OPINION: Behaviour not Australian, the bulk of our country has gone mad

“No sooner have we as Australians finished slapping ourselves on the back for the way we came together during the bushfire crisis and how we supported farmers in the drought, we have done a complete 180-degree turn with the Covid-19 crisis,” writes Tweed Daily News editor Bob Anthony.

NO SOONER have we as Australians finished slapping ourselves on the back for the way we came together during the bushfire crisis and how we supported farmers in the drought, we have done a complete 180-degree turn with the Covid-19 crisis.

At a time we need to be calm, not panic, and be crucially aware of how our actions could impact on others, particularly the elderly, the bulk of Australian society has gone mad.

Panic buying in the supermarkets, clean-outs of pharmacies and a selfish “me first” attitude has erased the good work done during and after the bushfires and the drought.

None of what is going on makes any sense.

The pleas of our leaders not to panic are falling on deaf ears and while there are examples of good-hearted people helping the elderly, in particular, get households items, the vast majority of people, especially those in the metropolitan areas, are showing no signs of understanding the need that we all have to work together to get through this crisis.

In times of natural disasters, we as a nation have been ready and willing to help each other.

Now with a national health crisis, it’s every household for itself.

It started with toilet paper but escalated into something much worse and I just wonder how many cupboards will be filled with unwanted items in six months’ time.

To think of supermarket staff being abused, fights breaking out over groceries and the complete lack of respect for others, it’s anything but Australian.

To hear and see pharmacies being cleaned out of everything from hand sanitisers to headache tablets and puffers for those with asthma is yet another sign of the hysteria which has come into our society.

Sanity needs to prevail if we are to come through this – what a lot of people don’t seem to understand is that this type of behaviour is putting our Aussie way of life at risk.

That may seem like an over-the-top statement but in a country where looking after your mates is something we have prided ourselves on, the current behaviour is anything but that.

As a collective we can win this battle, as an individual you’re literally on your own!

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