Recently, a six foot nine former professional heavyweight boxer suggested to three young men in a posh London nightclub, that they should obey the law and put out their cigarettes. For being a good citizen, he got himself shot in the back and died from his wound.
A retired man reminded two people who allowed their dogs to mess on a children’s playground that this was just not on. For being a good citizen the next lot of dog mess came through his letterbox.
Another man jumped up from his seat in a crowded tube train to allow an obviously heavily pregnant lady his seat. For being a good citizen, he got a tongue lashing from the same lady about equality.
What Price Citizenship?
When I taught humanities in a Church of England Secondary School some years ago, a part of this subject was on ‘Good Citizenship’. Somewhat naively perhaps, I drew from my own experience from what I had myself been taught – what I did not allow for was how times have changed.
I thought I was on safe ground when I suggested it was right for a man (or boy) to hold open a door for a lady; that it was right to stand still on a street if a funeral cortege passed by; that it was bad manners to put one’s feet on a seat in a bus or train; and right to give up a seat for an older person who needed it more – and so on! Quite clearly – it being around 1973 – I was talking a different language. It was not that they were bad kids (well, most of them!) – it was just that such things were not part of their upbringing.
Now what happened to that poor boxer and the others in those examples, and there have been many others recently, is far removed from the usual way human beings behave in a community – and, of course, such occasions are still very rare if now perhaps a bit less so. What I am suggesting is that there is a trend in society, that small things lead to big ones; and a fairly insignificant way of behaviour to others can escalate, so it is a worrying trend.
Don’t Interfere!
Yes. It is easy to ‘pass by on the other side’ – to avoid being a witness to a crime or road accident for example – after all, it would be inconvenient to be called as a witness, and it might bring repercussions from a guilty party. But just think for a moment about the person who is an innocent sufferer – the recent example of young Rhys Jones in Liverpool is an outstanding example of this.
If we are to be good citizens then a lot is demanded of us in being prepared to speak up and act on behalf of others, our fellow citizens. It is a clear fact that if we do, all of us, remonstrate with those whose words or actions are offensive, then they would soon stop. As I say, violent reactions are extremely rare although, sadly, a vocal response is now far more common!
And It Pays to Complain!
There is another side to all this – that we are not very good at complaining if we receive bad service. Well, that is most of us – of course there are those who never stop complaining, and we all come across them as we did on our recent holiday where one couple made the life of the holiday reps a misery.
Some time ago, I was staying at a hotel in London which boasts the certainty of a good night’s sleep – but that night was far from it – as for several hours messages arrived (actually from the premises next door) that ‘there is an intruder, prepare to evacuate’. Of course it was a false alarm, but we received little in the way of an apology. Several of us complained and suggested that it was worth something in the way of compensation – nothing happened at the time, but later I did receive tokens off another stay.
On another occasion I discovered a beetle in a meat pie I had bought – I took it back and complained. The assistant asked me what I expected her to do about it. I resisted the temptation to say ‘don’t tell everyone or they’ll all want one’. I insisted on seeing the head of department and then things really happened fast – an immediate offer to replace the pie, which for some reason I declined, plus a ten pound voucher to spend in the store, and later a further thirty pound voucher and letter of apology from Head Office. Of course, as somebody pointed out to me later, I really let that store off the hook, for if I had taken the offending pie to Environmental Health, they really would have copped it!
Where is All This Leading?
So, ‘What Price Citizenship?’ Perhaps we could, readers and contributors alike, take part in an interesting exercise – to spend a few minutes writing down our TEN POINTS OF A GOOD CITIZEN or if you like, TEN THINGS YOU HATE AND FIND ANTISOCIAL.
I would love to hear your responses – sent to me by email if you like, and next month I will tell you how they compare with mine!
Until then – God Bless
