2020: A Year Of Firsts

Oh, what a year it's been!  Consequently, like many folk, my mental health has not been the best which has made things that usually come naturally feel like walking uphill through thigh-high water.  Last week was especially not great.  But the good thing of a long history poor mental health is a lot of experience with getting it back on track.  So I sat down and made a list of things to sort it out.  And started actioning it immediately.

And this week already looks different.  While I was swimming today I was thinking of how many 'firsts' I'd had this year.  Not all of them have been great, but all of them have certainly given me an opportunity to understand myself better.  And I thought that thinking of what has been deemed a universally awful year from a different angle, might be useful.  So here are some of my 'firsts' from 2020.

1) I have survived a global pandemic (so far...)
And guess what!  If you're reading this, so have you!*  Congratulations!  Worldwide, it has taken the lives of over 1.14 million people.  But not mine, or yours.  I am extremely luck to live in Aotearoa where we have one of the lowest death rates in the OECD.  I really hopes it stays this way.  And I really hope other countries manage to get there too.  At no point in time prior to this year have I ever even considered having my life taken away due to pandemic.  At no point has this ever been a concern until now.  And now it is, I am so, so grateful to be alive.

During the first lockdown I built the Millennium Falcon

2) My whole family survived two lockdowns
And truly, this feels like an achievement.  Lockdown is not something I could ever have even conceived of having to go through in pre-Covid life.  And as a person who needs time and space alone to stay sane, the idea of being stuck with my family** at home for an undefined period of time was horrifying.  So the first lockdown was pretty tough.  Particularly the last few weeks.  Etta coped even less well than me and started stimming which totally freaked her out.  She missed her friends, and video calls actually just made that worse.  The great thing though was, we learned from this.  All of us did.  So the second Level 3 lockdown was ok.  Murray listened regarding some of the things I struggled with the first time and really made an effort to help.  The kids understood what was happening and were ok.  I do think this experience made us stronger as a family, and a little better at communicating our needs to each other.

The biggest bird I saw in Miranda

3) I went to Miranda
And holy crap I loved it!  While I had to cancel what would have been my first alone time trip outside of NZ on the sunny shores of Rarotonga, I still did get a holiday after the lockdown was lifted.  While I don't think this little piece of Aotearoa will be the pinnacle of every persons travel ideals, it certainly was for me.  Other than birds and a fabulous fish 'n' chip shop, there is nothing there.  The bird watching is amazing.  The weather wasn't  great, but that just meant less people around to interfere with my bird watching.  I give Miranda 5 stars and will certainly be back.

One of the dotterel I saw up in Kaiaua       

4) I saw dotterel and kotuku
Obviously a direct follow on from the last post, but still deserving of their own section.  The owners of the place I was staying in had said a kotuku had been hanging out in one of the neighbouring paddocks, and turns out - it still was!  I saw it twice during my stay but didn't get a photo as both times I was driving.  Still, very exciting.  And while I didn't see any dotterel in the actual reserve, on a tiki tour up the road I walked along a very stony beach and randomly found a few pairs.  I loved seeing them so much I went back the next day and they were still there.  I loved how they communicated with each other, and how they were wary, but curious, about me.  I managed to get pretty close, but didn't want to disturb them too much.  But it really felt special being on a completely deserted beach in the middle of nowhere with a couple of pairs of endangered birds.

5) I became a chicken Mummy
So two 'chickens' turned up on our street.  We had a decrepit hutch (courtesy of a friend) that we had loaned to our neighbour, so we caught and housed these 'chickens' and then about four days into lockdown they started crowing.  Crap.  They had been dumped due to their gender.  So sadly, these poor roosters had to go.  But this opened a window for me to plead a case for getting chickens.  My cousins neighbour happened to have excess young chickens, and with Murray's consent, three of them came to live with us during the first Level 3.  They are bantam/silky crosses and full of personality!  At the moment they are broody and not laying, but they have been laying gorgeous wee eggs before that.  And Taco (Murray named her) will let me pick her up and cuddle her.  It has been a wonderful addition to our whanau, and something positive for the kids to enjoy during the lockdowns.

