Yesterday, 7 April 2020, was the first day of 'Circuit Breaker'...
(In Singapore, we don't call it 'Lockdown')
It's only the first day... and I can see the rules are breaking us apart... We are diving into TWO basic groups - The Privileged and the Unprivileged - whether consciously or subconsciously.
This law is flawed. (Well, LAW itself is flawed anyway...)
How come no one see what's coming...? Did anyone has any preparation proposals to deal with the coming social issues?... Oh... The Privileged will not see the problem(s) of the Under-Privilaged.
And if you are not sure which group you are in, here, let me help you a bit... You are consider 'Privileged' with the following points -
1. You have a loving family
2. You can hug your loved ones at home i.e. your partner, kids, parents and pets
3. You have a domestic helper
4. You have a kitchen
5. You know how to cook
6. You are tech savvy
7. You have a computer/laptop/tablet/smart phone
8. You possessed many various interests
9. You have many hobbies
10. You are mentally and emotionally stable
11. You are mobile and healthy
12. You are literate
How many points you have altogether?
If you have (at least) 3 - Good enough.
If you have more than 3 - You are blessed and you are one of the Privileged!
We all want to help the situation... We support the 'Circuit Breaker'. We are fine to stay home for 28 days. However, the following are some situations that you might NOT have thought about... Use your imagination! Picture yourself during the lockdown under these circumstances. After that, maybe you can give some good suggestions.
1. You are staying home with an abusive partner
2. Your parents are constantly fighting and there will be no peace at home
3. You don't have a tech device because you are poor
4. You are a senior who doesn't know how to use a device
5. Your kids constantly 'ignored' you at home and you only have caring friends in the CC
6. You stay alone and you are not very mobile.
7. You stay alone and you happen to get sick (NOT from CoVID!)
8. You have a boy/girlfriend and you don't stay together
9. Your parents stay very far away from you
10. You are not your parents' favourite at home
11. You don't know where to collect your mask
12. You are mentally/emotionally unstable...
And the list goes on... Of course, you might not buy in to some of the above situations...
Frankly, if you can post on social media and report about what's outside, whether at food court or market or void deck, it means you were OUT too! If not how you know leh?
I am NOT against the scheme. But I sincerely feel that we NEED to think about the OTHER STORIES as the Privileged ones. What are our 'precautions' and preventions? Where is the Help Line? How can we ensure people are SAFE at home? If we don't do anything or make conscious effort to help, there could be an increase in domestic violence and suicide cases after 28 days... Are we prepared for that?
I don't have a proposed solution. I just hope people don't judge others so fast. There might be a story that you don't know that's not part of your world. You won't be able to understand because you are not them. So, just do your part - do whatever you can/want for yourself. Don't need to 'police' others. You are not to judge. If you are really worried about the other, then approach them and give them a little advise in a nice way. You can do it! It'll help more than your postings on any social media. The person cannot see your postings!
Seriously, what's stopping you? You can do it. We are all here to help the situation right...? Then get a loud healer and stand in the centre of the square or market and convey your kind message, or talk personally and nicely to the uncles/aunties, show them you care! Show them you want them to be safe! And if they still don't listen, at least you have done your part. Why must wait for the police to do it? It's a nationwide matter! I agree that we all have our responsibilities and we should share it together! We wanna make the Circuit Breaker work, right? Social Media is NOT going to help you to do that! And if you can't bring yourself to say it directly to the other party, it's ok. Just take care of yourself! You are not obligated to do it. But you will also not have any stand to judge.
I know there are the selfish ones... The ones that don't care - the egoistic ones. But how do you know who is which if you haven't hear anything from that person or had a conversation with him/her? It's like CoVID-19 right?! LOL Nobody knows.
