The Stranger on the Bridge

If I am correct, you should be revising. But yet you are procrastinating, by not only scrolling through social media feeds, but by clicking on my blogpost link. And i'm glad you did. Because I'm about to recommend you watch a particular documentary... think of it as another revision break.

The documentary in question is called "The Stranger on the Bridge" (hence the blog post title...) and if i'm honest, I only watched it because I'd seen Steph + Dom and Leon + June react to it on Gogglebox, which may well be the best show on TV to date (besides the actual documentary of course)...

The programme is a depiction of a true story. It documents Jonny Benjamin's quest to find the man who talked him out of jumping off waterloo bridge in 2008 in a suicide attempt. And inevitably, this emotionally charged, moving documentary made me cry enough to want to write a blog post on it.

Without giving away too much, the beginning of the documentary shows Jonny standing on waterloo bridge handing out fliers to passers by to help find the man in question. What started as an unlikely wish progressed into a worldwide campaign, with the tagline #FindMike. News broadcasters around the world helped publicise his story, and millions of people shared his story on social media. Some of those who walked past Jonny recognised his face from television, and some of their words to him were wonderful.

"What you've done is great, and the more thing is: you're here"

"I suffered really really badly from like, bad stuff, like depression and bipolar, and I just wanted to say like - well done - thats all"

"Good luck to you my love, you take care"

It seemed that this unique situation was causing people to show such empathy and good will towards Jonny. It was so genuinely heart-warming to see strangers showing Jonny such warmth, wishing him luck on his journey to find 'Mike'. I only hope those who have had similar experiences to Jonny are met with the same compassion and concern from people close to them.

It led me to wonder what I would say, if I had seen Jonny on that bridge in 2008. At rush hour in London, there must have been hundreds of people that just walked past. I'd like to think that I'd approach them, and have all the right words that would be expressed in such an eloquent and mind-changing narrative that the numb glaze would disappear from their eyes as they climb back over the barrier. I like to think I'd be able to make a difference. But if i'm honest with myself, I would probably panic, and hesitantly walk towards them, hoping that someone far calmer and more qualified would step in at the last moment and be able to do what I could only hope of achieving.

But something one of the passers by said to Jonny really struck me:

"There's so many people that just... no one's got the time of day, I usually get it in the neck from all my mates for going to chat to random people."

Jonny's guardian angel took time out of his day to ultimately save Jonny's life. Now scaling that back, why don't we take time out of our days to brighten someone else's? Small acts of kindness can go a long way. It may seem kind of awkward and unnecessary to you, but it might make have a big impact on someone else.

There was a certain unity amongst ordinary people that was shown in the documentary. Everyone recognised the huge impact that this good samaritan had had on Jonny's life, and the tragedy that he was able to prevent. They recognised Jonny's desire to thank him, and worked together to make his wish become a reality. Jonny's story is one of ordinary people, doing extraordinary things. One of unity and cooperation between people; a stark reminder that we are all just people, muddling through. And highlighting the ever present need to watch out for fellow people. 

I leave you with one passer by's surprisingly profound sentiment:

"You made the right decision. It's a silly place this, and there's a lot of weird shit going on, but it's quite lovely really. We're all on the same team"

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