Blanche, Taco and Luna when they first arrived

6) I tried Hello Fresh
This doesn't seem like a big deal, but it really has made a difference to our year.  I am cheap.  I run a tight budget.  Not because it's necessary, but because I just always have.  I grew up with not a lot and I've always budgeted, so it's hard to let out the purse strings.  But this year, well, I let them out.  Hello Fresh is not cheap for what it is when it's not a free box or on special.  And as someone who has decent cooking skills, I couldn't immediately see the value of it.  But I have since discovered that it makes a big difference to my mental load.  Just the simple thing of not having to think about shopping for a healthy meal truly helps.  Plus, Murray is more likely to cook because the directions are far easier to follow than my 'just chuck some courgette in' style of directing cooking.  It saved us during the last lockdown.  And during times where Murray's epilepsy wasn't great.  And now that I've broken my thumb... And I've used the recipe cards to reinvent my favourites to incorporate into our normal rotation.  It is not the greatest for the environment though, so definitely a stop-gap measure for us, but has absolutely been worthwhile.

7) I managed an emergency at work
This was another not so great thing.  But it happened, and it's important to take away the positives from the experience.  One of our customers had a stroke.  One of my colleagues who had been serving her realised, but her workplace first aid certificate was out of date, and she knew I'd just done mine.  While it took a few minutes before I called the ambulance (a little difficult to make the call to call as she was quite argumentative), my colleagues and manager were amazing.  They stayed with her and got her seated while I stayed on the phone with the operator.  And then the mall fire alarm went off and we had to evacuate the mall...

Our manager gave me her mobile to call emergency services back on, and went to evacuate the store while a colleague and our security stayed with me as we tried to work out how to get her out (she was not easy to carry).  Mall security realised we were there, we explained the situation and he grabbed a wheelchair from customer services and they managed to lift her into it.  I stayed on the phone as we wheeled her through the mall, and when met by the fire brigade (it took a while to get out) they helped us by taking her obs and assisting us to the ambulance bay where they got her on a stretcher and took her to hospital.

Sadly, our customer passed away that night.

In spite of this, I knew we had done our best.  Even if we had have been two minutes faster (which we could have been) sadly, the outcome would not have been any different.  This helped me realise I am calm in crazy, unpredictable situations.  And that I work with an amazing, caring team of people who will do whatever it takes to help people.  I also had a window into what our emergency service teams do for our communities every day.  Seriously, we are so lucky to have people who do what they do every day.  They are are real heroes.

8) I did Dry July
The best thing about doing Dry July, other than raising money to support those affected by cancer, is the difference it made in my life.  I am not a heavy drinker by any means, but I do enjoy a woody chardonnay or a cheeky sav a few times a week.  What I realised is how much better my sleep is when I'm not drinking at all.  So if my sleep is bad, or my mental health not so good (like now).  I just stop drinking for a bit.  It's brilliant.

9) I swam 5km in one week
So, I'm not a sportsing person.  The last time I tried to go to a regular exercise class - I broke my ankle.  Since then, I've been wary.  But after getting back in the pool about a year ago I realised, that even though I did love trampolining, maybe that wasn't the right sport for me.  But swimming absolutely is.  I started small.  Having never had any lessons outside what I learned in Primary School, it's never been something I'm amazing at.  And I'm still not.  But I don't swim to be amazing at it.  Swimming really helps keep me grounded.  And, before going into the first lockdown it helped me to lose 8kg***.  And the more I do it, the easier it gets.

Re-starting after the last Level 3 lockdown I thought I would be struggling to swim the distances I had been previously.  But the first day back I swam over 1km.  After that, I set my goal slightly higher - at least 1250 metres per swim.  And I did achieve that for a few weeks before my recent accident, swimming between 1100 - 1500 metres each session four times a week.  While I haven't lost weight, I feel fitter and stronger than ever.

My thumb splint.  It will be with me a while yet.

