2 lbs. of cous-cous (off the cuff thoughts)

Compassion. Fear. Awareness.

Do you know why people are buying toilet paper? Fear. Fear of the unknown. There is no “been there, done that” for this thing yet, because it is still rolling out.

I’ve got a partner who spent a number of years preparing for hurricanes every year. There are lists of things to get at the store and how to make the houses ready for when the winds blow and the rains come. There are people who have been through hurricanes and know, sort of, what to expect when the tree branches rip off and fly through the air. Even though we now live hours away from a coast, he still preps.

Last summer he wanted 11 lbs. of cous-cous. ELEVEN POUNDS. Even the person helping us at the store was like “that’s way too much.” But his reasoning is that cous-cous is easy to make, even without heat, and is pretty shelf stable, which makes it a good thing to have for emergency planning needs. We compromised and got 2 lbs. We’ve eaten less than half that in 9 months. Even if we’re stuck at home for a few weeks, we’ll be fine.

But he still wants to go get more. Just to be prepared.

I understand.

There are people who were in scouts, or the military, or who have high anxiety and worry about things like the end of the world as they know it, and so have figured out how to plan to isolate and take care of themselves and their families. You might be one of these people. You might have a pantry stocked with canned goods and maybe even have a vegetable garden. (If so, good on you. I have yet to grow anything other than dead leaves.)

But not everyone is. Not everyone has that experience. Remember that only roughly 1% of the population ever serves in the military and gets training on how to survive in harsh situations? Yeah. Most people do *not* plan and prep for things like natural disasters. Most people don’t have the funds to stock their pantry for a few extra weeks.

We, as humans, are used to a way of life. We are used to our homes, our beds, our clothes, our routines of work/school/church/whatever. We are used to going to the grocery store when we’re out of something. We are used to access and planning our lives and being able to do things and go out when we want to.

So when something like an unknown virus starts to spread and people don’t know what to do because there is no protocol in place, we take that fear, that panic, and we find things that might help us to feel better about the situation. We find ways to make us feel prepared for the unknown.

And for some people, that means buying toilet paper. And for some people that means hand sanitizer. (Though, keep that to yourselves. I’m allergic. I’ll stick with soap and water, thankyouverymuch.)

So please, just stop and think for a moment, what someone else may be dealing with. May be worried about. Have some fucking compassion right now. We are all dealing with an unknown. The virus, our jobs, our plans – *everything* is up in the air, literally.

And if you’re a perfect human being with a perfect immune system who has absolutely zero concerns about this developing situation, then lucky you. Now be a decent human for the rest of us who may not be able-bodied, who may have compromised immune systems, who may be losing our paycheck this month, who do not have a list to refer to for preparing for the unknown, who are tired, who are scared, and who are buying toilet paper and vegetables and hoping for a better outcome when all the dust finally settles. If the dust settles. Because right now, that is still part of the unknown.