{"id":268149,"date":"2020-04-14T10:30:31","date_gmt":"2020-04-14T14:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/issues\/caremongering-and-the-risk-of-happy-washing-during-a-pandemic\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T22:56:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T02:56:38","slug":"caremongering-and-the-risk-of-happy-washing-during-a-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"issues","link":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2020\/04\/caremongering-and-the-risk-of-happy-washing-during-a-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Caremongering and the risk of \u201chappy-washing\u201d during a pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canadian kindness has been making\u00a0global<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0national<\/a>\u00a0headlines again. This time, it\u2019s because of the \u201ccaremongering<\/a>\u201d movement now in place across the country that\u2019s assisting those affected by COVID-19. A Facebook search for \u201ccaremongering\u201d now brings up over 65 groups from across Canada from\u00a0Cape Breton<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Inuvik<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Kamloops<\/a>. Combined, they have a membership of almost 170,000 people.<\/p>\n

The media have responded by focusing on\u00a0human interest stories of those who have been helped<\/a> by the caremongering movement, but these uplifting stories often fail to outline the limits of such a movement as well as its possible negative side effects.<\/p>\n

As social beings, we want to band together during a crisis because it helps us feel strong and alive in the face of uncertainty. However, my research indicates that while there is an upside to this solidarity, it is often short-lived and romanticized by both media and politicians.<\/p>\n

In fact, it may allow the government to download its responsibilities to Canadians and the private sector and abdicate its role in ensuring that everyone is protected and secure. But the good news is that caremongering has potential as an impetus for political change during the crisis as well as after it is over.<\/p>\n

The promise: Canadians filling in the gap for the most vulnerable amid unfolding government response<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most of the groups are centred around\u00a0assisting vulnerable populations<\/a>\u00a0such as the elderly, people with disabilities, immunocompromised individuals as well as other marginalized populations. Some typical requests found within the groups are elderly people requesting assistance to get groceries, immunocompromised individuals asking for masks and hand sanitizer and people who were recently unemployed asking for assistance with applying for government benefits or employment insurance.<\/p>\n

Caremongering groups are particularly helpful in highly urbanized and transient cities where\u00a0those with the lowest levels of education and income often lack strong social networks<\/a>\u00a0and have limited to no social capital. The\u00a0Toronto Foundation\u2019s 2018 social capital study<\/a>\u00a0found that 6 per cent of adult residents in Toronto report having no close family members and a similar proportion say they have no close friends. This means over 100,000 adult residents lack this essential form of social support during a crisis when it is most needed. Thus, for those most vulnerable, kindness from strangers is an important lifeline during a time when government response is inadequate or not yet available.<\/p>\n

The perils: A sidestepping of accountability and responsibility as Canadians step in for the state and politicians happy-wash the crisis and response<\/strong><\/p>\n

While most of the caremongering groups found on Facebook see their goal as providing mutual help and resources to community members, some see these collectives as a way to sidestep the state and take matters into our own hands. As Ghee Chopra, one of the administrators of the Caremongering-TO group,\u00a0wrote in a post<\/a>, \u201cCaremongering is not about \u2018nice Canadians\u2019 helping each other out \u2026. Caremongering is recognizing the failures of the state and doing it ourselves.\u201d While this statement may read as empowering to some, the implications contribute to alleviating the state of its formal responsibilities. A global pandemic is not something that can be overcome by individuals; it is a public health issue where all levels of government hold responsibility.<\/p>\n

