The relatively new method of extracting gas from the ground - 'fracking' - has been introduced in the United States with very little noise and is proving to be hugely successful. In this country, a horde of professional protesters are threatening to disrupt its introduction, to the enormous disbenefit of the nation. The current activities of such people near the village of Balcombe in Sussex almost defy belief.
Whether or not 'fracking' is safe I have no idea; I suspect it is no more dangerous than many other industrial processes and is unlikely to result in major catastrophes such as the 'Torrey Canyon' disaster, the Exxon Valdez oil spill or the Deepwater Horizon disaster. It is also unlikely that it will result in as many deaths as did coal mining during its hundreds of years of operation. However, none of this seems to deter organised gangs of protesters who seem to emerge from nowhere whenever there is something about which they can complain.
What really gets me is that these protesters appear all over the country at the drop of a hat - young and old, families with children, single mothers, louts with long hair and tattoos, girls with coloured hair and an assortment of body piercings. Where do they come from ? Where do they live ? What do they live on ? Do they have jobs ? Do they pay income tax, council tax, road tax and so on ?
I suspect the answers to these questions are generally ones which would cause the hackles to rise and the blood to boil in any hard working household where their taxes are paid and the laws obeyed. One suspects that many, if not most, of these unkempt protesters have rarely, if ever, worked, have no fixed abode and live on a mixture of state benefits and the products of thievery; their children probably have no settled life or schooling. In short, they are the dregs of society but attempt to excuse their behaviour by hiding behind an environmentalist badge of honour.
Why are these people allowed to exist in the way that they do ? Why are these non-contributors to our society allowed to disrupt it so much ? Why are our police and politicians so lily-livered when it comes to dealing with them when they're so quick to pounce on others for exceeding speed limits or dropping litter ?
Does anyone have any answers ?
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