10) I fractured my right thumb
Another not so great thing.  Quite debilitating actually.  But at least I did it in a funny way.  I smacked it into the edge of the table when playing air hockey with Murray.  He will want it on the record that he won this game.  I want it on the record that I finished this game - with a fractured thumb.  Now that's a decent story at least.  The positives in this are that because I cannot do all things exactly as I used to I have had to try new things.  I put a housework plan in place (because I can't do all I used to do yet).  I simplified our meal planning whilst keeping things nutritious (a little less handy with knives).  I realised that I can use chopsticks with my left hand.  I got my first ever pedicure after realising I can't cut my toenails and it was not awful (I hate people touching my feet).  And, just ten days after my accident I got the all clear to get back in the pool (provided I wear my splint).  While I haven't managed the distances I was doing before - because it is still sore - I did finally manage to swim over 1km today which feels great.  I'm also back to being a regular at Hands Out West which is not a bad thing.  We're going to work on my strength once this is a bit better so that I stop continually spraining this thumb.

Pretty toes.  Might even do this again some time.

And there are more firsts than just these.  We also had our first pet picked up by the SPCA (the SPCA do amazing work), Abby's first day at school, our first home grown pomegranate, my first double vote Green.

In spite of all that is happening in the world, our lives go on.  And while this can be overwhelming, and have real impacts on our lives, this is not all that is happening.  It's so important to see this, to see what we have in front of us each day and to appreciate it all, the good and the bad, and use it as a place to grow from.

* Unless you are the ghost of someone who passed away from Covid this year.  If so, I am very sorry.  But please, continue reading.  You may find other things relatable.

** I love them, I just also really, really need to not see them every now and then.

*** I gained most of that back, but 2020, well, I'm going easy on myself.

On How Privilege Impacts The Covid Response

 If you are reading my blog right now you live with certain privilege.

Social media helped me feel connected
during the lockdowns           

• You are able to read
• You have time to read
• If you are from Aotearoa and can read this, it means you understand the language most used most commonly in public spaces.
• You understand how to use the internet
• You have access to the internet
  
• And this may not be true, but if you are reading this it is also likely that you use social media.  So you have a means of connecting with other people without seeing them.
  
  

Regardless of how much money you have in the bank, what colour your skin is, or when or where you were born.  If you are reading this, these things are true.

This also means you will have access to current affairs.  That you are able to watch the 1pm Covid updates, live or later, or read the summaries on news websites.  And if you are reasonably educated it means you can research the current pandemic.  That you can find the thoughts of expert epidemiologists at the click of a button.  You can see what solutions are being utilised overseas.  What is working, and what is not.  It means that, if you are unsure of the statistics, or what your government is telling you, you are able to research and find out more for yourself.

While this has become a normal image for many, there will be plenty for whom it is not.

Many, many people do not have these privileges.

I know this to be true having grown up with less privilege than now, but things I see in my daily life confirm it. My daughters friends parents, for whom English is a second language, are terrified.  It is hard for them to understand everything said about what is happening here, and their homeland - where most of their family still live - is not handling the pandemic well.  I've seen it when encountering someone at a supermarket over the last lockdown who didn't even know about Coronavirus.  They lived in an isolated place and did not use the internet.  Where this difference in privilege was most obvious yesterday was when I worked as a greeter at work next to the QR code at the entryway.

Not all retirees are this tech savvy

Many older customers were afraid of the QR code.  They thought that because they did not have the app they would not be allowed into the store.  They have become so used to being excluded due to lack of technology that they actually believed this.  They saw the QR code and were either angry or scared.  And it was heartbreaking.  I also saw a young woman pretend to scan the QR code with her phone.  Probably because I was there and she was scared I was judging her.  We also had customers afraid they would not be allowed in if they weren't wearing a mask.  I told a few anxious people where they could buy masks.  I helped someone use the app for the first time.  I did my absolute best to reassure folk struggling with our new normal that they were welcome and that I for one was not judging them.

But many are judging.

My colleague told me of an incident she witnessed at a butchers shop during level 3.  Where someone attacked another customer for adjusting her mask in a store where mask wearing was compulsory.  That the attack turned racial, attributing blame to a specific community* for the current Auckland cluster.  We have had customers act as though certain staff members were contaminated, purely because of the colour of their skin.  Customers literally saying they wouldn't use the eftpos machine because a specific staff member had touched it.  I was tagged in a Facebook post and called a bully because I had disagreed with someone's anti-lockdown stance.

