FROM 30 NOVEMBER 2020 BIGISSUE.COM| 15ithabitofluckandscience, 2020 willgodowninhistoryastheworst
ofallyears.Wedon’twantanotherlikethatagain,andwithscience
comingtoouraidwemaybefreeoftheworst.
Butif 2020 goesdowninhistoryastheyearoftragicandavoidable
deaths,unemployment,lonelinessandseparationthenitmayalsogodownasa year
ofsocialkindness.Noyearwassocrammedfullofa sensethatwehavetohelpthosein
desperateneed.Thatweareatourbestwhenwemakeassociationswiththeweakest,
andourhumanitygrowsinmagnitudebecauseofthat.
SocialKindnessneedscelebrating,andencouraging,andbecomingthebedrock
hopefullyofa revivalofourcommunitiesandourdignitiesasjustandcaring.
I knewsomethingwashappeningwhena largesupplieroftoiletrollsandother
cleaningitems,includinghandgel,issueda lettertoallofitscustomers.Ifanycustomer
thattheysuppliedwasfoundtobeprofiteeringoutofthesuppliestheyprovided,the
companywouldstopdeliveries.
ThatwaswhenI wokeuptohowincrediblethetimeswerebecoming.Thatthe
supposedindi�ferencebredintousbydecadesofconsumerismandcommercialism
couldnothideourbasichumanity.IsupposeIwasalsogreatlyin�luencedandmoved
whena friendtookhisguitarandsangandentertainedhundredsofpeopleinhislocal
streets.PhilRyan,whonearly 30 yearsbeforehadhelpedmestartTheBigIssue,did
allofthiswithoutbidding.Hedidn’tneedanimpresariotoarrangehisFridaynight
streetgigs.Hesowedseedsofaccordanda feelingofbelonginginLondonstreetsthat
previouslyhadbeendisinfectedagainsta�fectionandfeeling.
I wasastonishedwhenthegovernmentina blizzardofcontradictoryadvicetookit
uponthemselvesforthefirsttimeinlivingmemorytoacceptresponsibilityforrough
sleepers.Nota hundredpercentbuttheygotasnearasdammitandprovedthatwe
couldsolveroughsleepingifwehadthewill.
WhenfurloughscamealongI sawthisasSocialKindnessdressedupintheclothing
ofnecessity.ButI didnotfeelthatitwaspoliticalposturing,asquitea numberofpeople
saw it. I saw it as an opportunity to give space so that people would not fall completelyWopinion.Oneofakind
Thevolunteersdelivering
essentialsbecamethe
poster image of lockdownintothetrapofevictionbecauseofjobloss:andthereby
becomea newcohortofthehomeless.
I alsoknewthatthebigstrugglewasbeforeustokeep
peopleoutofevictionandinwork.Sothatwedon’thave
a newwaveofpeoplejoiningthehomelessqueuefor
temporaryaccommodation.
WhenNationwide,thelargestmutualintheUK,said
thatitwouldhaveanembargoonanyevictionsuntilMay
2021,I knewthatthisunprecedentedturnofthingswasan
expressionofSocialKindness.
I amsurethateveryoneofuscantalkaboutthesudden
inclusionoftheneedyaroundusinthesocialequation
ofcareandsupport.I knowI cantellyouofpeoplewho
havechangedtheirviewofthespacesoftheircommunity
becausetheyhavesoughtouthowtheycanhelp.They
haveuppedtheirsociabilityovernight.
AsanageinggitIhaveevenbeeno�feredonionsand
freshvegetablesbymylocalchurch,irrespectiveofmy
Marxist-Catholicleanings.
Wehavetoenter 2021 armedwithvaccinesandgood
socialdistancing.Butwealsohavetoenteritwiththe
socialstrengthoffeelingweputtogetherthroughthe
SocialKindnessof2020.Wehavetobuildbackbetter,and
thatmuststartinthecommunityaroundus.Involvingthe
younginseeingoursocialhumanityasmoreimportant
thanever,ifwearetolivea fulllife.
It’snotallcakesandales,andI willexpectsome
observerstonotseetheimportanceofSocialKindness.I
knowI spentmanydecadeshatingthesocialkindnessof
Christmas,whenpeoplecaredabouthomelesspeople.I
hateditbecauseitdidnotextendbeyondtheseasonof
hollyandmistletoeando�ficeparties.Homelesspeople
werenotjustforChristmas,ranmyargument.
Butthebevvyofoutstandingoutburstsofsocial
kindnessthathavepeppered 2020 witha deepsenseof
solidarityisa goodplacetostarttheNewYear.Besceptical
ifyoumust,butnotcynical.Cynicismpoisonstheholder,
inmyexperience.Beingscepticalisgoodenough.That
meansyoumightjustbeopentoconversiontothewhole
ideathat 2020 wasa brilliantdemonstrationofhowwe
suspendedself-interestformutualcommunityinterest.
Possiblythegreatestexpressionofsocialkindness
istheexemplarywaythattheNHScametoouraidand
proveditself,inspiteofunderinvestmentoverdecades,
asthestaroftheyear.Andthankgodforallofthoselate
nightstheOxfordteamputin,givingusa vaccinetohelp
uslookforwardtoa healthier2021.
Ifwedoremember 2020 asa timeofsocialkindnesswe
willcertainlyhavea fullerChristmasandNewYear.Andset
againstthetragediesandlossesitmightmakethefuture a
morebearableproposition.
Allofthiswithoutmentioningallthewonderful
supportourBigIssuevendorshavegotfromthe public!
Nowthat’sanotherpagetocontemplate.THISWEEKJOHNWILLBEJohnBirdisthefounderandEditorinChief
ofTheBigIssue.@johnbirdswords
linkedin.com/in/johnbirdswords
[email protected]Photo:
Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert / Alamy
WATCHING:The
MarvelousMrs.Maisel,
Series1,comedy-drama
onAmazonPrimeLISTENINGTO:
Rachmanino�f’sSecondPiano
Concerto No 2 in C MinorREADING:PegasusBridge
(D-day:TheDaringBritish
AirborneRaid)by Stephen
E AmbroseGETTINGOVER:The
national lockdownJOHNBIRDLet’s remember2020 as theyear of socialkindnessC
ELEBR
ATINGS
OC
IALKINDNESS