for the job market requiring skilled labour.

A simple practical method applicable to all with a ‘can’t say no clause.’ Everybody works, everybody eats.

Serious consideration should be given to drafting large numbers for five periods of four months (18-month draft).

Our future is going to require much defense planning to protect our resources and industrialize our future.

The superstar industry should be brought down to reality size. Rather than high paid professionals we would be better with well-paid amateurs and get a better game.

One more thing; get rid of unnecessary high tech.

High tech now holds the stick to make us move faster, to increase profits, what got us into this mess in the first place. Enough said.