Ray D'Arcy Show RTÉ Radio 1
The very use of the word “panic” is problematic - it creates the problem, Prof Clifford Stott – an expert in social psychology - said on the Ray D’Arcy show.
In a world where grabbing the last toilet roll is leading to some nasty scenes across the world, it is clear that, as Prof Stott said, “We need to calm the situation”.
The very word “panic” gives us a picture of people freaking out, he said and the very term “panic buying” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
It’s unnecessary demand that causes the problem, not panic. People are being rational, he argued, if they can’t get petrol, they can’t get to work etc.
But, he said, in mass emergencies and crisis, altruism and working together is the natural public response.
It was a point worth pondering. It is time to breathe deeply and ditch the “p” word.
In search of a world beyond coronavirus, I found myself listening to an interview recorded in 1991 with Marian Finucane posted on RTÉ’s website in her memory and to celebrate International Women’s Day.
She was talking about a time in Ireland when there was one rate of pay for married men, one rate of pay for single men and one rate of pay for all women.
The rate of pay for all women was less than that for a single man. Her mother had five children and the lower rate of pay.
“She had to feed us, educate us and she did very well indeed,” she said.
It sounds Neanderthal, she conceded, but at least now that’s gone.
Another member of her family had to leave her job in the civil service when she got married. That has changed.
Looking back, there is a lot of change worth celebrating and a lot to stand up and argue for too.
Marian Finucane did that with intelligence, conviction and grace.
