Saturday, April 11, 2020

Self Isolation

Self Isolation is, and it isn’t.

Let me explain.

Self Isolation has been the bane of industrial society since at least 1968. It was so disastrous that a doctor’s note was required. You could take an day or two off work by phoning in with any variation of the plea “I don’t feel so good” (Aus: Aw luck! Oy fill cruck”). Three days or more, you needed a doctor’s note. Written and signed by a doctor on a doctor’s letter-head, and this was before the time when we all had our own laser-printer and access to the internet.

I was practicing self-isolation the day I had a job interview with ICL in Sydney. My employer at that time was the mighty BHP at the steelworks in Newcastle. I asked the secretary of the BHP office what I should say; she told me to tell her that I had “The gastro”, which I did, drove to Sydney, and got the job. Self-isolation took many forms, including a two-day stopover by the Best Man at our wedding. But in the main self-isolation happened when we were genuinely sick.

Today self-isolation isn’t self at all. It is imposed by politicians by the vehicle of peer-pressure at all levels.

The Canadian prime minister “self isolates” I believe as a publicity stunt, brought about by advice from aides. For one thing, self-isolation is an extra access-hurdle for reporters..

Politicians jump on the bandwagon being hailed by Our Great Leader and proclaim that we should all self-isolate. To help things along the politicians decree that cafes, libraries and non-essential stores should close. In some of the more repressive societies, gatherings of more than ten people are banned which even today still means that most churches must close. So much for the power of God in western societies

Smaller restaurants are closed for sit-down, but you can phone in and collect a take-out meal. Just make sure that you sit at least six feet away from the rest of your family on the park bench. All of you.

Supermarkets remain open, but are limited to six customers, each of whom must stay six feet away from each other, so now supermarket aisles are one-way traffic and if you forgot to collect pasta you have a choice – re-walk the entire maze OR make a second visit after you have put the cans of tomato sauce in the trunk of your car.

This is not self-isolation. This is government-imposed quarantine on the entire population. (Have you checked the RCMP site in your neighbourhood lately?)

To make matters worse, the healthy people are being quarantined. Those folks best able to self-defend™ against any sort of virus are being denied the human advantage of becoming immune to the virus.

Meanwhile, most of us can sit at home and watch our savings dwindle while we are laid-off work.

Another imposed isolation.

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