Guangzhou is considered the city that “ended the epidemic.”
Of course, it is first necessary to clarify that, in the sense of strict public health management, the COVID-19 epidemic has not ended. Obviously, people are cheering for the end of the control measures that seriously interfered with normal production and life under the guise of epidemic prevention.
But we need to remind that many problems will not disappear on their own because the “epidemic ends”:
Can we see a detailed and complete epidemic ledger of Guangzhou in the future, and how much epidemic prevention funds were spent in the past three years?
The issue of “regional conflicts” that was hyped up in this round of the epidemic, it has probably existed for a long time and is unlikely to be resolved on its own because the epidemic ends;
The sky-high yellow codes and red codes, the Haizhu Luntou incident, the Guangzhou Da’an nucleic acid testing storm… In addition to leaving the public with endless questions, there are probably more trauma and scars.
Source: WeChat public account “People Who Love to Walk” (data map)
Society is a living organism, and encountering diseases will bring scars. “Scars” usually refer to the physical or psychological damage suffered, and in the sociological sense, it can be used to describe the sequelae of social disasters.
Now it is said that the new coronavirus has almost no sequelae, but the social sequelae brought about by excessive prevention and control and the addition of layers of code are undoubtedly very serious.
In this sense, the “scars” are not just the scars left on the body, but the pain hidden in the social tissues, the lesions are still there and will recur.
The so-called healing, of course, is not to pour a few bowls of chicken soup for the soul, not to shirk responsibility, and even less to forget, but to thoroughly treat. These scars are written on a social medical record every moment, and many citizens have such a medical record in their hearts. They don’t need to remember it, they will never forget it, and no one can confiscate it.
Source: WeChat public account “People Who Love to Walk” (data map)
Any society has a ledger and medical record called “history”. Open it and take a look, and you will often find that there are not too many new things under the sun.
Here, let’s show off a bit.
In the 1920s and 1930s, cholera was prevalent around the world, and the quarantine measures of ports in various countries caused fierce debate; the necessity of quarantine was certain, but the negative effects of strict quarantine measures were also obvious: it greatly damaged free trade at sea, the collection of quarantine fees led to an increase in commodity transactions, and the establishment of quarantine stations and the remuneration of staff became an additional burden on the national public finances.
“Source: Network (data map)
So, starting in 1898, the Bombay authorities realized that it was necessary to partially relax the extreme epidemic prevention measures, cancel or modify certain more offensive clauses, and allow patients from wealthy families to be isolated and treated at home. The government no longer forced the public to obey health policies but turned to emphasize persuasion and education.
The “1909 Punjab Plague Manual” stated at the beginning: “All the basic principles of plague management emphasize that no pressure or coercion should be imposed on the people in any form. In order to implement the advocated measures, only suggestions, persuasion, and the supply of necessary equipment are the only legitimate means to influence and guide public opinion towards the ideal direction.”
This was in India in the early 20th century.
In the United States, in order to deal with the swine flu epidemic in 1976, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the first large-scale federal immunization campaign, and about 40 million people were vaccinated. But later it was proved that only one person died of swine flu, and the Ford administration’s “immunization plan” was recognized as a measure to create panic. The New York Times even considered it a conspiracy because the CDC had long wanted to expand its scale and increase its budget.
It can be said that these are all social scars written on the “ledger”.
Source: Network (data map)
Back to our Guangzhou, how to face the social scars in the post-epidemic era requires not only the courage to face them, but also rational classification and analysis.
The following is a rough list of a few items, for the convenience of discussion, and more for healing the scars.
(1) Life Scars
This page of the medical record is written with the most heartbreaking numbers: the number of people who actually died from the virus and the number of people who died from the secondary disasters brought about by excessive prevention and control. The former is not difficult to count, but the latter may not be willing to count, and even less willing to make it public.
But if the latter is lacking, this scar will never be healed.
(2) Rule of Law Scars
The rule of law is the foundation of modern society, and the law is the fundamental principle of epidemic prevention work. Illegal acts of power in epidemic prevention are everywhere. The biggest scar after the lifting of the lockdown is that too many illegal acts of power have not been held accountable, which is the touchstone of a true or false rule of law society.
Also, in the actions against those illegal, excessive, or even violent prevention and control measures, it is said that some participants have encountered various problems, which must be explained and properly handled in accordance with the law.
(3) People’s Livelihood Scars
The GDP data of Guangzhou in the past three years, the actual situation of all walks of life, and the accounting of all expenditures for epidemic prevention, these are all ledgers that must be taken out. The debt and holes in Guangzhou’s public finances are what exactly, and it is possible to ask nucleic acid testing institutions, grassroots workers, isolation hotels, volunteers and other groups to know the most clearly.
