An unlevel playing field
If I had to boil it down…Emily Maitlis is the reason I want to go into journalism. Or at least I want to be her when I grow up. She is smart, compassionate and handles even the most stressful and emotionally exhausting situations with more grace and refinement than I could ever hope to muster. If you haven’t read her book- Airhead: The Imperfect Art of Making the News you absolutely need to. Midnight Sun isn’t out yet so you have no excuse.
For years, I’ve admired her work with Newsnight as a broadcaster and interviewer. I’ve lost count on how many times I have re-watched her interview with Prince Andrew in sheer awe by her ability to consistently tear the answers of one of the country’s most powerful individuals to shreds whilst simultaneously remaining collected. I half expected her to be painting her nails and filing her taxes at the same time. I sat hunched, like a malnourished hunchback tired from my regular shift at the bell tower, over my laptop, intermittently pausing the programme to scream at each of his fumbling and ludicrous justifications. To this day, I have no idea how she remained so calm.
A couple of weeks ago, Maitlis received resounding praise for her report that debunked the great myth surrounding COVID-19. Once again, applying that necessary balance of human compassion and a unique degree of common-sense that is so lacking in the mainstream media at the moment. She reminded us that the horrors of this pandemic are not simply a propaganda tool. No matter how many times we equate it to the world wars as the next global challenge for our generation, COVID-19, is an enemy unlike any we have seen in recent history. She proved that this pandemic is both a political and social welfare issue that will undoubtedly affect the poorest and most vulnerable in our society disproportionately even if those in power refuse to recognise that this is the case.
Despite being an enthusiastic Maitlis fan, I struggle with this report. Not because I disagree with it per say, in truth, it’s the opposite. Maitlis has received such praise and acclaim for simply stating something that we should already know. A report like this should not have received the attention that it did. Yet, here we are. Simply because its message has resonated with so many people. COVID-19 is not a war. Our hospitals, supermarkets, foodbanks, schools and other essential services are not the trenches and the key workers who are at the forefront of this crisis are not soldiers or martyrs that chose to die for a cause. They are simply people doing their jobs and ordinarily would not be at risk at all.
I’m hardly one to talk. I had to move out of my little Dundee flat, days before lockdown. My dad (although christened David might secretly be the 21st century reincarnation of Nostradamus) was concerned about the threat of an impending lockdown after Italy so home we went. I’m lucky, I’m one of those privileged “garden people” with endless people-less trails to choose from for my daily walk. Don’t get me wrong, I miss my friends, going to the cinema, overpaying for coffee and buying clothes I don’t need but for the most part I can’t complain. I owe it to the people who aren’t as fortunate as I am to stay in. It’s such an easy thing to ask and the very least I can do.
It’s true that the “Great Leveller” is one of the biggest pieces of political sludge to come out of Boris Johnson’s government and we all know that there is no shortage of apathetic goo. There is no way that I can compare my situation with someone in a high-rise tenement block in the middle of a bustling city or to a single-parent family raising children. Lockdown looks very different through the lens of someone without a home or to someone that lives in an unhappy one. It’s nowhere near as easy and it is indeed a lot to ask.
I’ve overheard a lot of worrying conversations this week about people slowly trickling back to the outside world as if lockdown was already over. It’s hard to not sympathise with people climbing the walls, losing their patience, while so many thwart isolation rules. How can I justify criticising someone when there are people in power making rules that the rest of us must follow but who choose to believe that they, themselves, are above them? I should show them compassion since I don’t know their circumstances and I don’t know why a scattering of celebrities singing Imagine didn’t keep them in their homes. Oh wait, I do know- it’s because it’s worse than ineffective, it’s insulting. It’s easy enough to isolate as a multi-millionaire with no economic concerns and with endless outdoor space and entertainment at their disposal. No matter what way you look at it, the playing field between the rich and poor has never been less level than it is right now. In fact, we’re really playing an entirely different game altogether.
Obviously, there will be people that will thwart the rules and I don’t excuse it. Isolation only works if we all try to follow them to the best our ability. So, if COVID-19 isn’t the “great leveller” of our generation and won’t unite the rich and poor under the poetic guise of our shared humanity- what is it? Well, I think that’s something we still need to decide for ourselves.
