The worst in us

CRISIS situations are said to be opportunities to see the best in humanity. Unfortunately, these are also seen as opportunities for us to reveal our darkest sides and show the world the worst in us. Crisis may enable the kind-hearted and the good Samaritan among us, but it can also push us to rear the ugly side of our instinct toward self-preservation and reveal the basest form of selfishness and inhumanity. And what can trigger visceral fear strong enough to make human beings forget our humanity is the threat of a deadly virus.

We see this in lessors who evict their lessees, or restaurant owners who deny service to customers — mostly frontline health workers — for fear that they are carriers of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 or SARS-CoV2 that causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). We earlier saw this in the xenophobia toward Asians, who were profiled and labeled as potential carriers of the disease. And now we see this in Caucasian foreigners getting evicted from their hotels when their booked duration of stay expires. Recently, a health worker was violently attacked and his face was doused with a chemical disinfectant.