COVID-19 diaries Pt 2: Shopping at the end of the world

Before I begin, I want to acknowledge that in the wake of any prominent crisis or disaster, these days, comes the avalanche of ‘takes’. The Covid-19 crisis is no different. Like assholes — everyone has one. Often the infodemic avalanche just makes things worse. And in a rapidly evolving situation, a bad take has nowhere to hide, and its true awfulness is exposed forcefully by the rapid passage of time.

But what else to write about, if not the defining event of our lifetimes? And how to write about it when it feels like all the takes are already taken?

So please accept this as a genuine attempt on my part, to just… be, and bear witness. I’m not opining on the nature of catastrophe for the sake of clicks or ad views. I am just going to do my best to just create a record of my own experience — that of a progressive, queer, transgender person living in a very strange time, and my thoughts around the impact of the crisis on myself and those who I know.

The fortnight before the pandemic truly arrived, a noticeable sense of fear and dread was percolating among many sectors of the community. Raw video footage and eyewitness accounts from doctors and people living in Hubei, Italy and Spain came through on social…