The more developed Guangzhou’s private economy is, the greater the damage will be. A friend of mine said that his brother’s 6 chain stores in Guangzhou were all closed, and this situation is probably not an isolated case. How to solve the housing loans, car loans, and even food for the unemployed population? It is far from enough to just shout for work resumption. If practical measures are not taken to provide relief for people’s livelihood, it is not justifiable.
(4) Public Opinion Scars
How to repair the credibility of power in public opinion? In the epidemic, many people went to grab vegetables as soon as they heard the official announcement that they should not hoard vegetables, and they often grabbed them right. How can this “official announcement reverse reading disease” in public opinion be cured?
In addition, the degradation of language, the flying of new words, and the slogan-based epidemic prevention, are these scars? How should the scars of division that appear in public opinion be healed? These still need to return to the basic principles of open, transparent right to know and free and equal communication to solve.
There is also the issue of experts in public opinion. The role of experts is important, but it is also limited, which is common sense. But in some special public opinion environments, the role of experts has serious harm, and this common sense is easily ignored. Afterwards, it is almost impossible to hold experts accountable for their remarks, just as it is impossible to hold decision-makers accountable. The ethical scars and public opinion scars are concentrated on the experts.
(5) Psychological Scars
Panic disorder, autism, and interpersonal relationship tearing disorder are all more significant psychological scars with a certain degree of universality. In addition, there are more and more complex psychological scars, all of which are related to the specific people and things encountered during the epidemic. For example, recently, a boss said that he would resolutely not hire people who have been engaged in a certain type of work during the epidemic after the epidemic, and this extreme emotion also reflects a kind of psychological scar.
(6) Ethical Scars
Business ethics has been trampled in the mud by those who made a fortune during the epidemic, life ethics has been a mess in front of countless blockades, and professional ethics has fallen to varying degrees in different professions. Some people say that the toxicity of the new coronavirus has run into human ethics and morality, and the various humanitarian tragedies that occurred during the epidemic can illustrate that this statement is not entirely alarmist.
(7) Grassroots Scars
The extraordinary governance forces in the past three years have been mobilized, extraordinary identities, power, responsibility, human nature, good and evil, the rule of law, the rule of man, groups, individuals, media, symbols, enthusiasm, indifference, public welfare, selfishness, etc. are all cooked in one pot, and the grassroots ecology is rare in 40 years.
(8) Doctor-Patient Scars
Only the new coronavirus, which is almost impossible to die from, is a disease, and other diseases that can die at any time are not diseases. The squeeze that is always on the lips has not appeared, and the hidden squeeze is always there, and the ambulance is not allowed to enter the hospital door. The doctor-patient relationship, which has always been tense, can be said to be a combination of “new hatred and old hatred”, which makes the citizens who need to go to the hospital face? How to face it?
(9) Education Scars
The three years in the growth period are extremely precious, and the result is a generation that grew up in nucleic acid, a generation that listened to online classes under the eyes of their parents, and a generation that was lonely. It is said that Guangzhou once had teachers transferred to do epidemic prevention work, and as a result, there was a shortage of teachers, and the children had to take online classes in the same grade. In the future flowers, this kind of scar is really heartbreaking.
(10) Resource Scars
Water horses, makeshift hospitals, and nucleic acid testing houses are the pains placed in the open, and there are more resources that have been ruthlessly requisitioned on the earth. The depth and breadth of those scars are frightening even in imagination.
The above counts up to ten items. When writing, it was not to make up the numbers, but because I really thought of these aspects. In fact, it is said that there are ten major scars in the post-epidemic era, in fact, on the one hand, perhaps more than that, and on the other hand, some scars are one body and several responsibilities.
For example, some experts are suspected of profiting from public opinion during the anti-epidemic public opinion, which is a combination of professional ethics, legal constraints, and public opinion distortion. Some scars are also complex in composition and have a long history, and cannot all be attributed to the new coronavirus. For example, some people say that after the lifting of the lockdown, there is no excuse for the difficulty of doing business, which sounds like a joke, but how much bitterness is there inside?
How can we heal so many and so deep social scars?
Source: WeChat public account “People Who Love to Walk” (data map)
The first step may not be separated from admitting mistakes, mourning the deceased, and apologizing to the people, followed by accountability in accordance with the law and state compensation. This is not only the responsibility of a responsible government, but also the norm of political civilization.
There is no doubt that the healing of social scars is a comprehensive social project and cannot be done piecemeal. This social medical record is also a historical ledger and cannot be delayed. The longer the delay, the greater the interest paid, and it may turn into a father’s debt and a son’s repayment.
How can Guangzhou explore how to heal social scars and be a pioneer in governance in the post-epidemic era? I believe that the relevant departments have also been thinking about these issues.
Discover more from 自由档案馆
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.