Why don't people do more to help society?

[Calmnesspersonified]

I just went for a walk and it got me thinking about why people don't do more to help society. It's been raging on my local community facebook groups about why the paths aren't gritted (it's been really icy here) but there's no way that the council can do even a tiny percentage of all of them.

I grit my estate every time it's icy and don't understand why more people don't do the same. If everyone just adopted their street and made sure it was gritted in the ice and kept free of litter a huge proportion of the country would be litter free and navigable in the ice. I know that some couldn't get involved e.g. the elderly, people working crazy hours, some disabilities etc but millions more could.

Even if there's no nearby grit bin, a bag of grit doesn't cost a fortune and many people can afford a few pounds (I'm well aware some can't and that's understandable). Litter pickers can be as cheap as £2 and are often available for free from town councils. Sacks often are too.

It doesn't even have to take more than a few minutes. It took about 3 minutes to grit my road this morning. I went to the dentist on Monday and got there 15 minutes early. I picked up half a sack of rubbish outside while I waited (instead of playing on my phone like everyone else in the waiting room).

There's so many ways to help. Listen to readers at a local school, offer to take your neighbours kids/dog for a walk to give them an hour free, volunteer to go into a care home to talk to someone who doesn't get visitors, slip a fiver through the letter box of someone you know is struggling, give a fiver to the food bank, litter pick, grit your road etc. Why don't people do more. People say they don't have time but so many spend hours on their phone or watching TV.

I'm certainly no bloody angel but I couldn't sit back and do nothing to help my town. Why don't people do more?

This may go down like a lead balloon but I do sometimes wonder if they should get day release prisoners to do these sorts of things.

If they won't want to then perhaps they shouldn't commit crimes in the first place!

Plus we have plenty of prisoners who could be chain ganged into doing that and litter picking.
It's a winner, they ear their keep and put something back into society, we get snow and litter free streets.
What's not to like.

Snap.

The gritting point. The compensation culture is such that some will not help, fearing that someone will claim against them.

Volunteering- some don't because bureaucracy delays them being able to start immediately, or feel it is intrusive to be asked.

My experience is exactly the opposite to what you're saying.

I've been part of a group helping cars up the road with towels and grit and shovels on more than one occasion. The grit btw was people's own purchased stuff as the council has taken almost every grit bin out.

I see people walking up the road carrying rubbish to the nearest bin.

People knock on the door of their neighbour to check they're okay in the heat/cold/haven't seen them for a couple of days.

Most front gardens are joined and the majority of people do their neighbour's lawn when they have the mower out.

When it's windy and the bins have blown over you'll see people going along the street picking them up and trying to put them where they won't go again and picking up the rubbish flying about.

When the power went one day a group of people walked up the road knocking on doors offering hot water so people could make tea/coffee.

I've been out for a walk down a small walkway and met someone trimming the brambles back to make it easier to get through.

We sometimes put out appeals or ask for volunteers and it's amazing what we get. Often we get so many volunteers we can't use them all. Last time we asked for a specific item-we got 10 cars full.

All little things that people do for others with no thought of praise or payment.

All this in a small town in the SE, not a particularly amazing place so I imagine it's replicated all over the country.

But, you know, the majority of people who do these things do them quietly. They're not washing their clean linen in public. They do it because they want to help, not so people can say how amazing they are. So unless you see them doing it you wouldn't know.

People are just about keeping their heads above water at the moment and we are all time-poor. Humans are meant to be communal creatures, 40 hours a week plus childcare plus life admins leaves us all exhausted.

Yes I know.

But I'm not going to go knock on their doors and tell them to.

I don't think anyone asked you to but maybe they'd join in if they saw you doing it?

Oh I thought it was an error, I've never heard the word before. Happy to have learned it now and will use every chance I get.

On the volunteering or doing your bit, I did, for years, I got nothing but grief for it.
Well some of it was welcomed some not so much. After a while you are burned out, you see the exact same people turning up to give their time free, time after time, year after year.

I'm now at the stage I could do more, but I'm no longer willing. Its always taken for granted.
I will tell you how it goes, we will use gritting as the example.

I'll grit the street one morning, 5am before I go to work.
Next morning by 6am no one else has done it so because I'm off today, I'll do it again. Next day I'm on late shift, no one has gritted so it's not done.
Next day I've got the time, I'll grit the street (I get up early especially to do this)
Next day I do it but later on for reasons.
Next day I cba, my neighbour comes over and says why haven't you gritted nicola? I was counting on you doing it so I could get my car out of the street. I say sorry it's not my job I did it out of the goodness of my heart.
He grumbles but says ok never mind. The next day I bother my arse and do the gritting, another neighbour comes to talk to me, says fab job nicola, will you be continuing.
No says I, I'm on late late shifts, how about starting a rota, or asking others on the (very long, very steep) street?
Oh no, I thought it was your job.
Ad infinitum until I reach 55 years old and think, my knees cant take this any more, I quit or more likely, I realise I'm the only one stupid enough to keep doing this with fuck all thanks, and now after a just 10 days the entire street thinks it's my paid job and I should always do it between 4 and 6 am.