While these things may shock folk who haven't encountered it, it is important to remember there is a reason for these attitudes.  And that reason is fear.

We are entering a time like none most people living have experienced.  And this is a global experience.  With the arrival of the internet we are more connected than ever before.  For those with access there is a flood of information available.  Whatever information we choose to believe, change and uncertainty is scary.  Humans naturally respond in certain ways to fear: fight, flight or freeze.  And here in Aotearoa, and many other Westernised nations the culture of attributing blame is very real.  When something goes wrong instead of asking 'Why did this happen?' many ask 'Who did this?'  Rather than focusing on solving the problem, many tend to fixate on who caused it.  And whoever they deem that to be becomes the target of their fight response.

And it is hard not to let fear dictate what we do.  While I work hard to avoid our 'blame' culture, I struggle with fear.  Not only am I human, but I have an anxiety disorder.  While I understand when my fear is irrational most of the time, I still struggle with managing the 'fight or flight' signals my body sends me.  So when I had stepped away from the internet only to come back to being tagged in a post where I was called a bully, I did not respond in the best way.  While I never attacked this person, I also did not take on board how scared she was.  I am used to healthy debates on differing ideas on social media.  I did not think to apologise.  Clearly she was overwhelmed with information.  She felt unsafe and attacked on her Facebook page.  Even though I did not technically do anything wrong, I should have recognised how upset she was, apologised, and moved on.

Because having not done so, I became the target of her fight, flight or freeze response.  This means she is even less likely to tolerate any information that goes against her existing mindset.  This means all of the stats, links, evidence, logic and hope I provided her with are completely useless.  And it isn't because she is stupid.  It's because she is human, and she is scared.

So how do we counter this fear?

With kindness and compassion**.  With understanding and communication.  None of us are perfect and we are not going to get things right all the time, but we can try and do better.  If we see someone not wearing a mask at the supermarket, rather than flicking them a scowl, we should give a smile.  And we can wonder why.  What do they not have access to?   Maybe they are struggling to adjust to a world of masked faces?  Maybe they are trying to normalise things for their kids?  When you see alternative info shared online, consider why they are sharing it.  How much education does this person have?  Is it easier to believe this than the reality of our current situation?  Is it easier to believe what is happening in the US is just 'fake news?' than facing the idea of mass graves?

Rather than prodding this fear we must understand where it comes from.  We can refrain from posting memes*** that exacerbate it, or reacting to memes that propagate it.  We can share balanced information that does not attribute blame.  Or, we can share information that helps others understand their privilege better, or the very real lack of privilege others experience which is exacerbated by our current situation.  And when sharing, understand that this will not be accessible to everyone you know.  We can help when we are asked to help, and we can step back when we are not.  We can recognise our privilege and not judge those who may not share it.

And we can stop focusing so much on blame and start focusing on problem solving.  We can follow the advice of experts and do simple things - hand washing, social distancing, staying home when we are sick****, mask wearing in situations where we can't easily distance.  We can focus on doing the best job we can at this - on setting a good example.  As I constantly say to my kids 'Please focus on what you're doing, not on what she (their sister) is doing'. 

The more we alienate ourselves from each other, the less likely it is that this 'team of 5 million' can come together and work toward beating this thing.  For us to be a team, we need to work together regardless - we need to help each other.  Regardless of our political beliefs, regardless of what we have or do not have.  Because if we don't, we are contributing to the problem.

Now this is a meme I can get behind!

* I don't think I need to explain this further, but I do need to reiterate that these folk did absolutely nothing they weren't supposed to do, and I am so sorry that not only did they have to experience Covid firsthand, but the massive, unwarranted public backlash as well.

** I need to make it clear I do not mean that if you see attacks on others you should not intervene.  You absolutely should if it is safe for you to do so.  But you should do it in the kindest way possible.  You have to recognise these actions come from fear, and articulate from a place of caring.  It is never ok to abuse someone because of your assumptions about them.  That abuse should always be called out.  But you can try not to exacerbate the situation.

*** Yes, memes are fun because they simplify things people relate to.  The problem with this is that they encourage folk to 'pile on' that particular issue.  And often they are centred around people  The other problem is that they propagate our desire to attribute blame.  And this does not help anyone.

