My knowledge of the outside world now comes mainly from the media, with its endless alarming headlines about one thing or another - male violence, civil wars, Brexit chaos, earthquakes, floods and all the rest.
Normally I would be going to places where I'm mingling with lots of other people - cinemas, art galleries, bookshops, cultural events, restaurants, coffee shops. All those people would be generally friendly, helpful, chatty, easy-going. None of them would be doing anything alarming or violent. They would be constantly reassuring me that the outside world is full of decent, sensible people, a quite different impression from the one painted by the media's shrieking headlines.
The guy in the coffee shop stroking his dog. The woman in the bookshop shelving new books. Restaurant diners laughing and sipping wine. The gallery attendant asking me what I thought of a certain artwork. All a strong antidote to the shocking things that are forever unfolding on the news bulletins.
I have to remind myself that the media presents a very slanted and distorted view of the world that doesn't reflect people's everyday experience. When I walk down the street* I'm not going to be accosted by drug dealers or mown down by guerilla fighters. I might just be accosted by someone asking for directions. Otherwise I can simply go about my business in the usual way.
I need a reality check. I need to do a bit more mingling.
*I realise that walking down the street is a very different experience for women, as the murder of Sarah Everard has reminded us yet again.
Pic: Our favourite local restaurant
It has now been just a day over a year since we went into our Covid lockdown, and all that followed. Since then, other than just being with my family or with visiting friends at home, I have not mingled with anyone except for one meeting with my old group. There is a surge again in cases being reported and so, the group has deferred our monthly meeting to April.
ReplyDeleteI do miss my social life of meeting people, club going etc but, the covid situation being what it is, it has to wait for some more time.
Ramana: I miss all my usual socialising as well, but as you say we just have to adjust to the reality of a rampant virus.
DeleteIndeed, the limitations of seeing the world through a screen can make all the scary things even more scary.
ReplyDeleteAck. I can’t remember what outside shopping is like. Imagine going to a party - how weird will that be?
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Ms Scarlet: I go to the supermarket every week and I go for a daily walk, so I do have a small degree of contact with the outside world.
DeleteAs the Costa Rican government has given up on lockdowns we are more in touch with daily life, but were I in Europe reading the daily press I would be thinking that the outside world was a very nasty place indeed.
ReplyDeleteFly: Journalists just love depicting the outside world as a total nightmare of threats and disasters.
DeleteThe shock porn that is modern media is really destroying us. I do not watch any news except an occasional weather forecast.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: We're urged to be scared stiff of just about everything, from bugs in the lettuce to torrents of refugees.
DeleteYou need a reality check? Where do you live? I only need to go up the High Street and the homeless are still there. Lockdown or not.
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Before I forget and since you mention Sarah Everard: Saw your comment over at John's re women and safety. Whilst your suggestion meant well, it doesn't reflect reality. Fact is that the vast majority of men are good guys even if they, sometimes, overshoot the margin of good taste. However, you can't police or legislate the unhinged, the psycho/sociopaths or, indeed, where and when consensual "fun", not intentionally, ends in disaster.
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Zero cases for 3 days in a row here now and as one of my chat groups said yesterday, we can pin up HOPE on our bulletin boards.
ReplyDeleteI backed away from media quite a while ago as it was doing my head in.
I really, really would love a good new station.
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www: Glad to hear Newfies are getting the virus under control. I'd love to receive the news with the bad stuff screened out and only the good stuff for me to bother with.
DeleteThat's why I read books instead of watching the news. Books usually contain a much gentler society. I get one daily news synopsis in my email and that's enough for me. My Dave gets his news from several sources with opposing viewpoints so to get a more balanced picture so, if I feel a need to know more about one thing, I ask him. Works for me.
ReplyDeleteLinda: Indeed, books are a lot gentler than real life (unless it's a horror story!). If I'm immersed in a book, all the external horrors are forgotten about.
Delete"The quality of our lives depends on how we focus our energy and our attention." I'm blown away by our richness of choices...my life hasn't been changed substantially by the pandemic.
ReplyDeleteJean: My life hasn't changed substantially either, but I do miss all the outside things I used to do. Especially the cultural stuff.
DeleteI'm fairly out and about, and I find people no different than a year ago. It's quite nice out there.
ReplyDeleteJoanne: True, ordinary people are much the same as before. I just wish I could meet a few more of them.
DeleteI don't particularly see the world as any scarier than I did before. In general, it doesn't worry me. Despite what the scare media shows, however, this country isn't so unhinged that it scares me.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing is, there are lot of "macho" types -- men and women -- here in America that believe the hype and the conspiracy theories and must find it scary enough that they feel the need to pack a pistol. I don't see the point. I have a rifle and a shotgun that have sat in the closet unused for at least 35 years and the only time I ever fired a pistol was in the Navy in the early 1970s.
Mike: Yes, that's scary, the number of macho types who believe in the most ludicrous ideas and vilify anyone who doesn't. I'm glad there are far fewer people with guns in the UK.
DeleteI think as long as we keep in mind news media report what motivates people to want to pay to view or read their report, then nothing has changed — they give us what the most want. The rest of us must use some judgement and keep our reality in focus as you describe here.
ReplyDeleteI’m not scared by it all, just continue to use common sense. Some things may be a bit different since having someone in my backyard isn't usual, nor is a door knock at 2 a.m. I think increased crime in my small city is indicative of something unleashed in recent years here in the U.S. I think it’s a confluence of several factors with the virus just being one. I think we’re wise to stay abreast of what is happening with variants. I don't feel pressed to rush head long back into open socialization as before — all gradual for me.
Joared: I agree we need to keep a close eye on the variants. I've had one vaccination but like you I'm not happy about rushing into a full social whirl just yet, I'm still taking all the usual precautions.
DeleteMedia does show a very narrow part of what it's like out there. I live in a bad part of town and even here I see some good when I'm out and about.
ReplyDeleteMary: There's nothing like a good dose of "ordinary people" to tone down the screeching news headlines.
DeleteI hope it won't be too long before you are able to mingle with people again. Perhaps you should abandon the media for a bit, watch favourite films and read nice books. It sounds as if it has been getting to you ...makes you wonder how politicians manage to deal with this stuff all the time, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteJenny: I couldn't abandon the media, I'm a news junkie, but I do compensate with films, books, TV dramas, music and other things. The media can be scary but I don't let it get to me, I just remind myself that the media isn't the real world!
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