There are many kinds of denial. There is the kind that cannot withstand the facts, but merely seeks to downplay them. The flu kills more each year. Only the elderly are at risk; what have we got to worry about? There are fullblown cases of dissent against truth, spreading amongst millions. From there, falsehoods stack up and seep into the corridors of government. Tasked with taking charge of crisis, the top dogs can be too inclined to cite fake facts as full of proof. Scientific readouts? Fraudulent. Every denier has mates and whānau, too. COVID denial is dramatically big-scale, and it is deeply personal.
That latter part is particular to COVID conspirators. When somebody tells you climate change is a hoax, they’re just annoying, not infecting. Whether you’re immunocompromised or not has no say; you’re safe (only the planet’s screwed). When somebody tells you that they’re not a sheep, and refuse to wear a mask? (Sheep, by the way, are a terrible metaphor for compliance. Why do they think sheepdogs have a job?) You’re not thinking, Why did I ever start this conversation, you’re thinking, I need to get tested ASAP. Denying disease is actively dangerous. Many other conspiratorial denials of fact only harm when a critical mass of popular belief propels the faithful to powerful places. For a COVID infection to go nuclear requires one.
This unique trait of medical denialism creates greater pressure for outside actors to intervene. If the government wants to line people up against climate change, they can only educate against ignorance in classrooms. They must push ahead on the issue even if some disbelieve there is an issue. COVID denial demands more. Mandates are the move to make even deniers mask up. Many who buy into conspiracies are reluctant to purchase the martyr’s ticket of a fine, or punch into a prison cell, to make a stand for their cause. Vaccine jabs are also crucial. However, on this front, COVIDeniers find an ally in antivaxxers, the ancestor of medically dangerous denial. Wider fears about a vaccine being unready and threatening are liable to run rife. Some groups campaign to carve out religious exemptions. All that makes a vaccine imposition a harder task.
There is an even greater roadblock in building action on COVID. So many of us who acknowledge COVID exists feel disconnected from this really happening. We tune out the reaper’s toll of death & suffering. That’s been good for mental health, particularly during lockdown. Keeping track of thousands, millions, is not within human capabilities. The mind shuts down. Trying to keep track of events all over the globe, even before COVID, is a footrace against a Ferrari.
It’s still worth a shot. We need to try to accept the facts and get our heads around all that from time to time. What for? To remind us of the pressing need to act. To accept future sacrifices. Above all, to support the most vulnerable, and essential workers risking their lives. We must also remember that accidenial is not exclusive to COVID - antivaxxers already spread disease. Many of us know COVID is bad, but think we're home safe and will never get it, so many are unmotivated to get the vaccine. There's little trust in COVID vaccines. That needs to improve, as does compliance with measures like checking in where we've been.
We reject the idea that, because COVID is not the worst disease out there, we should embrace its ravages. This virus remains awful. We should still remember those other diseases, instead of practicing subconscious, unintentional denial. The scale of our mobilisation against COVID should call us to act on other viruses and diseases. We should not forget how AIDS devastated a generation of the rainbow community, and still besets many, notably South Africans. Ivory Coasters, Nigerians, Congolese cannot deny malaria. COVID is, at this rate, going to become another one of those diseases the West can afford to eradicate and the rest cannot.
We know they exist, but we don’t consciously recall the facts. We cannot and should not try to saviourise, but we can help them solve those. Just as we support our essential workers here, we should support aid workers there. A world entirely free of COVID, just like a world without the flu, may not be possible, but we can get a let closer to it. A world with no more malaria is. Mosquito nets multiplying in Mali can be a reality. That will take less time if we tell the truths of virus and disease to others, and to ourselves.
Comments