Singaporeans have made an astonishing discovery in the last few weeks: being kiasi is not a uniquely Singaporean trait, but a human trait.
After lambasting our own citizens for wiping out supermarkets, citizens of other countries started doing the same soon after the Covid-19 coronavirus reached their shores.
Including this one man in Italy.
Elderly Italian Man Goes Viral For Saying Panic During WWII Not As High As Covid-19
An elderly Italian man has gone viral after he criticised the hysteria around the Covid-19 outbreak in an interview with Euro News.
In the news clip, the old man who was interviewed seemed to be annoyed with the panic buying, saying “The pasta shelves are empty”.
He asked “What’s happening?” incredulous with the irrational response from the panic buyers.
And just before leaving the store, the old man said “There wasn’t this much panic when World War 2 started.”
As you can imagine, the clip soon went viral on social media.
“There wasn’t this much panic when World War II started” is QUITE THE ADMISSION lmfaooooooo https://t.co/ebETATCIFd
— inorganic african feminist (@ztsamudzi) March 11, 2020
Hear, hear. Elderly Italian man calls out the #coronavirus hysteria: “The pasta ? shelves are empty…There wasn't this much panic when World War II started.”
He would know: pic.twitter.com/kH062dUdZd
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) March 10, 2020
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But why are we panicking?
Now, logically, no one should buy toilet paper as a response to a pandemic, but that’s exactly what everyone is doing, in addition to stockpiling absolutely everything else.
But why are we doing this? Why are we all panicking?
Well, there are three main reasons:
1. Herd Mentality
Herd mentality describes how people can be influenced by their peers to adopt certain behaviours on a largely emotional, rather than rational, basis.
So, if we see someone buying 20 bottles of soya sauce, we think there must be a good reason to do so, and we follow suit.
2. Regaining Control
When there is an epidemic, aside from taking some precautions, there’s nothing you can actually do to guarantee that you do not contract the disease.
This takes away our control from the situation, and because humans are such control freaks, we can’t handle that.
So, we compensate for our loss of control buy stocking up on items because it makes feel like we’re doing something about the situation.
3. Perception of Scarcity
One psychologist pointed out that when we panic buy, we’re not actually reacting to the disease outbreak but to the “fear of what’s going to happen if people all panic buy”.
So, when you see pictures of supermarkets running out of a certain item, what do you do? You go out immediately and buy that item if possible.
And this just creates a vicious cycle of panic buying.
No need for fear
Now, if scientists one day prove that panicking can kill the Covid-19 virus, then, by all means, panic away.
But there’s a reason why this Italian man is so irritated by the hysteria around the Covid-19 disease; panicking solves nothing. If anything, it makes things worse.
What you should do instead is to be rational and practical about the situation.
Just practice good hygiene, monitor your health and see a doctor if you’re unwell. Even if you contract the disease, it’s not a death sentence.
