GLASGOW is constantly producing a breed of men who have the capacity to be either saints or sinners. Too often, the decision is made not by themselves but by the social circumstances into which they are born and which shape their destiny.
The old Gorbals was a common forcing place for such men, but there were others, less well known, who transcended and challenged such a fate.
Such a one was John Rankin.
He knew the difference between right and wrong and had the capacity to speak out when he identified what he saw as wrong behaviour. This capacity gained him a reputation for being awkward and difficult - particularly with those among us used to "respect". For John, respect had to be earned, not by having money or status, but by actions.
This was where he went head on with the public services. In the street where he lived, he saw his neighbours being shockingly neglected and it is not too strong to say, on occasion abused, by those paid to maintain the services on which they depended. Tired of trying to change what he saw as an ineffective and inefficient system, he took the lifechanging decision to set up a street community in which people would care for each other and their environment.
This was John Rankin's great gift. He gave people pride in their community.
This was reflected in his funeral. The crematorium was packed full with people who knew him and, who when they spoke about him, made it clear that they loved him and saw him as someone special. Of course he was special, but I think John would not have wanted to be special. He would have wanted the people in this great city of ours to be doing what he did:
challenging authority, but also taking responsibility for their own and their neighbours' way of living together. His neighbours plan to continue his work in the community as the John Rankin project. I think he would have been proud of that.
John Rankin; born February 20, 1947; died May 31, 2005.
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