Last week I saw that Justin Timberlake was the latest celebrity getting dragged though the mud because of a recent “insensitive” comment that he made. The singer was accused of being “tone deaf” surrounding the quarantine and how its affecting millions of people. Naturally, I wanted to read what he said and, like most cases where celebrities get criticized for something they say, I was not offended in the least by his comment. Here’s what he said when discussing parenting during the pandemic:

“We’re mostly commiserating over the fact that just 24-hour parenting is just not human”

While I can understand how many people would be annoyed by his comment because he’s a wealthy celebrity who had the advantage to relocate to an isolated home, his comment does not upset me. He’s a parent stuck with his kid and him and his wife are annoyed. This is totally relateable.

But this is not the first case of people complaining all over about how messed up their situation is. The stay-at-home moms now feel validated that everyone else gets what they go through. The working moms are stressed because they now have to work remotely (or continue going into work) AND possibly homeschool children. Essential workers are stressed and scared for their safety as they battle the frontlines everyday and fear getting their loved ones sick. The older adults are worried because their immune systems might be more compromised. Millions of people are out of work, millions of people are food insecure. Millions of people are lonely and anxious. Then you have people that are at home with their abusers, whether it be a child at home with abusive parents or partners in lockdown with the very person who they fear and can’t. And another reality is that there are, maybe a minority, that are not really affected. The truth is, this virus is affecting everyone on some level and making a competition out if is ridiculous and does nothing for anyone.

Clearly, we can acknowledge and accept that this pandemic is affecting everyone and yes, it may affect everyone differently depending on the dynamics of their family life, finance, jobs, etc. Just like the virus itself, it’s out of our control. What we can choose to focus on is helping those that could use help. I love seeing the stories of how people are being creative to entertain themselves at home or how co-workers are supporting each other, neighbors are being checked on more often and communities are doing just that; being a community. In a lot of ways, this virus has brought many people together. Sadly, it may drive others apart. It’s part of the package.

This is tough on all of us, for whatever reason. The best we can do is support each other, empathize with one another, stop judging each other and keep a positive outlook on seeing this all come to an end.

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