As I write this post on Monday 29th March 2021, the compulsory wearing of masks has been lifted, as well as the capacity limits on public transport. As such, I write this while standing on the upper deck of the train to Schofields and every single seat is taken.
What have we collectively learned from this pandemic? Nothing.
In just one day, life went from a slightly different more considerate place, to one where months of isolation and doing whatever people liked and whenever they liked, has desocialised people. On this journey in the distance that it took to get from Wynyard to Redfern, I've witnessed racism, sexism and people punching on. When we got to Redfern, three people were ejected by the police; who presumably had been alerted by the train guard, and were waiting for us.
Already very loud telephone conversations have been resumed, people are eating and drinking on the train, as though absolutely nothing has happened at all for the last 15 months.
I never thought I'd feel nostalgic for the days when I was the only person on the whole train. I actually liked the serenity of the world going past the window with only the hush if the air-conditioning and the faint whirr of electrical multiple units spinning way below. As of now, I am listening to a bogan having an argument on the phone, what can best be described as a xylophone ringtone on someone's phone going off repeatedly, and some kind of rap/hip-hop music where the man has now said on many occasions that he intends to beat up his girlfriend with a baseball bat.
Rather, every seat isn't exactly taken. Every seat is occupied, it's just that some people's bags are tired and need to have a rest. Had this been in the before times of 2019, then someone putting their bags on the seats would have been seen almost universally as selfish and inconsiderate of others. The current plague which is transmitted by aerosol means, means that being selfish and inconsiderate is now a legitimate safety strategy. Even though we know that this is a respiratory disease, that didn't stop people from going into hoarding mode and evacuating supermarket shelves of toilet paper, pasta, milk, bread etc. Unless people intended to make toilet paper casserole or something, then rational fear spilling over into irrational selfishness causes minor inconvenience for other people. Speaking as the rank hypocrite that I am, I am still standing as we pass underneath the M4 at Harris Park.
If the pandemic has underscored anything, it’s that there’s a huge divide between people who care about the consequences of their actions towards others and people who can’t be bothered to notice anything that doesn’t directly affect them, and wail like a toddler whenever they get confronted with it. As far as I am aware, there aren't any cases of Covid-19 in NSW but that still doesn't change the state of play. The recommendations which were in place are still sensible. It’s great you’re vaccinated. You could still be the virus train. The virus could very well be travelling inside you. You do not have a disease, you are the environment. Mask up.
And then all at once, all of the sounds of the train changed when we got to Parramatta. Almost as if someone had released a foul smelling chemical, as much as three quarters of the population of the train have been vomited out onto platform 2. What we are now left with, for the all stations leg to Blacktown, are some nervous looking ladies who are from the subcontinent and the sounds of unseen teenagers. I have seen one of them walk past, carrying one of the half foot square signs, informing us that we "must wear a mask on public transport at all times"; which he has peeled off from one of the train doors. There are at least four distinct voices; belonging to unsupervised children who now have a quarter filled train as their playground. I would describe their language, except that it is peppered with four letter expletive deleteds and what is technically known as infix interjections. I quietly try to ignore them.
"Due to a fatality at Artarmon, train crews have been displaced. We will be here at Blacktown for an indefinite period of time; were just waiting on a driver to arrive."
These series of announcements when we got to and sat at Blacktown Station, were met with more expletive deleteds, more people were vomited onto a platform and general dissatisfaction was displayed in terms that are either colourful or fruity. Again the fact that someone has died is nothing more than a minor inconvenience to people and both of the logistical problems of getting train crews around and making sure that they too get decent breaks, are also considered as nothing more than minor inconvenience to people. I am thankful that my journey has been made possible by the real work of others; in fact, the vast majority of my journeys are uneventful precisely because of the work of others.
On the Apollo 8 mission around the moon, the crew caused consternation, holleration, and hateration back on Earth, when they read the beginning of the book of Genesis. Frank Borman concluded by wishing everyone "good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas – and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth". As I get off the train at Marayong, the post equinox evening has already passed into twilight and there are pink streaks across the sky which I can not see because I am red-green colourblind. That doesn't change much. The evening is still very pretty; the breeze is still warm; the smells of roasting beef from the carvery in the pub and the entanglement of garlic, onion, XO and whatnot, are all dancing in the breeze. A group of ravens are majestically holding court from atop a bin while some cockatoos and galahs are chattering away beneath them. For all this talk of a new normal, it all looks exactly the same as the old normal. The Earth is still good and the people are still very much self interested.
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