Europe According to Coronavirus
Making sense of the information mess during the COVID-19 pandemic in good old disunited Europe
The Atlas of Prejudice started in the midsts of a Pan-European crisis back in January 2009, when Russia cut gas supplies to Ukraine and left half of the continent freezing in the middle of winter.
It was a different world back then. Russia and the West were BFFs. George Bush and Vladimir Putin used to sip Pepsi in front of the fireplace at Camp David, while Condoleezza Rice flipped pancakes in the kitchen.
I lived in Bulgaria, one of worst affected countries, since it was heavily reliant on Russian gas. At the time, speaking about politics couldn’t get you laid or elevate you into an influencer, so most of my friends across Europe had no idea what the fuss was all about. To help them make sense of my predicament, I drew a little funny map to illustrate the geopolitics behind the situation.
Fast forward eleven years and the world looks unrecognizable. Politics permeates every aspect of our lives—from identity and food to shopping and pornography. Everybody has an opinion about everything and that opinion is usually set in stone, adorned with beautifully chiseled CAPITALS!!! The word dialogue has almost lost its meaning because the only thing we’re interested in is our own precious voices.
But just when we thought things couldn’t get any better, a pandemic worthy of a medieval apocalyptic book suddenly crashed on the shores of our continent.
As the COVID-19 tsunami devastated Southern Europe, people rushed online in search for data, so they could instantly gratify their thirst for easy explanations, preferably confirming long-held prejudices. My Facebook feed was clogged with questions. Are Italians dirty? Does Madrid have so many victims because Spaniards are careless and fuck bareback? And is the difference in mortality rate between Germany and Italy a definite proof that the Arian race will inherit the Earth?
Hopefully, the current crisis will change our arrogant attitude towards expert opinion and roll back a decade of misguided entitlement. Because the complexity of the problems we face far outstrips our individual imagination, while the data we’re constantly immersed in is worth nothing without thoughtful analysis.
Meaningful answers require time. But until we figure a way out of this, let’s take a moment to have a laugh. Every crisis, no matter how severe, deserves a satirical map.
Interested in stereotypes? Continue reading:
An international bestseller, the Atlas of Prejudice has been published in English, Traditional Chinese, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Italian. Its various hardcover, paperback, and electronic editions have sold more than 100.000 copies worldwide!
