CG BLOG – Jennie Bristow: Why I got involved with Collateral Global

I am a sociologist, a mother of teenagers, a teacher of undergraduate students, and a writer on generational tensions and social policy. For all these reasons, I could not spend the first UK lockdown sunbathing or pursuing existing research projects: I had to try to get to grips with what the response to this pandemic would mean for our society. And I couldn’t do that on my own. At its best, academia is a community of people with different areas of expertise who can debate various aspects of a problem and help advance understanding of what can be done to address it.

“We can, and should, seek better ways to protect those vulnerable to disease without tearing apart the fabric of our society.”

When the pandemic first broke, I – along with many other members of the public – was desperately trying to work through questions about epidemiology, virology, medicine, and other specialisms beyond my own knowledge. The debates between scientists in early 2020 informed my writing about the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on young people’s education, freedom, and social development. Although I was deeply worried about the social, political, and economic effects of population-wide lockdowns, there was a prior question about whether these were necessary to limit the spread of Covid-19. I came to the view that they were not only unnecessary but actively harmful. We can, and should, seek better ways to protect those vulnerable to disease without tearing apart the fabric of our society.

“Dogma was repackaged as ‘The Science’ and the open pursuit of knowledge was closed down.”

As the pandemic continued, those scientists who had contributed their energy and expertise to understanding Covid-19 and calling for more appropriate ways of limiting its devastation were smeared and pilloried. And as evidence mounted about the damage caused by lockdowns globally, particularly to the young, the elderly, the sick, and the poor, the idea that mass coercion and isolation was the only way to respond to Covid-19 became ingrained in many political, media, and academic circles. Even our capacity, as a democratic society, to consider and debate alternatives was presented as harmful to public health. Dogma was repackaged as ‘The Science’ and the open pursuit of knowledge was closed down.

This is why I became involved in Collateral Global. We urgently need to pursue our understanding of Covid-19 itself and the impact of lockdowns and related restrictions, so we can work out how best to address the fallout from this pandemic and encourage a more effective and humane response to the next one. For that, we need a space for open enquiry, research, and genuine discussion.

We hope you will join us.

Dr Jennie Bristow is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University, author of The Corona Generation, and a member of the Collateral Global editorial board.

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