**** Please understand that this is absolutely a privilege that many will struggle to afford..  If you can do it, please do it.  But you cannot know the impact taking time off may have on others, whether missing that shift is the difference between eating that week or not.  If you have the privilege not to have to make these kinds of decisions, please understand the difficulty it places on those that do.

On Kindness In The Face Of Coronavirus

As happens when there's a pandemic, much has changed in the very short time since my last post on coronavirus.  My position on this remains unchanged in that people need to remain calm for us to get through this intact.  What I want to reiterate in this post is how important it is to pay heed to what is required to flatten the curve and ensure we handle this more like South Korea than Italy.

Thank you Toby Morris

Why is it important to flatten the curve?

Because if we don't, frankly we'll see many unnecessary deaths.

The reality is that while we have protocols in place for this sort of thing, our hospitals just don't have the capacity to deal with this.  In all this craziness you may have forgotten that just last year we saw four times as many folk in Auckland visiting their GP's with flu-like symptoms (of which over 60% of cases were actually the flu).  In fact, last year Auckland ran out of flu vaccines.  What will happen this year if Covid-19 hits proper?  If there is a large, sudden influx into hospitals it will impact on all health care services.  So even if you (like me) are at low risk of dying from coronavirus, you may still be affected by the impact that coronavirus has on our health system.

Just because there are only 8 confirmed cases here does not mean we are out of the woods.  This is definitely an attitude I've heard from many.  Given it's just over two weeks since our first confirmed case, and the virus can present 14 days after contact it's very likely we'll see more soon.  And the reality is that most of the countries hit worst are in the Northern Hemisphere.  They are just coming out of their Winter.  Ours hasn't even started yet.  This isn't going to be over for us for quite some time.

We were due to head to Australia this week.           
While the kids were sad they miss out on Koala Breakfast,  
there are more important things at stake.              

And this is something new.  Whilst we have seen pandemics since pretty much forever, we haven't seen one like this in my lifetime.  Yes, there was the swine flu, but that was undeniably different.  The fatality rate for swine flu was 0.02%.  The fatality for coronavirus has crept up globally to 3 - 4%*.  So while it's not as deadly as measles, it is far more deadly than our last pandemic.  And with the world becoming progressively more global it has moved fast.  This virus has been confirmed in 140 countries and counting.  No-one was aware of coronavirus until the 31st of December 2019.  The first death from the illness was recorded in Wuhan on the 11th of January.  By the 13th of January, the first case outside of China was reported in Thailand.  By the 28th of February here, on the other side of the world, we had our first recorded case in New Zealand.  This has spread very, very quickly.

But not all countries have the same fatality rate.  In South Korea, the fatality rate on closed cases is 6%.  But over in Italy the closed case fatality rate is 44%.  That's a huge difference.  And the reason for this difference is that South Korea learned from their brush with MERS in 2015, took coronavirus seriously and had a plan in place for pandemics.  Italy did not have the infrastructure to deal with so many very sick people at once which is why the death rate leapt so suddenly.  Here in New Zealand our government is trying to emulate the plans set by countries like South Korea.  So while travel restrictions may be inconvenient, self-isolation daunting and the cancellation of public events a bit of a bummer, it is for good reason.  If we can avoid a 44% fatality rate** then surely it's worth it?

How does kindness come into this?

I've heard comments from many that they're not at risk.  It's just a flu.  It's no biggie.  And the thing is that for many of us, it won't be***  But that more than anything puts the onus on us.  To keep those less fortunate safe.  The elderly, those with compromised immunity and those newly pregnant.  This is a scary time for them.  Truly.  And while many of them will be self-isolating and putting strategies in place to manage, not everyone will be able to.  The reality is that  regardless of our health, we all need to eat.  I work with a number of people who are immune compromised and for most it's just not financially feasible to self-isolate.  And I work in an industry that deals with the general public.  There will also be many who may not know they are immune compromised; those in poverty who can't afford healthcare, those who are too busy to get things checked out.  Or those who are only just pregnant and haven't had a positive test yet.  I will be surprised if any one of us does not know at least one other person in this position.  These are the people who should be at the forefront of  how we choose to handle this.

