How you share it
Anne Eardley writes about a Quaker initiative in Manchester
‘The people demonstrating on the steps are Quakers. They say that everyone suffers when we have millionaires on the one hand and homeless have-nots on the other. For the richer countries, what should count is not just how rich you are, but how you share it out. More equal countries have better health, less stress, less violence, more contentment.’
This is the opening of the flyer we handed out on the steps of Central Manchester Meeting House earlier this year. The Social Justice Group of Manchester and Warrington Area Meeting are concerned about inequality in Britain. Progress during the last century towards a fairer society was halted in the late 1970s and the income gap between rich and poor continues to widen. This poses a threat to our national life, as well as to attempts to move towards sustainable living, and our politicians seem unaware of these dangers.
Earlier this year, we started a campaign to alert Quakers to the issue. We produced a set of posters on the theme of inequality. These are now displayed in several Meeting houses. We were also keen to reach out to a wider public and decided to hold an Equality Vigil.
We stood in silence, holding banners and posters that summarised the points made in The Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett and Injustice by Danny Dorling. Some of us were on the pavement offering the flyer (with the title An Equal Britain would be a happier Britain) to passers-by. We sometimes engaged in conversation. The flyer outlined our concern about inequality, the Quaker commitment to equality and what we would like politicians to do. We were heartened by the number of people whose interest was immediately engaged by continuing to read the flyer as they walked away. We felt that this was a useful first step towards alerting the public to what is happening in our society and to what Quakers are suggesting to address issues of inequality.
The vigil is one of a number of activities that we are undertaking with the help of Friends House staff as part of the Supporting Local Initiatives project. We are fortunate in having a Meeting house in a prime city centre location. For those with similarly well-placed venues, we are happy to share our experiences and offer practical advice (email: mwamcampaign@hotmail.co.uk)
