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COVID-19 is a class issue

A virus doesn't discriminate, but classism does.

By Hexe News Published 4 years ago 4 min read
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COVID-19 is a class issue
Photo by Matt Seymour on Unsplash

Sidenote: This article revolves around COVID-19 in the U.K. I understand the privilege that this country has by having free healthcare. In countries like America, the issue is arguably even more grave. I don't feel like I can justifiably comment on that, having never lived without free healthcare.

I also want to point out, I know that the BLM is the topic which we should be talking about. I felt it more appropriate to let Black voices lead that discussion, and I will do my best to amplify that. Also, classism mixes with racism, which has made COVID-19 exponentially fatal to BAME communities.

COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown took the world by storm devastated so many people. Something has stuck with me, which has stayed with me for a few months now. It's that eerie moment that Boris Johnson made that awful speech. I don't know if that's strange or not, but either way - it's my brain.

You know, the one where he sat in the grandest room, chandelier hanging from the roof, where he said that the U.K had avoided a tragedy. What an insult.

To be clear, this entire thing has only highlighted the class issues which are inherent in society. Having to go to work during a pandemic is a class issue. Not being able to live off 80% of your wage is a class issue. Not being able to afford medicine is a class issue. Not being able to socially distance is a class issue. Being admitted to an underfunded hospital is a class issue.

So, Boris Johnson, who received some of the best treatment in England, in a southern hospital doesn't experience class issues. That's a fact.

Working-class people die earlier

Working-class people die earlier, regardless of a pandemic. Poor people are expected to die a full TEN years younger than their richer counterparts.

It's no surprise, then, that COVID-19 has devastated working-class communities.

The poor are the worst affected, due to social issues. Things like, say, poor people have worse diets, stagnant wages, and worse environmental conditions. Austerity is only making this worse.

Make no mistake either, this disparity is growing. Since 2011, this gap in life expectancy has GROWN. We should be outraged at this.

Take all this in mind, when you're considering how a pandemic may affect people.

How COVID-19 hit northern areas

By Peter Hall on Unsplash

I live in Lancashire. A North-Western county. The north-south divide in England is a big issue. Nobody can deny just how much more affluent Southern towns are compared to Northern. That's a whole different discussion, though.

The North-West is, mostly, a working-class area. It's filled with industrial zones that were once former textile towns and mining communities. These areas have never recovered from the cuts and strikes, and have also struggled throughout Tory rule and austerity.

Importantly, it's also a place with MILLIONS of fewer people than London and is a lot more spaced out (important when you consider socially distancing).

I think we can all agree - it should never, logically, have had more COVID cases than London. Except, that's not the case.

The North West was sadly named the coronavirus hotspot. With the "R number" creeping above one. The government's response? Nothing. It proves time and time again, that it doesn't care about working-class northern areas.

We can only speculate just why the North West has become the coronavirus hotspot. Here are my guesses.

Working-class jobs

Working-class jobs aren't often able to be completed from home. Industrial, construction, retail, etc. Bear in mind ticket conductors like Belly Mujinga (I know it was in the South) who had to be in such a vulnerable position, even during a pandemic.

Slight interruption: Please sign the petition to help bring justice for Belly and her family.

Also, working-class jobs pay minimum wage or just a little bit over. Many poor families can not afford to live off 80% of their wage. Many people have resorted to picking up temporary shifts elsewhere, just to make ends meet.

So, what we have here is an influx of "essential workers" who were once called "low skilled workers", out and about during a pandemic. These are almost exclusively working-class people.

Mix that with the fact that poor people's health is already lower, healthcare standards are lower, and medicine is less readily available - we have a virus with disproportionately affects working-class people.

What our government should have done

So, how should our government have responded to COVID-19?

Unfortunately, pandemics like this can't necessarily be prevented. However, years of austerity and cuts to our NHS have made it substantially more deadly.

Our government should not have been purposely underfunding our NHS, keeping minimum wages so low, and increasing the cost of living. It shouldn't have taken a deadly virus to prove this, either.

Our government should have locked down the country, as soon as possible. This should have been done way before - profit should never be put over people.

Boris Johnson should have NEVER looked us in the eye and said that we "avoided a tragedy". This has completely devastated families, communities, and lives.

At the end of the day, this has only proved something which was suspected all along - the tory government will always see working-class people as replaceable.

Would it be fair to say that when Boris Johnson said: "We avoided a tragedy" he was exclusively talking to his rich friends? Because working-class people are currently living through a catastrophe.

humanity
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About the Creator

Hexe News

For witchy women by witchy women

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