Corona: Grandma in the supermarket as a symbol of society

Curves, circles, maps – graphics and pictures are what keep the seriousness of the situation in mind at this time. The corona virus is no longer a small, distant pathogen. It has triggered a pandemic that has the world firmly under control. Every day, even every hour, you are confronted with new information, videos and press conferences.

And in addition to all the facts, figures and political measures, it is above all the images that keep me busy. Not those from China or Italy, even if they are bad enough. But those from Germany.

In Corona times in the supermarket

Right outside our door, people have fled to their own, selfish world of fear. They don't just hamster, they fight each other.

But it's also not pictures of empty shelves that don't let me sleep at night.

It is that of the small, wrinkled lady, around 80, that I met when I was shopping. Who dared to leave the house with a walker and a headscarf, slowly, deliberately, every step an effort, but also a success. She made it out of the house alone. It has taken the path on itself. Now she is there, exhausted, breathing deeply, very still. In front of an empty shelf.

Why does a strange woman trigger so strong feelings in me that she stays in my mind for days? I have two theories about this.

Symbol of loneliness

The elderly woman from the supermarket has become a symbol of loneliness for me these days.

And not just because she is traveling alone, but because she is alone and traveling. Why does a person who belongs to the Corona risk group out of question currently voluntarily dares to leave the house? One of the main questions to ask is what drives him.

Senior citizens in supermarkets are currently not only showing us that some members of our society have no one to look after them. Above all, they demonstrate to us how far a person is willing to go for contact with the outside world.

When society is at risk

I don't know why this senior was shopping. I do not know if she is alone – and rely on shopping despite a health warning. I don't know if she has to go out or just want to.

For many older people, the way to the supermarket becomes a daily task and / or the only contact option. And if you take the risk of being infected with a potentially deadly virus for these reasons, I don't want to be the person who dares to judge it.

The lady looked neither scared nor confused. But exhausted and resigned. And for me it does not only become a symbol of loneliness, but also our elbow society.

Symbol of our elbow society

I don't want to be part of a society that buys twenty packets of pasta in Egomanie. While other people take a health hazard to get only one. Because you, with the cart full of toilet paper, pasta and canned goods, you, who also grabs the last box of soap in his hands, you are ultimately the reason why this grandma has to go to the supermarket again the next day. Hoping to be faster this time to be there in front of you and the empty shelves after you. Do you want to take this responsibility?