Kindness Is Contagious; Tell Us When You Experienced It Or Saw It Happen: Block Talk

Here’s something you may have missed but is sure to pick you up:

In a Gallup poll earlier this year, a majority of Americans said they live around people who treat them and others with kindness and respect every day. The poll also showed almost three-fourths of respondents think Americans are kind — not necessarily kind to the same degree, but kind.

In other words, being generous and nice is who we are. Those 8 percent who told the Gallup pollsters they never see kindness in practice are the outliers.

The poll showed something else: Kindness is contagious. People who receive or witness kindness are more likely to be kind to strangers. And among those who said they had been shown kindness many times in the past week, nearly eight in 10 said they’re comfortable showing kindness to strangers.

Can we just say, in our giddiest social media voice, we couldn’t love this more?

So, for Block Talk, Patch’s exclusive neighborhood etiquette column, we’re looking for your stories about kindness — times you’ve been shown grace and generosity, times you’ve practiced kindness, and times you’ve seen it extended to others. What’s the kindest, nicest thing a neighbor has ever done for you or that you’ve seen done for others?

Just fill out the survey below. As always, we don’t collect email addresses.

About Block Talk

Block Talk is a regular Patch feature offering real-world advice from readers on how to resolve everyday neighborhood problems. If you have a neighborhood etiquette question or problem you'd like for us to consider, email beth.dalbey@patch.com with Block Talk as the subject line.

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