Whatever Happened in 2020?
You Couldn’t Make It Up and You Wouldn’t Really Want To.
When future generations look back at 2020 they will need to be sitting down. The history books will have a ‘Warning. Guidance Advisory’ label on the front, informing readers that shock and disbelief will follow; that they must come armed with a hot, sweet cup of tea and a brown paper bag for when they hyperventilate. Which they will.
Because nothing can prepare them for what lurks beneath the cover.
Chapter 1: Don’t Panic — It’s Only a Pandemic!
On Wednesday 11th March 2020 the world changed. Forever.
Along came COVID 19.
Why number 19? What happened to the other 18, all those before the all singing, all dancing 2020 version?
Somehow the planet managed to bypass them. Surprisingly fortunate really, as number 19 literally took the world by storm.
Chapter 2: The Class of 2020: We Must Have Been Insane!
It came in waves.
Boris Johnson’s daily updates (BoJo to you and I) became the highlight of our day, our link to the apocalypse that was the outside world.
Fear swept the nation. Supplies ran short. Fights broke out in supermarkets as toilet rolls became a commodity. The ‘R’ rate went up (whatever that was) and the death count kept rising.
And while social distancing kept us apart, kept us safe — unless we were fighting of course, BoJo repeatedly stated that: “Washing hands saves lives”.
We must all do our bit to save lives.
So we did as he said, put toilet rolls aside, and visited the website for ‘Coronavirus Guidance Advice’.
We paid heed, sang ‘happy birthday’ while we scrubbed our skin to oblivion, and then lathered it with anti-bacteria gel to complete our self-flagellation. So that our flesh, raw and stinging, remained a reminder that we were alive.
Our actions seemed insane, schizophrenic even, to all but us, the class of 2020. But we had to do our bit. We had to save lives.
So we complied. We followed advice.
Then Dominic Cummings happened.
Chapter 3: Rebels with a Cause. Authority with a Consequence.
One mistimed trip in lockdown. One politician flouting the rules (BBC, 2020). One political mistake in a world where too much had already been sacrificed.
Cummings represented dictatorship in a democratic society, a violation of our civil rights. An assault on our intelligence.
Society’s response was swift and forceful. Flouting of social-distancing rules; fighting on beaches; protesters flaunting their “not anti-mask… but pro-choice” choices at public demonstrations (Sky News, 2020).
Social and political chaos loomed as “Turn around and f*** off” signs welcomed tourists to Cornwall (Evening Standard, 2020). Communities were in crisis, a crisis that needed to be calmed, needed a means of expression. A crisis that needed a unified voice.
And it came in the form of a facemask.
Chapter 4: The Theory of Evolution: Rise of the Facemask
In the beginning, God created the facemask.
Born to be practical and functional they were uncomfortable, unattractive and oppressive. We hated them.
Born to become a symbol of authoritarian control. We resented them.
Born to save lives.
We must all do our bit to save lives.
So we donned them anyway.
But then a revelation came — a forgotten face mask replaced by a repurposed bra; a pair of knickers; a scarf.
Possibility beckoned. A chance to challenge authority, to make a statement to the world. An opportunity to use our voice.
It started on the shelves filled with a rainbow of colour, patterned and plain. Then emojis — black and white emblazoned with sad faces, happy faces, angry and tired.
High street shops, designer stores, even football clubs quickly followed suit, keeping the facemask train rolling quick and fast down its evolutionary track.
Soon they were everywhere, “Facemasks for Every Occasion”(The Travel Magazine, 2020). They became marketing platforms, money spinners, fashion accessories for the likes of the “Best Dressed at Venice Film Festival 2020: Masks, Gowns and More” (Forbes, 2020): an irony in a city already drowning in masks.
And with their rising social, cultural, and political status, they became influential and powerful. They fulfilled their destiny.
They became a democratic voice in undemocratic times.
Chapter 5: The Tsunami
Don’t be fooled, we’re not out of the woods yet.
Instead we’re riding the second wave of the tsunami on a COVID surfboard.
We’re back to the old messages, regurgitated and newly updated: Wash hands, cover face, make space (Gov.uk, 2020).
And just in case you’ve had your head in the global sand for the last six months, remember:
We must all do our bit to save lives.
Chapter 6: Will it Ever End? A Never Ending Story.
And so it continues, the history books unwritten, the final pages blank. On the front cover a ‘guidance advisory’ warning waits, ready for future generations to look and ask “Whatever happened in 2020? What was that all about?”
And when they do sit down to open it, hot sweet cup of tea in hand, it will tell them the answer I want them to know.
It will tell them that I stayed at home. I washed my hands. I did my bit to save lives.
We must all do our bit to save lives.
But what will it tell them about you?
Reference List
bbc.co.uk. 2020. Dominic Cummings: Did He Break Lockdown Rules? [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52784290 [Accessed 12 October 2020].
forbes.com. 2020. Best Dressed At Venice Film Festival 2020: Masks, Gowns And More [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lelalondon/2020/09/07/best-dressed-at-venice-film-festival-2020-masks-gowns-and-more/#10c797ef4bc0 [Accessed 12 October 2020].
gov.uk. 2020. Coronavirus (COVID 19). [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus [Accessed 13 October 2020].
news.sky.com. 2020. Coronavirus: Anti-mask activists protest against order to wear face coverings. [online] Available at: https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-anti-mask-activists-protest-against-order-to-wear-face-coverings-12032097 [Accessed 12/10/20].
standard.co.uk. 2020. Cornwall tourism chief slams ‘unforgivable’ sign telling visitors to ‘turn around and f*** off’ [online] Available at: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/cornwall-tourism-sign-a30-coronavirus-lockdown-a4490001.html [Accessed 12 October 2020].
thetravelmagazine.net. 2020. Face masks for every occasion in the pandemic world [online] Available at: https://www.thetravelmagazine.net/face-masks-for-every-occasion-in-the-post-pandemic-world.html#ixzz6axm6CPMH [Accessed 12 October 2020].
who.int. 2020. Situation Report 51. [online] Available at: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200311-sitrep-51-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=1ba62e57_10 [Accessed 13 October 2020].
