It seems USA and Britain are the countries where the media is most devoted to the promotion of fear. One of my best friends is Finnish and the calm, peace and security this country extends to its citizens is in marked contrast to the situation here. She said most people there do not see this as a huge concern, if I understand correctly. I have lived for many years in Austria and my body immediately relaxes when I get there. Even though I am not part of their social net, the feeling of being held is palpable. Yes, there are many things I adore about this country and its frequency, a sense of the freedom to be as you like which I did not feel so strongly in the little town I lived in Austria. For those lost in fear, just notice how exposure to media is very likely to heighten that fear and perhaps choose to disengage. Ask yourself if the media seems to present information in a balanced, calm, neutral way. From my point of view the sense of freedom I so deeply value here is NOT supported by the media in any way, shape or form. Quite the contrary. I basically stopped looking at the media after the 1994 LA earthquake and haven’t had TV in decades. Even though I was there and could look out my window, watching media had me traumatized, convinced all of LA was in rubble. I clearly felt how the media was heightening my own natural fear having our very foundation of earth rocked. While I no longer engage with general media, just hearing what is reported second hand has my hair standing up on end. Sounds like it is fear 24/7. Seeing how it impacts a love one and has her having panic attacks does not make my heart sing. Choose wisely friends.
Quoting a friend 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
“TOXIC FRAGILITY: and why the British are so afraid….
I read an article last week in a Dutch newspaper that the British are the most fearful in Europe with regards to Covid19 and that 90% of people don’t want the lockdown to end. Apparently they have the least problem with the lockdown (according to a study by Cambridge University). As in other countries, people from ethnic minority backgrounds are disproportionately affected by the virus, with black people twice as likely to die from Covid19 as white people and a third of all those who have died had diabetes.
Many factors play a role in this complex picture. Speaking as someone who grew up in a working class family, with an immigrant father, in one of the poorest areas of the north of England, unfortunately I can attest to the fact that the class system is still alive and kicking in England. Inequality and poverty are very much part of the fabric of English society, where the richest still choose to put their children in private education and schools for the poor nowadays even have washing machines to make sure that the school uniforms of pupils can get washed. Where I used to live, ‘fuel poverty’ is rife and parents often need to choose between making a hot dinner or putting on the washing machine. So it’s hardly surprising that the poor and ethnic minorities are suffering disproportionately from the effects of the virus. Both health, living and working conditions are worse for the less well off.
Several studies in the past years show that the British work longer hours than many other European counterparts, which might be one reason why people have the least problem with the lockdown. I imagine quite a few are just glad to step out of the rat race for a while. But what of the fear component? I’d suggest that for years now the British have been primed for fear. Following the USA in the supposed war on terrorism, the British government have been pumping fear steadily into the population for a long time. Just think of the continual drone of ‘see it, say it, sorted’, when you’re on public transport networks in the capital. The ever present reminder that danger is around every corner; that you shouldn’t feel safe, not even in hospital.
When I volunteered in 2018 as a hospital chaplain in Liverpool, I remember seeing posters everywhere reminding people to keep an eye out on who might be behind them, in case a stranger might try to sneak onto a ward without permission. Not to mention the warning posters in offices about the threat of a possible terrorist attack.
Like their American ‘friends’ the British have come to see safety as a sacred right. The safe space has been sacralised, leading to what I call ‘toxic fragility’. The parameters of what might be deemed ‘traumatic’ have expanded so much, that those who might offend another must be silenced. We cannot make another person feel uncomfortable, because this is now seen as harmful. We must be wary of ‘triggering’ anyone.
And now with Covid19 we see that societal fears surrounding death are omnipresent and translate into the desire to create a no-risk society at all costs. We snitch on our neighbours if we think they are putting our safety at risk. We condemn anyone who doesn’t wear a mask and call them unethical or irresponsible, whilst pointing out our own compulsion to fulfil our social duty. We put children in chalk circles on the playground, 2 metres apart, or disinfect them on arrival at school, and teach them that others are dangerous and we must avoid germs at all costs. And we silence or censor those who we disagree with because they make us feel uncomfortable. Or we call them crackpots or conspiracists.
Welcome to the age of ‘toxic fragility’. An age of lessened resilience, heightened hypocrisy and diminished critical thinking. Where the poorest and most vulnerable will, in the end, be worse off. Like always.”
Author Kim Tsai