“Just left walkers and when I was there. There was Sheila who was either hung over or on a drug low and I just don’t understand how either of those are possible during lockdown ”
So the quote above is from a friend of mine who works in the same industry and it’s certainly an interesting proposition he makes.
Over the last seventeen months or so we have seen various forms of lockdowns and stay at home orders enacted all over the world (I won’t be discussing that here). And in the “early” stages of it we did hear of stories of the homeless being housed in hotels etc in a way to provide them both accomodation and a way to stay safe from Covid-19,
However, as my friend said in the quote today (Sunday 10th October 2021), how is is even possible at this point of the pandemic?
Well the bit above the hangover is fairly easily to explain if you ask me. The “normal” societal rules have been thrown out the window in the last seventeen months- after all if you’re literally staying in your house for most days of the week and very rarely escaping, who’s to say and/or know and/or judge if you want to be drinking alcohol at 09:00 in the morning? After all, if you’re not hurting anyway do what you feel like nd it seems that most people have taken that approach.
After all isn’t that the reason why alcohol stores and off-licenses have been open throughout? After all isn’t alcohol and being buzzed off your tits a mandatory part of this lockdown?
shrugs shoulders
As for the second part of my friend’s comment- about the drugs- well that’s interesting isn’t it?
To be fair, at the core the issue of being drunk and/or high are the same- alcoholism can be as damaging if not more so then drug addiction. So why is it that people are still suffering from both? Again I’m no expert but in these times where the societal rules have been thrown out the window, people are/will find any way to get a buzz or even just survive.
For me, part of my coping technique is cracking out my Kindle and reading as many books as I can. For others it’s good food and for others it’s a high either from the booze or from the hit of narcotics. Lockdown and Covid don’t just magically make these problems disappear, but instead they just mask the problems that no doubt will increase in the effects it has on the community in the years to come.
What I would find interesting is the profits increased at places like Dan Murphys et al. After all; you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out if the supermarkets profits have increased, so would have bottleos and off licenses. And if that’s the case, how much?
Lockdowns and pandemics don’t just magically remove long term issues such as homeless, alcoholism and drug addicts. But we have to ensure that going forward there’s more help for the vulnerable members of our society and we don’t just turn a blind eye to it.