Moreover, romanticizing community solidarity can contribute to the happy-washing of the crisis and the government\u2019s response. In other words, just like how green-washing is the spinning of a company\u2019s bad environmental track record into a good one, happy-washing is the act of obscuring desperate realties on the ground with a positive spin. For example, failures of the formal response such as a\u00a0shortage of medical supplies<\/a> or personal protective equipment for medical staff\u00a0in many countries is buried under stories of citizens in\u00a0Wuhan<\/a>,\u00a0Italy<\/a>,\u00a0Spain<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Canada<\/a>\u00a0banging pots and clapping for frontline workers. In the UK, articles about citizens\u2019 concerns about the British governments\u2019\u00a0\u201ccallous and dangerous\u201d herd immunity plan<\/a>\u00a0appeared alongside videos and more positive articles of\u00a0millions of Brits clapping for medical workers<\/a>. In these overwhelming times, citizens may opt to participate in community solidarity over the more challenging task of demanding stronger government action. Even the singing in solidarity has its limits. It\u2019s already\u00a0stopped three weeks into Italy\u2019s lockdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Canada, while Prime Minister Trudeau has not made mention of caremongering in his announcements, he uses a similar narrative of community solidarity, mentioning various versions of \u201cwe\u2019re in this together<\/a>\u201d and \u201cour government is here for you. And your fellow Canadians are here for you, too<\/a>.<\/u>\u201d<\/p>\n

Happy-washing<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0over-reliance on community solidarity<\/a>\u00a0after disasters was observed after Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, where politicians, humanitarians and the media alike overreported on stories of community resilience and rapid self-recovery. The dominance of these narratives contributed to silencing the needs of survivors as well as the criticisms of the government\u2019s slow and inadequate response. Instead, the burden of recovery was unfairly placed on affected households who were told that their innate resilience combined with the mutual aid from their community was enough to overcome their challenges and struggles<\/a>. While such a degree of exaggeration and shifting of responsibility has not taken place yet in Canada, there is a risk that it may if the public does not hold our government to account.<\/p>\n

The potential: Caremongers turn their efforts into political action<\/strong><\/p>\n

With almost 170,000 caremongers identified on Facebook across Canada, there is a lot of potential to turn their community action into political action. There are limits to how much individuals can help, and indeed some caremongers have already signalled they have done all that they can. This is why\u00a0the government\u2019s announcement of $9 million to help seniors<\/a>\u00a0impacted by COVID-19 is a necessary measure.<\/p>\n

Indeed, there have been calls for more financial and social support for vulnerable Canadians among these groups. For example, students have posted about how they feel at a loss because many have not earned $5,000 during the school year, which means they don\u2019t qualify for the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit or employment insurance. And now that their summer jobs have been cancelled or suspended, students feel \u201ccast aside\u201d and forgotten in the federal pandemic plan<\/a>. These calls for action have resulted in the government\u2019s recent announcement<\/a> to make changes to the Canada Summer Jobs program to help young Canadians affected by COVID-19. Thus, utilizing the power of social media and public opinion can help bring about \u00a0wider impacts for those most affected.<\/p>\n

In addition, while many in wealthy countries were clapping for front-line workers, quarantined citizens in Brazil took to their balconies\u00a0to bang pots to protest President Balsonaro\u2019s inadequate response to coronavirus<\/a>. Conventional protests in the streets can no longer take place under social distancing rules, and so finding creative ways to protest the government as they have in Brazil can be another way for citizens to show their displeasure.<\/p>\n

The important lesson to take away is that caremongering should pressure government for more action. The movement should also be a place for critical discussions about why caremongering was needed in the first place \u2013 what are the structural and policy gaps in our society that necessitated mutual aid as opposed to government action? In order to build the solidarity and community resilience that will last beyond the COVID-19 crisis, the caremongering movement needs to recognize this window of opportunity and capture this political moment for change.<\/p>\n

This article is part of the\u00a0The Coronavirus Pandemic: Canada\u2019s Response<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>special feature.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Photo: Shutterstock, by Imagesines<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Canadian kindness has been making\u00a0global\u00a0and\u00a0national\u00a0headlines again. This time, it\u2019s because of the \u201ccaremongering\u201d movement now in place across the country that\u2019s assisting those affected by COVID-19. A Facebook search for \u201ccaremongering\u201d now brings up over 65 groups from across Canada from\u00a0Cape Breton\u00a0to\u00a0Inuvik\u00a0to\u00a0Kamloops. Combined, they have a membership of almost 170,000 people. 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