Recently, one afternoon, while I was cycling back home to Chipping Sodbury, I saw a young man with a bicycle sitting on the pavement against a wall. It looked like he had his jeans down so I immediately moved away, thinking, this has nothing to do with me and I had best avoid the situation. But then I suddenly wondered if he was okay and I went over to speak to him. It turned out that his jeans were torn through from him having fallen off his bicycle and gashing his leg quite badly. Fortunately, his mother was on her way to pick him up. When she arrived moments later, she and I got her son up on his feet and supported him walking to the car, as he was clearly in a lot of pain.
His mother was very grateful to me for helping, while privately, I reflected on how prepared I was to just walk on by. It was the sight of the bicycle and recognition that this could so easily have happened to me that made me reconsider and I’m glad that I did.
The way that we ‘other’ people so readily and distance ourselves from them has been hitting me a lot lately. And yet, I’ve been discovering in most situations where I feel I have nothing in common with certain people, I find if I continue to search, I can usually find some shared experience or interest.
We are often so quick to judge others on their appearances or for having different beliefs or life journeys, dismissing such people as having nothing to do with us. As a society, we should always strive to acknowledge, accept, and respect differences. And of course, we don’t have to like or get along with everyone indiscriminately, but there is a real danger of ‘othering’ people to the point where they no longer seem human to us. Such beliefs can lead to the worst behaviour in us – discrimination, ostracization and reprehensible acts of violence.
Instead, while acknowledging and respecting diversity, it is always a good practice with fellow human beings to look for similarities. Underneath outward appearances or life choices, we all struggle with issues, frailties, needs and desires. If we can truly acknowledge and understand this, we can begin to have compassion and patience for one another and the desire to help where we can.
Ultimately one day, it can and will be ourselves in need of such help too.