It's also important to remember this will inadvertently affect those in poverty the most.  How can you self-isolate when you live with 11 other people?  How can you get tested for covid-19 when you have no car?  When you have no money to pay the doctors?  How can you keep your sick kids home from school when if you don't go to work there's no money to buy groceries?  And how can you keep up to date if you have no internet access?  If we are well and able we need to do our best to contain this virus before it hits those with less privilege than us.  Because they are the ones who will pay the most for our selfishness and stupidity.  And in truth, the ability to travel overseas shows a level of privilege.  A level of freedom.  And for those stuck in place by circumstance to be effected the worst by this just sucks.  Those of us with privilege need to support those with less.

I can't remember who it was, but someone said something along the lines of: 'act as if you have covid-19 rather than as if you are trying to avoid getting it.'  This is fantastic advice.  If we are sick, we work hard to avoid making others sick (well, most of us do).  Given many folk have tested positive that are asymptomatic, you could easily have this virus and not know it.  When I was 20 I had Epstein Barr virus with no symptoms for potentially weeks****.  And while I wasn't exactly kissing a bunch of people at that time, I'd hate to think how many people I may have given it to just through proximity.  There is no harm in acting with caution*****.

It's good to have enough basic food for two weeks

While there is no need to go to the lengths some have taken to prepare, it's probably a good idea to have enough food for two weeks in case you do need to self isolate.  However, if you don't it won't be the end of the world.  Close proximity is  'being within 2 meters of someone for more than 15 minutes'.  So if you don't need to self-isolate, shopping is still fine provided you don't chat whilst standing close for more than 15 minutes.  Taking the kids to the park is fine with the same addendum.  Going to the beach is fine.  And if you are self-isolating, having friends, whanau, supermarkets or delivery drivers drop things off to your home is also fine.

A friend (who is a Doctor among many other things) posted this fabulous, simple advice:

Things that work to reduce coronavirus spread:
- Washing hands and cough etiquette
- Social distancing, self isolation
- Looking after each other; especially the vulnerable
- Following official recommendations

I'm going to add to that:

- Try not to touch your face (it's hard! But I'm trying)

- Try to follow basic health measures to avoid the flu

- Get the flu injection. If we can cut down on flu cases this should have a flow on effect to hospitals which will make it easier for them to handle the impact from coronavirus. Even I'm doing this for the first time ever this year*****

- Don't be a selfish git.

This is a great opportunity for positive changes going forward in terms of self reliance and sustainability.  A great opportunity to learn and use new greetings.  Whilst things are uncertain it's important to focus on the positives.  And it's so, so important to think of others, and act with kindness.



* This is not based on closed cases - this includes open cases so may actually be much higher.

** It's also important to remember that deaths caused by a health systems inability to service people with non-coronavirus related issues are not included in these stats.

*** From a health perspective.  From a financial and lifestyle perspective, this will likely impact all of us in some way.

**** I had none of the standard symptoms besides extreme exhaustion.  I had been to the GP and while they checked my iron and B12, they never thought to test me for EBV.  It wasn't until I saw a homeopath who asked me a bunch of questions about my health that I was tested (she worked in conjunction with doctors and wrote a list of tests I should have).  Knock homeopathy/naturopathy all you like, but when they work in conjunction with medicine, just the act of actually listening, and asking questions to gain a holistic view can offer insight beyond what a GP on a tight schedule in a busy clinic is able to offer.

***** Unless you're using it as an excuse to hoard resources in which case there is much harm.  Panic buying puts unnecessary pressure on everything.  It's not helpful to anyone.

****** Not an anti-vaxxer, I just react to a LOT of medications so have some anxiety about having a jab that I know a lot of people have an adverse reaction to.

On our massive overreaction to coronavirus

Since a single case of coronavirus was confirmed last Friday afternoon, an epic level of crazy has ensued.  Sadly, this hasn't come as a surprise.  Since the WHO declared the outbreak to be an emergency on the 30th of January, I've seen and heard some crazy shit.  And most of it has come in the form of crappy ways to be racist.