No thank you.

Is that you David Cameron? Banging on about the Big society again? Why not use the council tax paid to pay workers to do stuff?

From the UK Government website.

Plainly rubbish. If you search online, you'll find solicitors stating that not gritting or clearing snow DOESN'T necessarily mean you can't be sued.

But it is highly unlikely anyone will be sued, even if you grit and clear. They also state its a myth you'll be liable if you clear it.

In addition to the Uk Government website above, the Met Office published the advice attached from the Department Of Transport.

Let's not spread myths around....🤷‍♂️

Gritters only drive on the roads where the bus route is. So where i live, it means i will never see a gritter onnthe road. Im 2 miles from the nearest bus stop so i have a hell of a lot of gritting to do. And litter picking? Its a tidy place usually apart from the day the recycle truck comes round a d if they drop an item on the floor, it stays there.

According to one worker they haven’t got the time to pick everything up. So sure as hell I don’t it neither. I pay my council tax to cover this. I also work for that said council and im happy to report the unpicked litter to them.

@CryInToYourCornflakesNicola has it spot on.

To be fair @DownNative that says "unlikely" it doesn't say you won't be sued.

I can confirm I have in the past been billed for damage done to an external metal staircase by salt. I cant even see how salt I put on my exit even got to the metal staircase on someone elses exit, but I was the only one seen in the vicinity using salt, so I got blamed

So its aimed at me then. I currently do no volunteering at all. I've had enough of being taken for granted. I'm also getting on and want the younger ones to do something. My last volunteer role was getting second hand bikes, refurbishing, making sure safe to use for children and giving to children, also a repair it workshop for them to learn to fix punctures and get new bits as needed. I advertised the whole local area, I went round in my own car to pick up old bikes, I paid money to fix them/alter them as needed. Even fund raised for a special trike for one child who needed it, only for it to be stolen. From a disabled kid. How utterly disgusting.

All that time, all that money, and I have nothing to do with it any more. It's still going, no one else has joined it's just limping along until another me joins in to do the collections and fund raising. It might just die when spare parts run out. I dont care. I've had enough.

And this story repeats over and over again. Ive taken over from others who have been in similar positions, I've often thought, it wont happen to me, I'm always happy to help in some small ways. But its happened. I'm done with volunteering, you want my skills now, you pay me.

For the people that state they don't have time as want to be with family/kids, do you not think they would benefit mentally by seeing you doing these goods deeds. Surely it's good all round.

or feel resentful and neglected and carry a chip on their shoulders about it forever? Lose lose

I don't understand why you just tell them to do it one day as its not your responsibility everyday.

This thread is just daft.

Most people do what they can - some people do nothing, which is unhelpful for the community

Most people dont do too much - some people do, and martyr themselves and neglect their own health and children and this is also unhelpful and causes more issues than it resolves

Everybody - including the OP - ( especially the OP) can be criticised for not doing enough. Or criticised for martyring themselves and causing more problems than they solve - look at the response the OP has got on this thread.

The fact that the OP clearly isn't doing as much to help society as they could, and is being accused of doing too much, illustrates this exactly

Key phrase is ".....if you have cleared the path carefully."

Other key point is that everyone STILL has a responsibility to look where they're going.

Ergo, highly unlikely anyone will be sued.

A quick google shows that it is perfectly fine to clear snow from outside your house. You are only in danger of being sued if you make things worse I.e using water which then refreezes as ice. If you use grit/salt and someone falls it is still their responsibility to be careful.

Actually, I do think the OP has a point. I don’t personally do very much when I could really. I have been a school governor before but I had to give it up (the meetings were during the day and my work wouldn’t allow me the time to attend anymore).

Then my DH became ill and needed almost 24 hour care, I also had small children to deal with and needed to keep my job.

Well he is better now and back at work. My DC are older and look after themselves.

The only thing I do is contribute to the food bank occasionally. I actually have lots of time available. I just feel apathetic at the moment and I’m not sure I have the head space yet. This thread has made me feel guilty for wasting my time doing nothing.

@CryInToYourCornflakesNicola i think you're missing the point! The OP can't be aimed at you because you have more than done your bit. It's like you're grasping at straws to make the OP a personal attack on you. The thread was aimed at people who never do anything to help society.