Vaccinations, riots, curfews and the coming collapse

Our societal pandemic runs far deeper than CoVid19.

And so it escalates further. The virus is sending our societies into a tailspin. Most economies have shrunk over the past few months with some suggesting a ‘double-dip recession’ might be just around the corner. Millions have lost their livelihoods or remain isolated from loved ones. Inequality has soared. None of the pledges from the Paris Climate Accord have been met. 2020 was not just the year of the pandemic. It was also the hottest year on record. Many of us crave a return to ‘normality’. But what if this is it? What if that which we are witnessing is collapse?

Vaccinations have begun, but bureaucracy, logistics and murky decision-making processes now raise the specter of a much longer drawn out ‘recovery’ process. In the Netherlands, where I’m from, a curfew has been put into effect. Nobody is allowed out, unless they can somehow prove their movement is necessary. The first few days saw widespread rioting and military police battering protesters. But the voices of those demonstrators belong to the far-right, which seems to be exploiting the very real fears of disenfranchisement and loss. The anger that is on display is not one of hope, but one of exclusion, violence and retaliation.