In my workplace we had two racist incidents directly linked to fear of coronavirus.  In one instance a customer was afraid of touching an eftpos machine because it had been touched by a colleague.  This woman had deemed her to be a 'risk' for coronavirus based on no information other than what she looks like.  Not long after this happened one of our kids friends was told by a parent that to keep safe (regarding the virus) they needed to wash their hands regularly, and stay away from Asian people*.

At work I've had an elderly customer accuse us of 'hoarding' hand sanitiser because I could not tell them who our workplace supplier was (I do not know.  That is not my job).  I've had customers ask to purchase our half full hand sanitiser and then give me the evils when I said that wasn't possible as it was not a product we stocked.  We have hand santiser at the counters because we handle all sorts of things in the department store and don't have easy access to hand washing whilst on the floor.  We use it to keep both ourselves, and our customers safe.  We do this regardless of pandemic.  We are not hell bent on hoarding hand sanitiser.

Early in February Bunnings sold out of face masks.  These face masks do not prevent the spread of viruses.  What they are designed for is to prevent dust and wood/stone particles from being breathed in to someones lungs.  Buying these masks to prevent virus spread isn't just stupid, but it unnecessarily endangers those who actually need those masks:  our tradespeople and our DIYers.  These are the kinds of people these masks are designed to protect.

Support your local Asian Supermarket 
Unlike Countdown, there are no queues

And by mid February our Chinese restaurants were suffering.  Now unless you're dining on pangolin the likelihood of contracting coronavirus from food is very low.  Sure, most Chinese restaurants are run by Chinese people.  But being Chinese does not make people more likely to have coronavirus.  If you are assuming that most Chinese Kiwi's are flying in and out of Wuhan on the reg you would be wrong.  Not only are there travel restrictions in place, but to do that, you'd need a lot of money, and considering on average white folk earn almost double that of our Asian population that seems unlikely.  It also completely ignores the fact that many Kiwi Chinese folk may never have been to China.  Many have families that have lived here for generations and are just as likely to have come in contact with coronavirus as I am.  Today I did the vege shopping and mine was literally the only white face in my local Asian supermarket.  People, this isn't being smart or safe.  This is being racist and xenophobic. 

This is our response to one confirmed case in New Zealand.

I struggle to understand.  I truly do.

Well, I struggle to understand the panic shopping and water hoarding. 

I don't struggle to understand Brian Tamaki's reaction.  His responses are always fairly transparent.  He is taking advantage of peoples fears to promote his 'product'.  Given that his wife, Hannah Tamaki is heading a new political party, this is doubly beneficial for him.  The more folk on board with Destiny, the more votes they can count in this next election and the more power he has.  You might be thinking 'Balderdash!  No-one is crazy enough to believe in airborne demons' but you would be wrong.  People believe masks will save them.  People are hoarding food like the apocalypse is at hand.  This is the perfect time for those like Brian Tamaki to take advantage of peoples fears.

Yoda is here to save the day (again)                    

And thinking like Brian Tamaki is dangerous**.  He, and others like him will use the coronavirus to promote hate speech.  He will use coronavirus to back their idea of culling immigration by 97%.  He will use the rise in cases in Iran to back the idea that mosques are evil.  In promoting misinformation around coronavirus and its spread he is actively making it harder for us to manage best practice in containing it.  And in feeding on common fears, he will appeal to many more than you would think.

Now, onto panic buying.  Following the global trend, once Aotearoa had its first confirmed case folk started buying up large at the supermarket.  In Auckland, given we're in drought I do understand big water purchases.  What concerns me is that there are many on tank water who genuinely have need for this water***.  What if they miss out because John Smith has decided to stash some for the end of days?  I get that people are freaked out.  The reality is that this pandemic is impacting production in China.  The reality is that much of the stuff we take for granted does come from China.  But given the timing that hoarding began - immediately after a case was confirmed - I suspect most of these buyers weren't thinking of that.  I think they were thinking more about hiding at home in fear of the virus.  This thinking is also informed by how quiet my workplace has been since Thursday, and how quiet the gym and pools are.  People are scared to go out.

