Unpopular Opinion: I'm thankful for Covid-19 (Coronavirus)

Covid-19 (Coronavirus) is the latest virus to sweep the world and claim many lives, young old, and in between.

Now, by the title of this you might think that's the part I am thankful for. So let me be clear right now and say the deaths related are NOT WHAT I'M THANKFUL FOR.

Well, okay if it managed to claim someone who deserved to die (yes, there are those who deserve to do so), then I can't say I'd be too upset.

This is why I'm thankful:

I truly believe that our world needs something major to shake things in society up. It doesn't have to become full apocalytpic-mode where we fight for survival and groups are formed, big and small with leaders and those who'd rather lead.

But, a virus that is avoidable and doesn't kill many of those it infects, is a start. I know, I know, it's going to be unpleasant and death will happen, and it's not going to feel like a good thing.

Actually, I was aiming to have a positive point to that, but in this case I don't know how things will turn out. Life the way that we know it, may never return to what we call "normal".

The positive hiding in there, I suppose, is that "normal" wasn't working for the majority of people. So, we can't go back to that.

Why else could I be thankful for this virus?

Well, this is a downside of society and 8 billion people being on one planet, but there are a lot of assholes out there. And with this virus, alongside not-so-great survival plans, showed us the people who will panic buy, then when they realize the "opportunity" because of the shortage and shelves being bare, they try to sell the excess items and show their true colours.

My next item is it shows what is essential in our world, and what is not.

My parents, like many I'm sure, were all about grades and education. Not that they shouldn't be. But I like that during this time, we see that the world truly doesn't run on degrees. I mean sure, people with degrees and above are still contributing. Those who are driving trucks and working the "essential businesses" may well have degrees and more. In fact, a fair few probably do from other countries.

But the point is, the world is being run, truly run, by the jobs that don't require anything above a high school diploma, if they even check that. So, we've basically shown that we have very little reason to pay those in "higher" positions so much money, yet barely enough to live for those in lower jobs. Yes, they contribute, but obviously we literally do not need them to survive. We don't need them to function in a regular society.

If we were to pretend that the virus was done with, but nothing else changed right back. What would we really need? Would we realize what we are doing horribly wrong?

I’m also happy that we have started paying those on the front lines, and those of us in the “essential businesses” more per hour. Because while not all of us work for so very little pay before this virus, being forced to continue working during it, just isn’t fair to all sorts of degrees.

Let’s be honest, some of these businesses are not needed to survive in life, but because they are an area that a LOT of money is made from, and they can adhere to social distancing rules, they stay open.

Except even with best measures, this isn’t always enough and I’m curious to see how many more businesses will close before this virus takes more lives. Or, whether it gets worse until the day when even the essentials are closed, and we turn to the real emergency measures.

We shall see.