Covid-19 The New Aging Accelerator
Really, at my age I did not need this additional aggravation. The clock is already in full countdown and this self-isolation is precious time wasted. Since mid-March, our freedom to go as we please has been curtailed for our own good. The worse part is that it is an open-ended situation and we may be locked down for months on end. Not to be able to make up for lost time is very frustrating. Time passes by, I work out in the morning, read, watch opera, visit virtual museums, write to friends but do nothing really concrete. I particularly miss my routine of going to the movies and restaurants, and making travel plans. The Russian roulette health aspect of the pandemic is stressful enough, but being unable to plan ahead is disheartening.
Not only, has Brazil not been spared but we are totally kept in the dark. Many people, sick with the virus are certainly under the radar. Three of our reception staff are sick at home, with Covid-19 symptoms; because they cannot be tested, they are not included in the statistics. The paltry testing means that no one believes the numbers of reported Covid-19 cases. We feel that occurrences and deaths are grossly under-reported, which suits the government well. President Jair Bolsonaro has always pretended that coronavirus is no more than a “little flu,” a sniffle. He also stated that Coronavirus cannot harm Brazilians because “they can safely swim in sewage!” Against the advice of his own medical team, Bolsonaro has steadily resisted locking down the country. He instead recommended “vertical isolation” whereby only senior citizens and those with pre-existing pathologies should stay home. As in The United States of America, the governors of the most populous states took the matter in their own hands and issued lock down orders.
With these contradictory positions in mind, it is not surprising that the population does not believe in the benefits of social distancing. The confinement has been particularly porous in slums and poor suburbs. The result is a sense of fear, anguish and paranoia for seniors (I check my temperature nearly as many times that I wash my hands!) and recklessness and selfishness for young people.
The media paints Brazil as the next coronavirus hotspot, and even without increased testing and tracking, the government and the states governors are making plans to gradually reopen the economy in May. The expected re-opening pandemonium causes seniors more anguish as they will be compelled to continue self-isolation with increased care. The city kids think the virus is no big deal, they (wrongly) feel quite immune to it and show little concern for the wellbeing of the older folks who in their opinion are inevitably going to die anyway. The lock down is particularly resented, has it not curtailed their freedom? Because patients in ventilators are primarily baby boomers, the overwhelmed health system is of no concern to young adults.
There is something Darwinistic in the way the coronavirus has been hitting people, the law of the survival of the fittest, hence the popping up among the Gen-X and millennials of the “Boomer remover” meme on Twitter. Baby Boomers are regarded as both an economic burden and a societal one because they also have to be protected. The gloves are coming off on Twitter, some seniors are fighting back and a new intergenerational war is going on. This “boomer remover” reeks of unlebenswertes leben, the “life unworthy of life” Nazi doctrine of the late 1930s. Notoriously ignorant of history, Millennials probably consider the 20th century similar to the dinosaurs’ Jurassic era.
Needless to say, seniors do not feel that they have to be protected against their better sense. I very much resent this cataloguing. Expendable with and expired shelf life, seniors feel like second class citizens no longer able to make their own decisions. They are being patronized, like underaged in guardianship. Seniors are portraited as characters of dystopian television series.
Happily, seniors in their majority will survive the Covid-19 pandemic, aggrieved nonetheless to have been robbed of at least six months of their life, which seems like an eternity. In compensation, I will cover my mouth and nose with a mask, a welcome de-aging accessory. Besides, at two meters away, no one notices my wrinkles.
Leblon beach, midday
From Rio: "Thanks, I commiserate and feel the same. No end in sight. Got nice face masks, but haven't gone out yet."
ReplyDeleteAlso from Rio: " I like your last paragraph, a light touch! As you write we are in the dark. The situation in Brazil is getting worse and worse. I wish I could get out of Rio, and go far...from here. I am dreaming of a coronavirus free island!"
ReplyDeleteFrom NYC:" I am really getting scared. Apparently, the pandemic is likely to last as long as two years. Covid 19 is sneaky & much harder to control than influenza, and resurgences will happen. A life in lockdown: I am falling apart!"
ReplyDeleteFrom somewhere:" Good blog B. I agree with you on the recklessness and careless attitude of younger people. They gamble with their life, fine but they put our ours in jeopardy. If they get sick, guess who gets that precious ventilator?"
ReplyDeleteFrom the USA: "Loved your blog. You’re right; the worst of it is the sense of time wasted.
ReplyDeleteThough we can still keep in touch with friends, read good books, etc., so I don’t feel that it’s totally wasted. Are you able to get out and walk each day? I find that helps hugely.
Your other point, that it is depressing not to be able to make plans, is also spot-on. I think it’s going to take a long time for things to go back to normal—not much point in traveling if the world is only semi-open, and if there’s still a possibility of getting sick.
As for your age, I think fitness factors into the equation, and you are the most fit person I know!
And of course, in both the US and Brazil, the sheer frustration of being led by idiots who have made the situation so much worse!`""`
From France: " Je reponds à ton commentaire sur ton blog .La situation du Bresil est vue en France comme un aberration en fait on sait peu de choses et Bolsonaro est la plupart du temps vu comme un irresponsable c’est limite genocide on se débarrasse des favellas, des pauvres, des vieux, des faibles, des parasites de l’amazonie etc...j’imagine que pour toi, senior, à Rio le discours ambiant est anxiogène et surtout dérangeant. Quand je vivais au Bresil et dieu sait si j’ai aimé cette période et si j’ai aimé le Bresil et les bresiliens mais j’ai toujours pensé et mes amis aussi qu’il faisait bon vivre au Brésil quand on était jeune.... et sinon riche du moins à l’aise....la population brésilienne est jeune on ne voyait jamais les personnes âgées (les parents de mes amis avaient bien sur une vie mais entre eux) je ne suis pas étonnée de ce que tu dis que les seniors ont eu leur temps ....mais je pense qu’il s’agit des « vieux »à charge ....ce n’est pas ton cas même au contraire tu prends en charge femme de ménage portier etc tu ne fais pas partie du « boulet »pesant sur les épaules d’ une classe d’âge jeune active dynamique consommatrice etc ..... ne te laisse pas stresser par ce discours pour le moment on est tous dèsemparé on tourne en rond on ne fait pas de projet donc pas de rêves d’evasion finalement même les livres les films la musique.... peinent à combler cet enfermement vivement demain! bises"
ReplyDeleteFrom another friend:" i have lost control of my life! Cannot make plans, very frustrating. My mental capacity is taken by worries about my survival. Meet friends virtually, this is nice but falls short of the real thing!."
ReplyDeleteThanks, Beatrice, you describe exactly my feelings. I liked the comment by your French friend - we may not be young but we are indeed "dynamic consumers". In the past we have contributed to the economy with our work, and now we contribute by consuming and travelling. (And one day we will travel again, but I don t know when ...)
ReplyDeleteA well-known German politician, when asked about mankind s biggest future problems, replied: "uncontrolled migration and pandemics". A pandemic is nothing else but the uncontrolled migration of a nasty virus.
We are witnessing a major historical event, not that I ever wanted to. I survive, thanks to my on-line friends, books, films, etc. Last not least thanks to my "emotional support pet". Now I know how he must be feeling: sit, stay and sleep most of the day.
On a lighter note: I bet that around 2030 we will be having our caipirinha and discuss the movie "2020". I wonder who will play the role of Bolsonaro and Trump?