Dear Editor,
As a very vulnerable senior I have had to adhere to home isolation during the pandemic to a degree most other people would not acquiesce to.
But after my second inoculation I began to venture out in Richmond beyond my home to, among other things, see for myself what the “new normal” is that many people are talking about.
Well, after driving the roads and visiting many stores throughout Richmond, I have concluded that there are several aspects of life in this city that remain “old-normal” even as some other things might have changed over the last 18 months.
I saw that the relative ratios of kind, polite, considerate people and arrogant, self-centred, inconsiderate, rude people in the general population don’t appear to have changed at all. If there are any changes in relation to such attitudes and behaviours that I can perceive it is that the people who tended to be either kind, considerate, and polite, or rude, self-centred, and inconsiderate before the pandemic seem to be more so now.
I have always been guided by the old principle “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” so I can do nothing but celebrate and respect those who are polite and altruistic in their relations with others, and disrespect those self-centred individuals who have steadfastly refused to learn any lessons about magnanimity, civility, and humanitarianism during our shared experiences of trying to cope with this pandemic crisis.
But, as a former teacher, I learned over and over again that the world is made up of learners and non-learners, and that the learners were not only a pleasure to be around and work with, but they are the ones who are most likely to make a positive contribution to our society — unlike the non-learners who just make life uncomfortable for others.
Ray Arnold
RICHMOND
