RE: Sublime Sunday - State of Emergency in Serbia
Where I am nothing much has changed but given how much of an isolated lifestyle that I live that is not saying much in and of itself.
The folks living in suburbs and cities seem to be freaking out and panic shopping which has lead to lots of empty shelves in the stores but I am sure you have already heard that from the news.
The social media sites are assuredly awash with disinformation and some pretty far out conspiracy theories but overall I think that it is just that folks are grappling with trying to 'make sense of things' for their own peace of mind.
Honestly I have not been all that concerned over the virus itself because in the natural cycle of life diseases/viruses arise when a species' population becomes too large. A good example of that is when there are too many deer in an area and things like 'black tongue' emerge and the population gets reduced. I am not saying that is what is happening with this particular virus but it is just how I look at it...as a natural occurrence.
What does concern me is the people here (in the US) are rather selfish and by and large have a sense of entitlement/arrogance and do not deal with deprivation or hardship well and since most folks live either 'pay check to pay check' or at (or below) the poverty line all the upheaval is going to cause folks to grow desperate and behave in a manner that is assuredly going to add more turmoil to a situation that is already rife with fear and panic.
In short it is not the virus that worries me...it is the people.
Yes, I think that people in the cities/crowded places are more prone to panic.
This makes a lot of sense. People die from cancer, hunger etc. on daily bases but since it's not contagious, nobody really cares. Now it shows how primitive and selfish we really are. Stocking up food like there's no tomorrow, complaining about a lot of things and acting out of fear to save our own butts. :) There is already a lot of disconnection and lack of empathy in the world, now it might even get worse.
Funny we are, humans. But I still have hope we can and will do better. :)
Against all my own logic I absolutely share this sentiment...
Also I had not considered the disconnection and lack of empathy factor being accelerated but I think that your observation nails it.