WHO'S IN THE RIGHT?
Who is really in the right?
Those of you who are concerned that you will be labelled NIMBY’s (Not in My Back Yard) for opposing a development such as that proposed for the Earl’s Hall Farm, should take heart from the summary comments below from the respected commentator Terence Blacker.
"… the values a nimby defends were, until very recently, those which most environmentally-minded people would support. The nimby believes that to contribute to a better world a person should start with the one area over which he or she can have some influence: the local community and landscape. That influence might involve litter, vandalism, transport, the use of land. At its core is the idea that the local should be balanced against the national.
Action in a person's own area is rarely glamorous; it involves work and application but, the nimby believes, it is worth more than any number of warm words about the state of Planet Earth. The nimby protects the small against the big. Those with a threatened "back yard" (a sneering phrase which can be used to describe most of ) will know just how powerful the outside forces of profit, politics and populism now are.
… the new hero of the hour was the developer, a large and wealthy firm, openly and frankly motivated by the massive potential profits offered by public subsidies.
… in this most selfish of ages, it was those arguing that an enormous development affecting the lives of those living in local villages was a wasteful and wrong-headed approach to climate change who were demonised. These were the selfish ones the nimbies.
In the face of this prejudice and propaganda, it takes courage to be a nimby. The qualities of a particular area will seem insignificant beside the fate of the earth. Set against big, sexy statistics concerning the future of mankind, the future of a moorland, a wood, some fields, a village, will seem puny. But it is not. It is in these places that a nation's soul resides; they are too important to be obliterated in a mood of emotion and anxiety for some nebulous, ill-defined national interest.
These things have been known in the past and, although they are currently drowned out by dishonest clichés, will probably be understood in the future. In the meantime, anyone brave enough to speak up for them around the country deserves gratitude not sneers. The nimby is one of the unsung heroes of these very odd times.”
Terence Blacker
"Nimbyism should be applauded, not despised" (The Independent 4th January 2008)
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