Editorial note: This is the republication of an Inwood Gazette post from four years ago, at the dawn of the COVID-19 Pandemic, on this date in 2020.
March 16, 2020
By Tiana Suber
“Everyone is stupid! This is ridiculous! Everyone is just stupid!”
I was in the middle of a Trader Joe’s grocery store last Friday when a man yelled this at a crowd of people stock piling whatever was left in the store to buy. In a fit of anger over empty shelves and panic buying he then rolled his empty cart down the aisle and left.
My first thought was that this guy is crazy as hell and has completely lost his shit. My second thought was that he was absolutely right…about everything.
How does “everyone have good hygiene and wash their hands” translate to “panic buy all the toilet paper.” There’s no toilet paper anywhere! My mom went to four different stores to find out that crazy people have bought all the toilet paper. Who buys three things of toilet paper from Sam’s Club? You won’t need toilet paper again until way after the apocalypse has ended and Jesus swoops by and asks for a ply!
This virus has revealed the ugly in humanity. People are flying to other countries for a $100 round trip vacation risking their health and the health of others. Racism is rampant against the Chinese community. The government is hesitating on letting all people have paid sick leave so that they can take care of themselves and their family. It’s just ugly.
On top of everything else schools, resorts, restaurants, movie theaters, concerts, sporting events, and churches are all closed. The world has been put on pause.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the stillness in the middle of chaos. Even though there is chaos all around and people are panicking and feeling helpless, there is also a stillness. The world is on pause and we are being forced to be still. We are spending time with family, reading a book, meditating, praying, dancing, resting, healing, and exercising. We are writing and being creative and doing all of the things that we normally wouldn’t have time to do in an ever busy world. I believe it’s time to reset and think about doing things differently.
I could go on and on about people’s panic buying (I mean who buys all the taco shells!), the government’s lack of preparedness in a crisis, and people not caring about other people. All of these things are out of my control. However, instead of panicking I will take in the stillness. I will spend more time with my mom. I will read a book, do some meditating, dance to music in my underwear, and just be in this moment of pause to be thankful for all that I have right now.
Peace in the middle of chaos.
Photo: Trader Joe’s in Springfield, VA on Friday, March 13, 2020 by ©Tiana Suber