All things that were ordained festival,

Turn from their office to black funeral,

Our instruments to melancholy blues,

Our wedding cheer to a sad burial feast,

Our solemn hymns to sullen dirges change,

Our bridal flowers serve for a bridal corse;

And all things change them to the contrary.

— Shakespeare

What a solemn, sad, depressing quote that is, but it does speak of change, and not for the better too. There was a time when man lived in caves and hunted wild animals for food in order to survive, and he thought that it was good. There was a time when man planted crops, discovered the use of fire, and thought that it was good. There was a time when man invented the wheel, and thought that it was good.

At every stage of man’s life and development we revelled in what we knew, what we practised, what we perceived to be natural and accepted it as the norm. We were happy in our ways and garnered pleasure and contentment from our achievements.

But throughout the ages things change, evolve, morph into something else, and what was normal then, suddenly became normal no more. The horse and buggy, the chariot, gave way to motor-powered vehicles; bows and arrows and spears gave way to guns and rockets; wind-powered sailing ships gave way to steam-powered vessels and then nuclear-powered ships. At each stage what was once normal became passé, old, archaic, no longer normal and something else took its place.

To normalise the normal. That’s what we’ll explore today, right after we see what these readers had to say about ‘Inappropriate’.

Hi Tony,

One workplace where inappropriate behaviour occurs often but is heard about less, is the military. High-ranking officers prey on lower-ranking female members who find it difficult to resist or report the abuses due to military structure. At one time, the US military initiated a stop light policy, where if one member thought words or actions seemed inappropriate, the words ‘red light’ meant to stop, and ‘yellow light’ indicated to tread carefully. I assume ‘green light’ meant ‘come and get it, big boy.’

Patton

Tony,

Being inappropriate is often viewed in a relative way, depending on your perspective, for what’s inappropriate to the man is unacceptable to the woman. And if he suggests something and she likes what she hears, then it’s more than appropriate and all systems are go. He may touch her shoulder and she cries inappropriate, but she may stroke his beard and it’s acceptable. Nothing is absolute and it’s often a question of he said, she said.

Norman

Last week after watching the news, my wife said, “The world is a sad place.” All the stories of pain, grief, sorrow, illness, loss of life affecting people from all walks of life and social standing, some we know, others we do not know. But their pain is real, all brought on by this plague.

The endless procession of people falling ill to this pandemic is mind-numbing, and almost everyone knows someone personally, or has a relative who has succumbed to this plague of biblical proportions.

“It’s as if this damn virus has come to wipe out mankind,” is what I hear people saying.

In order to survive, to combat, to thwart, to dodge and avoid the virus, we have to change our lifestyle, adapt, bob and weave, take steps to deflect it and hope to eliminate it. Life as we know it is no longer the same, but as our ancestors did before us, we have to embrace the change and exist in the new normal.

Who remembers going to a social gathering, mingling with friends and colleagues, and chatting and laughing in close proximity? That was the old normal, and no one knows if and when it will ever return. It’s only been a year and a half ago, but it seems as if it was decades ago. I’m sure that the younger generation, in years to come, won’t even know what the old normal was, but only read about it in history books in the same way we read about how people of ancient times used to live and even snicker at their way of life. We can be plunged back into those dark ages in a flash.

When last did you shake somebody’s hand, hugged a colleague, shared a drink with a friend? Now we literally scorn each other, and justifiably so, for this virus does not come with a bumper sticker that says ‘Virus on board.’ Now this physical aloofness has been accepted so quickly by many people that it’s hard to imagine what used to happen before.

“Mommy, you mean to say back in those days when you were young people used to stand close to each other and shake hands?”

We rarely see beautiful smiles any more, as the masks, made to protect us from each other, have put a damper on those flashes of teeth.

But we have expressive eyes, and our smiles are reflected in our orbs even though our lips are obscured by the masks. But as in all things, there are detractors, as there are those opposed to the mask and refuse to accept the new normal.

There are still some people who refuse to distance themselves physically, and stick to others, breathing down their necks like lovers in the back seat of a car. If you speak to them about it, be prepared for a tongue-lashing, for their normal is the right normal, and nothing will change them. Unfortunately it’s not just their peril, for by not wearing a mask they jeopardise the lives of others, and therein lies the problem.

Despite the overwhelming evidence and scientific findings, there are still some ‘know-it-all experts’ who never even walked through the lobby of medical school, but somehow ‘know that the virus doesn’t exist’ and the new normal is fantasy.

Over four million people have died worldwide from the pandemic, possibly more, but the armchair experts still don’t believe that it’s real. I ask them, “What has killed all those people and made even more sick, including right here in Jamaica?” They tell me that they don’t know, but still they spout their rhetoric. At that point I walk away, for further discussion is meaningless.

One proven weapon to fight this virus is the vaccine, and this is where the armchair experts have a great bellowing voice. Vaccines have been a part of our lives from childhood, and no child is allowed to attend school unless fully vaccinated. That was the norm then and was accepted by all.

Because of vaccines many diseases have been put in check or eliminated — smallpox, polio, tuberculosis, rubella and others. But somehow, this vaccine is different, they say, as it was developed too quickly. That is so far from the truth, as vaccines to combat SARS, of which the novel coronavirus is a family, have been in development for years. But the armchair experts know better, even though they never took a chemistry or microbiology class in their entire lives.

They refuse to accept the new normal, and by doing so, put civilisation in great peril. Even from a mathematical perspective the evidence is overwhelming. People who are vaccinated are less likely to contract the virus, and even if they do, are less likely to get seriously sick or die. Of course, nothing is 100 per cent foolproof, and there have been ‘breakthrough cases’ where even people who were vaccinated still contracted the virus, but they are extremely rare.

The figures show that 97 per cent of people hospitalised from COVID were not vaccinated. Stark mathematical statistics in this new normal. What I cannot understand is why those who are against the vaccine are so vociferous and strident in their opposition and seem to be on a campaign against society.

As far as I see it, if you don’t want to take it, that’s your freedom of choice, and I have to respect that, but don’t go on a fear campaign and berate those who wish to take the vaccine.

The US news is rife with stories of public officials who were against the vaccine but succumbed to the virus. There are countless stories of private citizens who, on their deathbed, expressed regret for not taking the vaccine. Yet still, the rhetoric persists. As the experts say, the vaccine is like a bulletproof vest, a seatbelt, a parachute that offers protection. Would you not wear those three items if faced with danger?

I’m sure that many of you know of people who have got seriously ill or even passed away from the virus because they weren’t vaccinated. As my good friend told me, “If the vaccine even offer me 10 per cent protection me a tek it, for sumpting better than nutten.” Well, it offers far more than that, and the figures are beyond dispute.

Our lives have changed forever, and I don’t know when we will ever get back to the way we used to be. That old normal has gone, possibly forever, and we have to adjust and normalise this normal.

More time.

seido1yard@gmail.com

Footnote: On a more humorous note, a young lady e-mailed me regarding the effects that curfews and lockdowns are having on the cheaters. “What can the men tell their wives if they get stranded during the curfew hours?” she asks. “And what happens to the other woman during the no-movement days?” Men can’t say that they’re working late any more, for they’re now working from home. Wives also got their wings clipped, and the mistress gets less time from the husbands. Weekend rendezvous get a blow, including frequent flyer trysts.

Lockdown really mash up plenty dolly house, and I shall pursue it in the future.