Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Challenging litterbugs - is it worth it?
Walking down the road, I see a plastic cup being thrown out of the window of a parked black Range Rover. I peered in and said 'aren't you going to throw that in a bin where it belongs?'
The youth inside said 'no', then 'you put it in the bin then'. I said 'no, of course not, I'm not your servant. I'll pick it up and put it back in your car though'.
He says 'go on then, do it' - so I pick it up, and he's ready to tip a cup of pink juice over me - so I ask 'are you really going to pour that on me?' and at this point his friend comes along and starts filming me and calling me a weirdo. Of course at this point I was so riled I instead threw the empty cup on his bonnet and marched off. He then drove along me, threw the juice at me from a distance, until I got to a crossing, at which point he made to turn into my path but waited - so I said 'I've got your licence plate number [XLG was all I had] I'll call the police if you drive into me' and the driver's girlfriend pipes up 'no I'll call the police on you! For throwing a cup on our car!'
At which point irritated drivers behind honked so much he drove off.
I really despair at the world sometimes. I see people throwing rubbish out of their cars every day. Does no one have a sense of civic responsibility anymore? Haringey looks like a dump because of selfish people like these three. If no one challenges them then things will never get better, or maybe this guy will be even more inclined to throw rubbish on the street to piss off other do-gooders like me?
God knows what they are going to do with the film clip of me...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by ThaiDi on
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The word instead of 'do-gooder' I was looking for was actually 'busy body'. Still shaken up!
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Permalink Reply by Penguin on
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Well done for what you did.
These people don't mind trash because they are...well, trash.
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Permalink Reply by Dan77 on
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Huge applause, and I think it's worth the pulse-raising unpleasantness. Think about it: If everyone who hated littering did what you did, we'd stamp it out eventually.
I told someone off recently, and he actually said: "Anyone can do what they want," like it was a human rights issue.
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Permalink Reply by Maddy on
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Yes I got accused of 'trying to control everyone' when I pointed out that I my home was on that street and I hated walking past litter all the time.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah on
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I challenge people when I have the opportunity. People out of cars respond better as they don't have the protection of 1 tonne of metal surrounding them. I just say something like "excuse me, you dropped something. There's a bin right there". At least half of the time they pick it up. Sometimes they genuinely have dropped something! The other day when I was deliberating whether to challenge a guy he turned around and picked whatever it was up.
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I think it's wise to choose non-aggressive words - so that minimises the comeback while still getting the point across...
My usual line being "is that the way your mother taught you to behave?"....or "I bet you wouldn't have done that in front of your mother"...."your mother's not here to pick up after you, so I will" (whilst tutting)
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Oh yes I've been tempted to use the line "shall I put that in the bin for you?"
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I wish I'd spoken to the girlfriend in the car and said something along the lines of 'find yourself someone who isn't so selfish'. If he thinks he can pour a drink over someone he can't be a very nice person...
The problem here was that there was no bin in sight - hence he should have kept it in his car until he found one.
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Permalink Reply by Richard Hulbert on
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So i think everybody here feels your pain. Over the years I have had various run ins with litter bugs. I have found the best way of dealing with them (for me at least) is to pick up the item and say "let me help you with that" put it in the nearest bin.
I see it like this: If it was a genuine mistake they will say "thanks or sorry", if they are simply careless they will see you care and who knows, they might just think about where they stick their rubbish next time. In any event I have found that people seldom take kindly to being told off in public (by the way that is in NO way a criticism of your reaction,i've certainly been there!). People generally like the moral high ground (even if some get lost looking for it).
Stupidity and selfishness are growing epidemics at the moment I fear that littering is just the mildest manifestation of a wider carelessness.
Peace and Love Harringayers!
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