Walking back just now, I had the pandemic on my mind (you know, like you should). I got to thinking it's a good thing I'm moving within walking distance from my folks', in case they try the whole lockdown BS again. Here, you could only walk out for a limited distance during those hellish first two months, not to mention had to write down your trajectory and every stop on a slip note you'd present to the cops, if they stopped you. Why, or what authority that printed piece of paper gave, I've no clue, but that's how things were.
Anyway, I was thinking it's a good thing, since it'd be easy to get from one home to the other, in a similar crisis event.
And then it hit me that maybe, just maybe, the pandemic wasn't full bad.
I never would've dared stand up to cops before.
And why should I? Before 2020, I (like many) existed in that blissful belief that cops were authority figures that one should not mess with (even to an extent that they were around to obey the law).
But then, the pandemic hit, and we started seeing just how idiotic the police force truly was. That they were ready to harass, bully, and fine you for disobeying non-sensical mandates (not laws, mind). And in that situation, it's not only your right, but your duty to hit back (not physically, though). That when a cop was mindless enough to try and enforce mask mandates or these BS distance decrees, you had every right in the world to stand up to them, to say no, to challenge.
I remember watching a video of a local resistance figure arguing with the cops, and challenging them over where in the Constitution did it say they had the right to do this. In the end, the guy won, and even though I've come to reconsider my opinion of him in the meantime, I'll forever be grateful for that lesson.
During the long, agonizing months of the pandemic, I learned to walk without fear (as much as possible), and safe in the knowledge that if a cop did stop me for not wearing a mask, breaking curfew, or whatever else, I had to (a) remain calm, (b) speak up for my own rights. Because the cop, in many cases, didn't know so much of the Constitution in the first place, and secondly, really didn't care about my rights.
2020 Me says hi. Damn, I had long hair. And no, I'm just posing with the (new) mask for a friend. I think I wore it "properly" twice throughout the debacle.
You don't gotta succumb to bullies, was perhaps the most important and poignant lesson I took away from the pandemic years, and it's one I'll make damn sure I don't forget.
You can disagree with people without directing hate at them. I admit this one was a hard one, and one I still sometimes struggle with. It's very tempting to confuse the force of your personal opinions with how you feel about another person, but in the end, it is a destructive force that divides, and ruins our community.
The pandemic drove many families, friends, coworkers and even lovers to conflict and even nasty break-ups, divorce, and alienation. It was, I believe, one of the primary goals of the whole experiment. Yes, they wanted to see how easy we were to control (very). But also how easily we'd turn on our fellow man (also very).
So it takes active effort not to do that. To remember that, as much as possible, and even as you might argue against me, I must not hate you or hurt you. Because then, we both lose. And we all suffer.
Paradoxically, it also taught me to stand in my own opinions more firmly. Like most youths, I was fairly mellow. Much less so than some, yet in craving social acceptance, I was the sort who would back down, or keep my opinions hidden to avoid strife.
Not anymore. If anything, the pandemic taught me I could and should speak up for my own beliefs, and not compromise on my values. It taught me to be unflinching, and that true integrity comes from not hiding your opinions to be more likeable.
So while I learned to hold space even for those who held different opinions than my own, it also taught me to to respect above all what I believe in, and what makes me me, even though some people might not like me for it.
Finally, it's a good way to tell people apart. I'm sorry, but the opinions you held and the actions you took during the past three years say a lot about you. I know I probably shouldn't be judging others, but I do, on what they did, and how they held themselves. I'm particularly interested in how you treated others during the pandemic, so looking back through a person's pandemic behavior does tell me whether I want them in my life or not.
This post isn't to say the past three years weren't bad. They were disastrous on a level we haven't even begun to comprehend yet, in terms of population control and trauma, alone. It's more of a silver lining post, so take its content (and title!) with that in mind. :)
