Well... That press conference
Where I used to devour corona news, I now notice a certain restraint. I don't need to know every comma because it brings me nothing. And I have no influence on it either, which is frustrating. So I read the newspaper, watch the news, but sitting glued to my phone to be the first to know every update from RTL News, nah. Yet the press conference always has a bit of a magical touch. I often compare it to Tyra's Letter from America's Next Top Model: from above comes an assignment or a little task. Although we seem to be a bit done with carrying out the task, given the collective outdoor parties that took place in the snow and on the beach.
You know, I have an easy time talking. I have nice work that I can do anywhere, I have no boss who wants to zoom seven times a day while three kids around me are bleating, and I have a relationship, so I can also handle that curfew. Of course, I miss my girlfriends, going out, eating together, long tables, but I mainly think of a friend of mine who delivers wine to restaurants. Almost a year without revenue. Or that nice hairdresser who hasn't received a cent and can't do anything. Or that tattoo artist about whom Eva Hoeke wrote recently. He wasn't allowed to work, but when he had to apply for a new permit (for four hundred euros), he was allowed to tattoo someone to show that he can really do it. Anyway, corona destroys more than we like. At both the top and the bottom. And if the ministers themselves would set the perfect example, it would all be a bit more credible. But Grapperhaus just gets married in the heart of the misery and hugs away, Hugo de Jonge poses in the supermarket for the photo and then pulls his mouth mask down for a moment, and Wopke Hoekstra goes skating with Sven Kramer on a weekday Thursday while the country is on fire and the gyms remain closed.
Only Mark Rutte seems to have passed the test of infallibility. I think the government should treat us like you approach an adolescent at the end of puberty. Give the other the double v: freedom and responsibility. If we can't handle it, you can always close that valve again. But now give the people the opportunity to show that we can do it too. We know the downside, so we are all eager to shape it in a good way, within the guidelines. And who knows, maybe we can give you a physical pat on the back in a few months. Because you certainly deserve it, despite the hugging, skating, and mask neglect.
