Think back to the start of the pandemic. I know you don't want to. It's not over, and the people who say otherwise have money to make on the backs of the dead.
But when the lockdown orders came, I was happy. Unemployment, though a pittance, would keep me from being homeless for a while. I spent the time exercising, writing, reading, doing recipe dev work, and a little remote consulting, while being very, very careful about where and when I shopped for groceries. (Sidenote: How do you know it's shaping up to be bad? When the local Mexican market is out of dried beans.)
Weeks passed, slowly and steadily. I kept a diary for most of the first year, and much of the less personal notes were centered around how other people were reacting to the physical realities of the situation. "Cabin fever" was running rampant, and even in my social circles I would often see things like "Not being able to go out, see people, and do things is wreaking havoc on my mental health.", and all too often that left me seething.
Those most likely to say such things were (and remain) those least inconvenienced by such necessities. Often able to work remotely and so sustain their income, financially comfortable enough to get food and groceries delivered, or even live independently. The social side of their lifestyles, though, had been cut down to a size quite familiar to me, and to a great many others in my field.
The food business doesn't pay well, despite what seems like far too many working hours. Nights, weekends, holidays, they're all spoken for, and the effort leaves many too worn to do anything else even when times allow. What does that all too often mean? No socializing. No parties. No restaurants or nights at the bar. No favorite hangouts, movies, or events. Naught but sitting at home, contact with others only through radio, phone, or screen.
Sound familiar? So... restricted by plague? Or by poverty? Not much of a difference between, really.
Now in the grip of COVID, the rest of the world learned, or were reminded, of what it feels like to have no means, no access to many of the joys and pleasures of life. What did a great many of them do? They crumbled.
Those of us who deal with such handicaps as a part of our normal lives have had a very hard time finding sympathy- plenty of us were and still are working, risking our health and safety to better ensure the comfort and ease of those with the ways and means to stay secluded.
They really ought to work harder to be worthy of our sacrifices.
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