The Tyee: How COVID broke Canadian society [View all]

We have now reached the point called “capitulation,” when most governments and most of their people decide it’s time to “live with COVID” (or to die with it).

“Saying we must learn to live with it while having no plan whatsoever for how to do that undermines the legitimacy of those in positions of authority, and the phrase is, in the end, simply code for ‘we give up’ and ‘you are on your own.’” Like the old “choose your own adventure” books, we can now choose our own pandemic.

That may have bought governments some temporary peace and quiet, and enabled people to gather in bars and schools and airports. But Parsons argues, and I tend to agree, that capitulation has fractured and re-fractured Canadian society.

“The more difficult to deal with for many,” says Parsons, “is the harsh realization that those around them — society as a whole — did not value their existence.... The realization that anyone could simply be cast on the trash pile cannot help but damage social relations and cohesion in a society like ours, that claims to hold compassion and humanitarianism as core values.”

The first 18 months of the pandemic, I felt that both the government and my community came together in unity to do what was needed, however inconvenient, to protect each other. Sure there were the crazies and the anti-vaxers who made some noise, mostly on social media, but for the most part, it felt like most folks were trying their best to be what the article calls “ethical subjects”.
In the past 6-8 months however, that has changed, and it definitely feels like the attitude of most folks is now “you’re on your own”. After mask mandates were lifted here back in, IIRC, around February, there was still probably 60-70% mask wearing indoors. Now, most places I go, only about 10% are wearing masks (not counting employees), and the vast majority are older seniors. Sometimes, I’m the only one wearing a mask.

Here in BC, only those over 70 are eligible for second booster/4th shot; that should change soon, as they start giving second boosters to those over 60 and six months out from their first booster. The case number are extremely unreliable, so are no longer reported by the media. Death rates have leveled off (43 last week) as have Hospitalization (325 last week). But it was only a couple of weeks ago the news was reporting that some hospitals (Victoria area for example) were overflowing, and lower need patients were being sent to hotels converted into step down facilities.

For now, I’ll keep wearing my mask, avoiding most crowds, and as I’ve been for the past two years, remaining, Lonely In Paradise.