Tory Shepherd: There’s a substantial cohort who are so smug that they’re happy to put others’ lives at risk

Four million people have died in this pandemic. A footballer’s sex life or a trip to Queensland is a small thing to sacrifice, writes Tory Shepherd.

More than four million people have died so far in this pandemic, and the scourge is far from defeated. Just ask Sydney.

One of the most depressing things that has come out of this weird, dark time is the wild sense of entitlement some humans have. Just in the past few days there have been grim examples of the gits out there.

All those people dead, so many more suffering, and former NRL player Paul Gallen is worried that some blokes might not get to have sex when and where they want it.

His sympathy was directed not towards Covid-19 victims, but young, single players who might not be able to get their end away while they’re in the Queensland bubble for upcoming games.

“It’s going to be a big ask for certain players – especially the young, single guys – to not breach the bubble if there’s no companionship at all on the inside,” he wrote, as though somebody should be providing consorts. As though these guys were entitled to have access to women.

He pointed to the multiple times players have breached the coronavirus rules and explained just how tough it was for those who are “single and used to living a certain way”.

This week we heard about the brats who sailed a luxury superyacht from Sydney into Queensland, made false border declarations, then joined about 20,000 at a rugby game.

Police are intercepting about 800 “suspect vehicles” a day near the border.

Four people who snuck into Queensland on superyacht Dreamtime from Sydney were fined.

Another pair who thought rules did not apply to them snuck from Melbourne’s lockdown into Queensland.

There are so many more examples. People hosting barbecues and parties. It’s hard to tell the difference between ignorant numpties, conspiracy theorists, and narcissistic prigs, but it’s fair to say there’s a substantial cohort who are so smug in their perceived superiority that they’re happy to put others’ lives at risk for their own superficial pursuits.

Evidence shows that individuals who feel “entitled” – as though they deserve special treatment – are more likely to ignore instructions. A study published this year found that is true for responses to the pandemic.

The entitled don’t think they have to socially distance or follow other steps to stop spreading the disease.

Other studies echo those findings. One, published in journal Personality and Individual Differences, found those participants who agreed with statements such as “I honestly feel I’m just more deserving than others” were more likely to go to parties if they wanted to.

And they didn’t really worry about how their actions might affect others. This isn’t how it was meant to be – headlines full of people blatantly not giving a rat’s about others’ safety. We were all meant to be in it together.

Proverbs are often hogwash. (Take “spare the rod, spoil the child”.

It’s often hauled out to argue parents and teachers should be allowed to bash children. So that’s wrong (and the interpretation itself might be wrong – some say the “rod” in this case, means guidance).)

Then there’s “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. It’s actually not entirely garbage.

Various disciplines have studied the “common enemy effect”. Unity in the face of a challenge. This is what many hoped would happen. It’s a slightly less fluffy version of “we’re all in this together”.

It fell apart, because obviously we are not all in this together. Different countries have faced vastly different threats. In Australia, it is now each state for itself. Sometimes each suburb for itself.

Then there are the differences between other groups. Those who profited from the pandemic (hello, JobKeeper profiteers) and those who were devastated by it. Those who fell inside eligibility criteria and those who didn’t.

We’ve splintered, become blinkered, and many of those dominating the airwaves have lost sight of who the common enemy is. And so we get these entitled arseholes who think the enemy is anyone who threatens their ability to do exactly what they want to do, when they want to do it.

It’s hard to see how we can reset from this. Especially when so many of our political and sporting leaders seem determined to maintain division. But there was reassurance this week that not all are like that. Wimbledon winner Ash Barty says – in words that should earn the status of a proverb – “it’s more important to be a good person than a good tennis player”. Insert “NRL player” or “politician” right there.