I thought it couldn’t get any worse after the toilet paper fights. I thought wrong.
The countdown is on in New Zealand until Alert Level 4 lockdown. I’m finding myself getting a trifle anxious. My anxiety
is not so much over the Covid – 19 virus, or even the impending isolation. Rather it is about the behavior of my fellow
human beings.
The latest is that people are buying guns. Apparently, people are lined up today outside the Gun City branch in Penrose.
People reportedly want to buy air rifles that do not require a license.
What are they planning to shoot? Is this the apocalypse? Did I miss something? Why are people buying air rifles instead
of self-distancing? Do they see themselves, commando style, shooting a sparrow from the branches and roasting the poor
bird over a fire for dinner? I don’t get it.
Apparently, my fear is for nothing. These guns cannot kill anything and are only used for target practice with tin cans.
So maybe they are just worried about being bored.
Nonetheless I’m scared. I’m worried that we do not have the collective brain cells as a nation to deal with this. It is
going to turn into a horrifying real life dystopian apocalyptic nightmare. Not because of the virus. But because of
people.
I thought that most of us were onboard this mission to halt Convid-19 coronavirus. It could be so damn easy. All we have
to do is follow instructions. Shop as normal. Self-isolate. Don’t touch your face. Wash your hands.
Nope. Too hard.
And the Warehouse isn’t helping. They are determined to keep 92 of the Warehouse stores open, claiming that they provide
an ‘essential service’ to kiwis. The Warehouse are the jackals of the big business world, preying on people’s consumer
addictions, scavenging.
It has been reported by MBIE spokesperson Paul Stocks that there has been no confirmation on whether or not the
Warehouse is an essential service. The governments is still working through which firms will be able to stay open. But
that has not stopped the Warehouse from telling everyone they are essential, and they will be open.
I really hope that the Warehouse does not get permission to sell you a bargain at coronavirus special rates. Imagine all
the people, lining up with their air rifles, buying bargains, swapping viruses and snatching toilet paper.
The corona virus does not care about your survival. It seems that the Warehouse doesn’t either, willing as it is to
exploit people’s vulnerability to buying non-essential goods in the middle of a pandemic.
Panic buying is ongoing. I think we need to reword it. It is not panic – it is greed and selfishness and
thoughtlessness. Yesterday and today there are queues outside supermarkets, with people mingling and providing the
perfect breeding ground for the corona virus.
Supermarkets and chemists provide all the consumable goods that are necessary for human survival in this world, at least
in the short term. Where that fails online shopping services can pick up the slack.
You don’t need to panic buy, and you certainly don’t need an air rifle.
Play fair – this is not a game of monopoly. It is literally the game of life and death. Your unnecessary trip to the
supermarket or gun store could cost someone their life.
Who are the ones most prepared for the lockdown? The ones who stayed calm and stayed home. The ones who know that we all
matter, that we need to stick together and look out for one another. The ones whose values extend beyond the loo paper
roll and air rifles.
Be kind to one another and think collectively not individually. Your life, and that of someone you love could depend on
it.