'We're at a pivotal point here': A dominance of divided opinion during the COVID-19 pandemic
A society split in opinion is a trend that's all too familiar for Mount Saint Vincent University associate professor, Jonathan Roberts, who has studied pandemics and plagues throughout history.
“Typical, actually, historically unfortunately,” he says. “And it usually happens much more quickly than it has in Canada.”
However, if you scroll online or read news articles it seems everyone has varying opinions on almost every aspect of the pandemic, from restrictions and boosters, to masking and mandates.
Roberts says polarizing debates have happened in pandemics and health crises throughout human history.
“Classic examples that many people would be familiar with would be the black death,” says Roberts. “It comes to Europe, and what happens in Europe, who gets blamed? Well, people who are suspected of exploiting other people. That’s not necessarily what’s true, but it happens.”
Roberts says existing tensions between economic classes, cultures or genders are then exacerbated by a pandemic, and discord follows.
He points to the truckers and supporters heading to Ottawa for a protest ostensibly sparked by vaccine mandates.
“Trucking is a good professional job that pays a lot, but it’s in jeopardy,” says Roberts. “Self-driving cars, drone delivery…so people who work there already feel insecure.”
“When you tell them they're a hero for working for so many months without a vaccine and then all of the sudden tell them, a small proportion of them, that they can't work... that's obviously jarring for them. So... I think that spurs this freedom rally.”
The convoy and its supporters speak of a freedom to choose – a stark contrast from the “we’re all in this together” sentiment expressed widely in the early days of the pandemic.
“For some people, they're just emotionally over,” says Robert Huish, a Dalhousie University associate professor who specializes in global health policy and practice.
“I think when the pandemic first got going, there was a lot of enthusiasm to try to beat the virus, to keep it out, to try to flatten those curves,” says Huish.
But the persistence of the virus over several years, and even through public health measures, plays a part in polarizing opinions.
Huish calls it a “phase of mentality between preparing for a disaster and being in a disaster.”
“In the preparation state, which we were for 2020 and 2021, it was that we could keep COVID out,” adds Huish. “But now that the waves keep crashing over our bow, we are in a state now where we have to figure out a way out of it, and that's where it really gets difficult.”
Social media, which is unique to this pandemic, can be a hurdle to that, says digital anthropologist Giles Crouch.
“Social media is the public commons. It's where anybody can go, and anybody can say anything,” says Crouch.
Crouch adds that is a double-edged sword, which can be good for public discourse and create positive change, such as in the Black Lives Matter movement.
However, he says social media can also have the opposite effect, and can be wielded by agencies with less than perfect intentions.
“And that's where we have activist groups and those who have been on the fringes of society, that couldn't really communicate before what those ideas and views were, but now they can,” Crouch says.
For Roberts, what’s needed is strong leadership to galvanize public opinion towards a common goal once again.
“We’re at a pivotal point here,” says Roberts. “We have to harness that political and medical messaging effectively.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
opinion I've been a criminal attorney for decades. Here's what I think about the case against Trump
Joey Jackson, a criminal defence attorney and a legal analyst for CNN, outlines what he thinks about the criminal case against Donald Trump in the 'hush money trial.'
$3.8M home in B.C.'s Okanagan has steel shell for extra wildfire protection
A home in B.C.'s Okanagan that features a weathering steel shell designed to provide some protection against wildfires has been listed for sale at $3.8 million.
Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
An alligator attacked a diver on April 15 as he surfaced from his dive, nearly out of air. His tank emptied with the gator's jaws crushing the arm he put up in defence.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
Celebrity designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags
A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the 'Sex and the City' TV series was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia.
Wildfire leads to evacuation order issued for northeast Alberta community
An evacuation order was issued on Monday afternoon for homes in the area of Cold Lake First Nation.