National "Make No Assumptions About People Who Drop Litter" Week

I was in central London on Saturday and a woman walking along in front of me dropped the cellophane wrapping of her cigarette pack to the pavement.  It’s not an unusual act but it revolted and incensed me.  I knew exactly what I should do, which was to pick it up and give it to her, innocently suggesting that the piece of rubbish belonged to her and she must want it back.

But I didn’t, and then the moment passed and I thought about why I hadn’t.  She was a well dressed woman, quite posh looking, so I wasn’t worried about being punched in the face; perhaps I was a little afraid of getting into a row, though the right was on my side.  It was convention that stopped me, and knowing that she’d think I was being sarcastic and rude if I suggested the scrap of sellophane belonged to her. 

Thinking about this deeper, I’m not sure this is right.  If I drop things, even things I don’t need, I make quite a lot of effort to pick them up – even in the road, so it doesn’t follow that other people who drop things do it intentionally.  So I wondered, if everyone made the assumption that sweet wrappings, cigarette butts, sandwich packets, crisps and cans, all that junk that you see smudging around the streets, had been dropped by mistake, perhaps that would help.

So this is what I propose: 

1   if people drop things, assume they have done it by mistake;

2   if you notice someone doing something by mistake, it’s courteous to point it out, pick it up for them, and give it back, non-judgementally, not in a patronising way, but just being helpful;

3   if this was the norm, and everyone did it, the few people that chuck stuff down deliberately would start to feel embarrassed;

4   if everyone was offering litter back to droppers, we wouldn’t be scared or embarrassed.

I think we should try this.  For one week to start with, perhaps at the end of March, and then we could try another week of it, so by the time the Olympics arrive, we’d have had loads of practice.   Does anyone want to join me?

      If you are wondering why this is on the mediation blog it's because making no assumptions, and not judging people, and not confronting them with what they've done wrong, is the bread and butter of conflict resolution, and the sooner the government start understanding that rather than carrying on in the old style - criticism, judgement, penalty and all that, offering mediation as a bolt-on - nothing will change - at least nothing will change for the better.