Uneven global playing field: Privileges and a pandemic
- Coronavirus has only widened the inequality gap, showcasing a cruel display of the survival of the richest.
The road we walk on is bumpy, the tar loosening on the edges. Obstacles surface at every corner and hurdles ensure that there can be no easy conquer. It appears to be a level playing field, however, each one treads a different path. Some stroll equipped with the latest running shoes on flattened ground, while the others are forced to run barefoot on accident-prone, rough patches. Undoubtedly, everybody has problems but one’s privilege determines the scale, intensity and solution to the trouble.
Image: Facebook user Emanu
One may have always been aware of the privilege they dearly hold on to, but it took an unprecedented time – the coronavirus pandemic – to make us question and introspect the luxuries we take for granted. Thousands walked across the country to get back home in the scorching heat, millions starved for days. This inequality is evident, as the privileged comfortably stayed indoors, revisiting old cookbooks or following the latest trends by whipping up Dalgona coffee and baking loaves of banana bread.
We often disagree on what counts as a privilege. To begin with, the ability to read this article is a clear sign. You, dear reader, have been brought up studying the English language, and have attained certain mastery over it. It may be safe to assume that you have a smartphone/tablet/laptop, access to the internet and the knowledge to navigate through these tools. To understand every word, and opine, agreeing or disagreeing with what I say, further strengthens the privileges you and I have.
These are few-of-the-many indicators constituting the sphere of privilege, and one would consider with or without the offset Covid-19. So ponder – Is this really the worst situation you are in? Have you really hit rock-bottom? No. Our problems may be significant, but it is nothing in comparison to what the majority of the population has to go through – from being unable to leave the city, or having no transport to get back home to being puppets in the hands of the State’s ministers. If there is access to trains, it might result in arriving in the wrong city. Or worse, ending up dead in the toilet.
This pandemic has only increased the prominent divide between the economic strata in society. And this is only going to broaden post-pandemic when things partially restore to normalcy. The ability to regain mental and emotional stability, to come out of this pandemic unharmed – all factor in as components of privilege. This may read like a discourse on the injustices of life, but it has to be addressed, most importantly, at this time.
Acknowledgement of one’s privileges is the starting point. Being grateful for what one has falls second. It is not enough to merely be aware and thankful for what one owns, but put that power to use. One cannot reverse the privilege bestowed on them at birth, but what one can do is create some sort of level playing field. Cause, after all, no one likes it when things are unfair, right?
From the Author:
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COVID-19: The Death of the Magical Touch
