CoVID-19 – day 54

Its a mistake to rank suffering, not only because it trivialises the traumas we all have to deal with and collectively suffer from but also because it separates us according to our score. Real suffering is simply suffering that’s not imagined and to identify with suffering is to empathise with those suffering, not mark them as a sufferer.

I should be able to walk and chew gum as I navigate this dog’s breakfast of a crisis.

We are now seeing teachers being othered by the establishment commentariat as they idolise (yet don’t reward) those now identified as ‘essential’ workers. Its important to see this as social conditioning and the precursor of social engineering. The reluctance of heads and other teachers to bring children back into school in June will be used to portray a standoff between a unionised workforce and the needs of children and their parents. And you should not underestimate the depths of cynicism this government is prepared to mine.

I’ve just been hearing about a woman being murdered by her ex partner. That woman is not now suffering though her family will be. I wonder if there was a women’s refuge in her area that’s now closed down. I don’t know who she is so she can represent for us those whose lives could have been saved or suffering could have been ameliorated had the political will been there. No doubt I’m up for criticism for politicising suffering but if there ever was a reason to engage in politics, this is it. On a global scale, suffering has everything to do with politics and if you are watching suffering on the TV you are part of the problem if you cannot connect the two.

Even in an ideal world politics is one of the mechanisms for dealing with suffering. It feels grubby because it is. You should not have to fight tooth and nail in order to force a government to address suffering. On the one hand the government depersonalise us as if we were one of a herd but when we suffer they point us out in order to deflect from their negligence. Suffering and injustice is the stuff of political movements and if you are distressed by all the bad news you should be thankful to those movements for the comfort you have. Sympathy extends thoughts and prayers towards those suffering. Empathy shares their grief so that while we rail against the politicians and their handling of this crisis we feel for those of us (and they are of us) who bear the brunt.

And so I have to deal with the separation of concern for those many I cannot directly help in order to have a productive day. Empathy so easily morphs into self-indulgence and inactivity, yet carrying on as if all is fine has its own dissonance. I guess it comes down to what truly motivates me. Would I rather get the tissues out as I follow this soap opera or be part of the recovery. Do I indulge in despair or walk the tightrope of hope. If I can get through the day forgetting the pain and suffering does that mean I didn’t care in the first place or that the separation is successful? I can laugh and cry seemlessly watching a tragi-comedy if its written and performed well. I should be able to walk and chew gum as I navigate this dog’s breakfast of a crisis.