United we stand - with our mad hair

The world will be an entirely different place when we emerge from partial lockdown. It’s a pity no one warned us about this back in March – we might have given yesterday’s world a better send-off. But still.

A few short months ago the generations were firmly divided about politics, world views, climate change – well, everything. Young people began deriding us oldies on social media, labelling us “Boomers”. Yes, children, we have our spies.

Youths were particularly enraged about our apparent lack of concern for the planet. Extinction Rebellion emerged and began recruiting the very young, who would bunk off school to stage their protests. Bet they now wish they’d made the most of those schooldays while they still could. Meanwhile, we older people felt light-years removed from these youngsters with their apps, attitudes and Instagram accounts. 

Society was also firmly split between the haves and have-nots: those who could afford immaculate grooming and exotic holidays and everyone else.

How things have changed. COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on societies, economies and livelihoods. But there has definitely been a silver lining to this cloud.

Suddenly we’re all in the same situation. The privileged no longer receive any privileges – instead it’s the elderly and vulnerable who top the queue for food deliveries, care and shopping.

We used to hero-worship those glamorous celebrities who were habitually snapped attending glittering functions in their finery. Now they’re confined to four walls like the rest of us with their mad hair and bushy eyebrows. And it’s the nurses, doctors, postmen and bin men who have become our true heroes. 

No-one is flying and the planet is breathing a sigh of relief. There’s every chance that air travel will never fully recover and that working from home will become more of a “thing”, which means emissions will be dramatically reduced.

And the generations are becoming kinder to one another, learning from each other as they go. We’re teaching the young how to sew face masks and do rudimentary DIY while they’re educating us in the intricacies of Zoom and Houseparty.

I was doing a Joe Wicks workout the other day and mentally doing dear Joe’s quiz (aimed at children). Joe expressed his ignorance about some of the answers, and I was feeling a little smug because I knew them. Then it struck me: here I was, congratulating myself on my superior general knowledge while simultaneously copying every move he made with his young, toned body with my own older wobbly one. See? Learning from each other.

Let’s hope this new respect across the classes and generations spills over into the outside world when we all properly return. Less aggressiveness and more tolerance would definitely provide some comfort after all we’ve had to put up with.