The Prime Minister is cranky.
See, a lot of Australians, consumed by the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, started bulk-buying goods.
What started as a frenzied run on toilet paper and hand sanitiser, has now seen supermarket shelves stripped bare of almost everything but fancy cheese (short expiration date, I guess) and makeup (#workingfromhome).
“Stop doing it,” the Prime Minister Morrison said during Wednesday morning’s press conference. “It’s ridiculous! It’s unAustralian, and it must stop.”
We hear that. We agree. Mass bulk-buying has left little for pensioners and other vulnerable Australians who are unable to afford to stockpile several weeks’ worth of groceries.
What we don’t hear from leadership, though, is anything that appreciates or even acknowledges why Australians might be driven to do that.
Watch: Your COVID-19 questions, answered.
As many psychologists have been explaining, panic-buying behaviour is a way of people searching for control and security in a chaotic situation. It is not a sign of a community that feels confident or reassured.
This morning’s press conference was a chance for our nation’s leadership to start rectifying that. Instead, we were chastised.
The case for empathy.
With the total number of Australian cases beyond 450 and 40 new diagnoses since 3 p.m. yesterday alone, today’s address came at a crucial point in the arc of this rapidly evolving public health challenge.
Top Comments
Empathy and leadership. How has the media behaved here? Have they inflated things to cause people to panic? Maybe. They have played both sides. When people suggested closing the borders, given 60% of current traced infections came in from overseas, they called it racism. When Arden closed New Zealand’s borders, she was decisive. When media run stories about, “hugging a Chinese person” to show empathy and solidarity, that’s empathy, but goes against social distancing. Didn’t really age well.
We can talk about Lyme Disease, West Nile, Spanish Flu, Ebola Zaire, Ross River Flu or any other diseases, except we aren’t allowed to reference the origins of this one or comments get deleted. Even in the midst of a global pandemic, PC comes first and its letting people down.
Good to see that you are accepting no responsibility for your actions. "He made me do it," is a winning defence for everybody. Bravo!