You can’t walk about any urbanised area these days (pretty much everywhere) without having one thrust under your nose and a pitying stare engulf your field of vision. You may be able to move through the crowds of the living dead, bob and weave through the students trying to get you to set up a direct debit to some bureaucratic pyramid scheme masquerading as a charity and even manage to not be accosted by the deranged street preachers… Trying to avoid a Big Issue salesman though is something else. Those that can do it are usually quickly signed up for government jobs as spies or assassins. The rest of us simply have to learn the mantra of “not today mate” and wave the hand like Alec Guinness busting out the Jedi mind trick.
It’s a shame in a way because it’s a good idea. Or rather, it was when it was pioneered by the New York magazine “Street News” in 1989. It worked because it wasn’t mass produced, it was only sold by a few people and the profit was all shared between that group. It dealt with social issues that were relevant to the homeless and the issue of homelessness. The people selling it had some say over content too, the first ever editor and vendor now being a regular columnist and a reformed drug addict who lectures in schools. Not only does it have authenticity it also keeps its operations deliberately scaled down, choosing to act as a template for other similar schemes elsewhere rather than trying to corner a “market”.
Sounds nothing like the Big Issue does it? Successful or not (it supposedly has a circulation of 300,000 copies per week worldwide) it is something that has lost its way as it goes on to become another “brand”, as recognisable on the high street as Marks & Spencers or McDonalds. Hell, they even employ non-homeless people these days. And why not? They have copies to sell, advertising space that simply has to reach people and it’s all in the name of a good cause, so you can’t dislike it. In fact, if you criticise the magazine or anyone involved with it you will receive a handwritten letter from a nun calling you a cunt. Don’t even think about criticising the vendors… They are victims, even the ones that terrify you.
I’d agree on the victim front at least. British society is a fucking joke and there are many people who simply slip through the cracks, bouncing off waiting lists and smacking off the jags of outdated systems as they make their way to rock bottom. No-one seems to care and there are few options. The Big Issue at least provides something, a possible means to earn some money and the opportunity to be directed to some solutions for pressing problems. Yet I can’t help but feel that The Big Issue has slowly but surely become more exploitative in itself as it has grown and they seem cheerfully unaware of this, even publishing their manifesto proudly despite the fact it reads like the sort of thing people have been rallying against for years.
“The Big Issue exists to offer homeless and vulnerably housed people the opportunity to earn a legitimate income by selling a magazine to the general public. We believe in offering ‘a hand up, not a hand out’ and in enabling individuals to take control of their lives.
In order to become a Big Issue vendor an individual must prove that they are homeless or vulnerably housed, undergo an induction process and sign up to the code of conduct. Once they have done so they are allocated a fixed pitch and issued with 5 free copies of the magazine (or 10 in London). Once they have sold these magazines they can purchase further copies, which they buy for £1 and sell for £2, thereby making £1 per copy.
Vendors are not employed by The Big Issue, and we do not reimburse them for magazine which they fail to sell, hence each individual must manage their sales and finances carefully. These skills, along with the confidence and self-esteem they build through selling the magazine, are crucial in helping homeless people reintegrate into mainstream society.”
No wonder then that the poor fuckers are so desperate to offload their copies. The biggest criticism that you can level at The Big Issue is that while its policy hasn’t changed it’s product very much has. A weekly, two pound magazine that has become increasingly about celebrity and suburbia is a tough sell for anyone, let alone a homeless person with more than likely no sales experience beyond their flimsy induction. It’s no wonder I saw one of them trying to sell two for a pound in a desperate bid to shift his soon to be out of date stock, meaning he would actually be making a loss on the deal. Still, money in the hand is better than a pile of out of date magazines.
And if the pitches are so carefully selected, why the fuck are there three of them outside my local train station entrance. If I was going to buy one, which I’m never going to, how would I make the choice of who to purchase from? Perhaps an impromptu interview so I could assess who needs it most? Or I could base it entirely on appearance and go for the smartest hobo. Fuck it, why not simply encourage some three way homeless death match and let the strong benefit from my cash and get stronger… The weak ones will die during the cold winter anyway so it’s a waste of money.
They also stress that the vendors are in charge of their own stock, working hours and sales techniques and because of this it helps them earn self esteem and teaches them the values that US NORMAL FOLK hold so dear. Forget the condescending reality of that statement and instead focus on the reality that “choice” is a bit of whorish mistress. We generally know the right ones from the wrong ones but which one we make largely depends on circumstances. If these people weren’t in a spiral of bad choices they’d not likely be selling the Big Issue in the first place.
Eerily enough the disclaimer that the workers are not employed directly by them echoes the sort of thing put out by Coca Cola whenever Trade Union organisers are murdered. As they’re not directly employed they can’t be held responsible for their actions, nor do they have a duty of care to them. In short, they are on their own, just temporary beneficiaries of a franchise.
Perhaps most criminally of all is the magazine itself, what they are given to sell. If it wasn’t for the “novelty” method of how it was sold, would anyone really read it? It may well have been voted the third most popular newspaper amongst 15-24 year olds in 2001… Even if you overlook that the people answering that survey were just student wankers trying to show how alternative they are, the quality of what they put out has dropped dramatically in the years since. How can they have Prince William on the front? Or an article of anecdotes from Douglas Hurd? These establishment figures are part of the BIG problem, the REAL ISSUE – which would be an infinitely better title for a magazine that was trying to fix some of societies disgusting inequalities.
In the back are vouchers for restaurants that the vendors will more than likely never eat in, reviews of albums that they can’t play, interviews with celebrities that have probably never even held down a menial job, let alone spent a night on the streets. Unless of course it was one of those reality shows where they get to deliver a tearful monologue to the camera about the hardships of it all before a runner brings them a mug of cocoa and an extra thick sleeping bag, while the floor manager beats all the other tramps out of shot with a big stick. Maybe then. But how a homeless person could look at the contents of what they are peddling and not feel disgusted and used is beyond me.
Yeah, no wonder they try so hard to offload them… And still I’m not buying.