Explaining the inexplicable

Posted on May 20, 2015 by ianchisnall

On day 3 of a 3 day trip to the Black Forest region of Germany, speaking to other people from Europe on how faith groups can improve the lives of rural communities I am now getting fed up of trying to explain why Britain is so unwelcoming of people from other nations, why our attitude towards the European Union is so destructive and why we are so opposed to onshore wind as a source of renewable energy. There are small clusters of land based turbines all over the area and rather than appearing ugly and damaging the landscape, they seem elegant and in keeping with a desire for mankind to live in compromised harmony with nature. As someone who is in sales for a living it is my role to go to clients when things have not gone to schedule or some other problem has occurred. However on this occasion I don’t have anything constructive to say. However I do get some credit in the eyes of these incredulous Europeans when I point out that I voted Green and we have a Green MP.

About ianchisnall

I am passionate about the need for public policies to be made accessible to everyone, especially those who want to improve the wellbeing of their communities. I am particularly interested in issues related to crime and policing as well as health services and strategic planning.

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This entry was posted in Environment, Parliament and Democracy and tagged Black Forest, European Union, Green Party, On-Shore Wind Power. Bookmark the permalink.

4 Responses to Explaining the inexplicable

Tony Sheppard says:

May 20, 2015 at 7:58 am

Do you feel that the “unwelcoming” attitude is endemic, or might it just be the vocal minority that gets the rest of us tarred with the same brush? If the latter, then it becomes a matter of explaining the reserved nature of the British, making it often difficult to know the feelings of the majority.

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- ianchisnall says:
  
  May 20, 2015 at 8:27 am
  
  It’s an important point Tony, I certainly hope that the unfriendly attitude is no more than toxic froth but the worry is that the pint and possibly the whole barrel has become contaminated with whatever illness people like Farage carry (ignoring the irony of his own domestic arrangements).
  
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Richard Wright says:

May 20, 2015 at 10:50 am

On the contrary, my experience once outside the Channel ports and presumably airpport cities where there may be a jaundiced view is that we are a welcoming nation. Let’s not forget that individuals can take a dislike to other characters on the basis of personal chemistry; that’s not based on nationality.
There are Nazi elements still in Germany, far right elements in France and other shades of opinion in all countries which equal or exceed UKIP – or dare I say it, even BNP! But in general terms the beer is non-toxic and palatble by my observations.
As far as wind farms are concerned, everyone is conservative (note lack of capitalisation) to a degree. We need to spread the idea that wind turbines are far less ugly that pyulon lines (ok – my opinion) up with which we have put for decades. Offshore wind farms, on the horizon, are an excellent idea in my view.

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- ianchisnall says:
  
  May 20, 2015 at 11:22 am
  
  Hi Richard the experience of which I write is both personal and also contemporary in the context of the recent election. However it is a true reflection of a series of discussions with 70 community activists from all across Europe that took place some 40km from the nearest airport.
  
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