FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN

When the Empire Windrushbrought immigrants from the West Indies to Britain in the late '40s, those new arrivals weren't dispersed equally across the UK. Many areas didn't get to see a black face for a good long while.

Naturally, perhaps, people were concerned. They had no experience of black people. But they'd heard some terrible things.

They'd open a newspaper, and what would they find - some horrifying scare story about immigrants.

They'd go down the pub and the local bore would tell them some ridiculous tale about the ghastly way the immigrants lived.

Their racist friends would pass on no end of rumours aimed solely at frightening and worrying them about the consequences of having black people in the neighbourhood.

Such are the problems of ignorance. You get newspapers selling ridiculous stories just to upset and infuriate the readers (the Daily Mail and the Telegraph in particular do this).

You get tap room bores and misinformed neighbours rabbiting the latest daft gossip about the issue.

And you end up with people believing no end of nonsense.

Which is where we are at with wind farms. There aren't enough of them in the country yet, and they're spread out a little too much, so that most people in the UK aren't really familiar with them at all. And that's sadly a gift to the irresponsible troublemakers in our midst. The VVASP types, who have no care for honesty or decency, but would rather spin lies, tell tall tales and try to terrify their neighbours FOR NO GOOD REASON.

They're just like the ignorant racists of old, reading their right-wing rubbish and spreading their stupid stories.

One day, we'll recognise those types for what they really are.

Very, very stupid, bigoted, arrogant, dangerously misinformed purveyors of filthy lies.