Panic buying is selfish.  It fails to consider those with greater need.  It fails to consider those with cancer or otherwise affected immune systems who need consistent access to hand sanitiser.  It fails to consider those for whom the masks are actually designed.  It fails to consider those affected by drought.  It fails to consider how this may impact on food banks, and those reliant on them.  On those who can't afford to panic shop.  Panic buying looks like people not thinking and making selfish choices.

What is far worse than this are those taking advantage.  Who see this fear as opportunity.

Frank and Fiona Gallagher making the most of a Chicago Blackout (Shameless)

We had a nursery sale a week ago and a man came in and purchased all of our thermometers.  Now, I could be wrong in my assumptions here.  This man may have been purchasing on behalf of a charity group, or purchasing for extended family to send overseas.  But I've often experienced customers doing both of these things and this man did not behave like them.  Usually they already have a finite number in mind, or people they are thinking of and naming/counting off as they choose what they want.  This man just said 'all'.  And to hedge his bets he bought one style of thermometer from me, and another from a co-worker at another counter in two separate trips**** so I strongly suspect they were purchased to onsell.  We have had to turn so many people away since because we do not have thermometers in stock.  Mostly parents of sick kids.  It's an awful feeling.  I am sure there are many, many other examples of this happening worldwide.

The immense drop in air pollution over China courtesy of NASA

I think the only reason we're scared about China shutting down is because we are scared of change.  We are used to our fast food and online shopping.  We are used to not having to think about where our food, clothing, furniture and phones come from.  The reality is that since production and transport has slowed in China their nitrogen dioxide rates have dropped drastically.  How can this be a bad thing?  We know global warming is real.  We see it happening right in front of us.  We just had 42 days without measurable rain in Auckland.  Why has it taken a pandemic to make immediate and massive change?

The reality is that we will have to make some changes, but most of those changes will, by necessity, be more sustainable.  We may have to start shopping seasonally as shipping from the Northern hemisphere slows.  We may have to start mending our clothes and buying second hand.  We may have to start considering buying NZ made when there are few other options available.  All of these things are things we should be doing, but many of us aren't.  These are all positive changes.

If we continue to live in fear, if we continue to perpetrate these selfish acts we will create more disorder, more hurt and more stress in what is already a scary time.  It is not hard to be kind.  In fact, we are stronger when we are united.  If growing our own fruits and veges becomes more important, we should co-ordinate with friends and neighbours to support those with greater need.  We can host clothes swaps to freshen up our wardrobes.  We can teach each others children those important skills around growing and preserving food that have been lost.  If we share what we have, we have more options.

Rather than choosing fear, choose kindness.  Support your local Chinese restaurants and supermarkets.  Think of others before you buy more than you need.  Remember the fatality rate is about 2%, and if you're under 50 that drops to 0.4%.  Transmission rates are slightly higher than the flu but much, much lower than measles.  This is not the modern plague.  Educate yourself on COVID-19.  Read the guidelines on how to keep safe.  Wash your hands.  Be rational.  But most importantly, be kind.

* I'm happy to say this misinformation was corrected by the other parent and step parent before it became a thing.

** While I'm not religious myself I believe strongly in peoples rights to religion freedom.  Consequently I cannot stomach those like Tamaki who aim to take those rights away.  While I am not religious I was raised with Christianity.  I have read the Bible (and the Bhagavad Gita) and I cannot for the life of me believe that anyone trying to be like Christ would behave as the Tamaki's do.  Jesus was about kindness.  He was about forgiveness.  He was about love of your fellow man.  He cared for those less fortunate (here's an awesome article about recontextualising how Jesus would behave now regarding homelessness).  He did not care for possessions or riches.  He threw the money lenders out of the temple.  He would never have people tithing when he knew they could not afford it.  While I believe in freedom of religion I cannot believe that a church that puts fear and hate ahead of kindness and humanity is a good thing.  I will not apologise for condemning these actions.

*** The need for tank water refills is so great that a friend said they were told by two water supply companies they couldn't get anything to them until April.  They are using the laundromat, showering at the local gym and totally reliant on bought water for drinking.

**** We just realised this yesterday ie: I didn't know she had also sold him a ridiculous number of thermometers and vice versa.  We conferred after another store called in the hopes that we had one, so I suspect this happened at other stores too.