The Virus shows us what we have repressed in our hubris long ago: nature is not nice. And we have good reason to panic.

respiratory protection mask against helplessness? Photo: Dirk Sattler/imago

BERLIN taz | My family doctor was stumped. "I don't understand why all of a panic to Corona," she said. "To the flu-more people die." Also your receptionist was surprised. In any case, the practice has ordered a delivery Mouth guard. You never know.

"I want you to panic," said Greta Thunberg. It seems as if we take you at your word. Not when it comes to climate, don't worry: Since we are thinking first of all stop and think before we act too late, and more so symbolically.

But in the Corona-Virus, as the panic hits global waves: quarantine, disease, laws, regions to be sealed off, supply chains for drugs interrupted.

At the Corona Virus suffer and people die. And the economic damage is yet to be felt. But the fear of the enemy has not perhaps do that as a new, unknown, invisible disease is spreading rapidly and seemingly inexorably. Maybe Corona is also threat because it has infected us with the feeling that we hate like the plague: helplessness.

The Virus does not show us what we have been displaced on the island of the Blessed successful: that nature is out there as nice as it is to us the advertising in the organic market has been pulled. With the real world beyond our bubble is not to negotiate, compensation payments and Golden credit card of interest to you. Nature strikes back time. Makes it easy your thing. If you stand in the way of: tough luck.

the people have over thousands of years felt when the lightning struck. Only since 100 years, and only in the rich countries succumb to the hubris that we could control our destiny. That is what we do, and the way the world looks.

We're talking about the Anthropocene, where humans are the dominant factor in the planetary development. And then a Virus comes and reminds us of what we forget in our fully comprehensive company, like: If we protect our environment, we should do this out of self-interest, but no gratitude to be expected.

The operating system of mother earth is ice-cold of physico-chemical processes. Who is pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, who are exterminating millions of species of animals and plants, who spread rubbish everywhere, and in the global style, the physics and chemistry of the planet changed, gets to feel the consequences. With a Virus, or a forest fire, you can't negotiate.

Therefore, we tremble in front of this pathogen. We can't buy it or domesticate. We can't shoot him down like an annoying Wolf. We can't qualify, "That there was always time". And we can't defame as "junk science". Suddenly, even the greatest despiser of science praying to the demi-gods in White is an antidote. And the opponents are suddenly very quiet.

There are a lot of good reasons for panic attacks. Maybe not the Corona Virus. But our chronic ignorance-psychosis with destructive tendencies. Will go wrong.