Dear friends @ Coronamonologues,
I am writing this at the beginning of Week 3 in Lockdown Italy. In rigorous stay-home mode and exactly one month after the 1st CRNVRS case was identified in Codogno, in the South-Eastern outskirts of Milan. And well, the good news yesterday evening (at the end of another claustrophobic week end) was that for the first time since the beginning of the story the number of deaths was lower than the day before (651 vs the astonishing 793 of Sat 21). And the number of recovered increased: 952 vs 900. Considering that we have been in lockdown for two full weeks, this trend of improvement should probably continue in the next days - or so we hope… Anyway: a first encouraging sign.
Figures aside... it is hard. After the initial reaction of collective ‘creative resilience’, with the singing flash mobs from the balconies here and there, the ‘Andrà Tutto Bene’ (everything will be alright) painted clothes hanging from the windows, the spontaneous manifestation of solidarity among neighbors shared on FB etc, the mood has changed and is gradually shifting to nervousness, if not resentment. In particular towards the ‘insubordinates’. Those who don’t stick to the rules, nor have the sensibility to align themselves to the generally accepted notion of ‘common good’ - those who express themselves as ‘different’, when the priority should be to show ’responsibility'. At a forefront of this category: the runners, who ignoring the Stay at Home Order, feel ‘free’ to rove the parks. Now, how contagious can be someone who is running alone at a certain speed - and in case if he will cross another human being will obviously distance himself in order to avoid a crash… god knows. But slowly slowly this envious sentiment towards that ‘idea of (lost) freedom’ associated with the image of ‘running’ has gained ground in the media-sphere as well, and the result is that even the parks are now closed. Or patrolled by the Militias. No more running allowed. Heavy fines foreseen for whoever is found around with no ‘plausible’ reason - and the only ‘plausible’ reason beside shopping could be a dog, men with dogs are also object of envy but much more benign (they are not provocatively running, just discreetly, commonly, conformingly walking…).
Yesterday (Sunday) afternoon it happened to me, even if I am not a runner, just someone who adores walking - unfortunately without a plausible dog. At some point of the day I could not restrain myself and I ventured outside for a bit of fresh air, a stroll around the never-been-so-empty streets around where I live. No one in sight anywhere, not a bike nor a vehicle. I was totally alone in a desert urban landscape, my mouth and nose carefully wrapped with a protective mask, my hands protected by lattice gloves - not a chance to be contagious for anyone, being the only Human Being in the area. Then a car appeared in the horizon and it was a Police Car - how could they ignore me…
The car slowed down, a severe face appeared beyond the window sliding down, followed by The Question:
“What is your reason for not being at home… don't you know that you should stay at home?…”
“I was just having a stroll…”
“No stroll is allowed, haven’t you read the new Ordinance released last night?…”
I had read it, the third one since the beginning of the lockdown - with an astronomically high predicted fine, € 5000, in case of disobedience. I obviously apologized, pretending not to know. They left. No fine. Ten minutes later I was back home, safely locked again. But a disquieting feeling stayed with me for the rest of the day and will get worse (I know already) over the next days: the never experienced before awareness that our lives are now controlled at this absurd level, well beyond a notion of civic responsibility or basic common sense. The rules are now Rules and Will be observed - and there will be Fines, with the Army in the role of Collectors, and Penal Records as well.
“The military are now on the streets. The risk is that they will stay there…” was the title of an article published the other day by the daily newspaper L’Avvenire - the newspaper that reflects the view of the episcopal congregation, a quite progressive view nowadays thanks to Papa Bergoglio, but certainly not a leftist medium. The author was pointing out how this epidemic emergency has been initially perceived as a huge and common challenge in terms of health - the most universal human right, particularly in a globalized world - and was very soon engulfed into a rhetoric of War, with the various PMs of the affected nations competing among each other in the reiteration of a military, and quite competitive rather then cooperative, approach - although the astonishing lack of basic ’tool’ everywhere (like tests sticks, or IC equipments or simply beds, or even Protective Masks) that were supposed to provide the Minimum Defensive Front in this New War against the Unknown Enemy.
And thus, while the ’thing’ is now clearly traveling around the world, and already reached India, some parts of Africa, Latin America, even Australia, beside our main Capitals in Europe and US - and the daily news are everywhere dominated by this horrific bulletin of affected and recovered figured, and of course, the deceased - we should be reassured that our empty landscapes will be kept ‘under control' by The Army in its various Uniforms.
Are we all - knowingly and yet ‘responsibly’ - part of an unprecedented ’script' of social control at global level? What a scary feeling...