| PROFESSOR BARRIE RICKARDS | |
Professor Barrie Rickards is President of the Lure Angling Society, and President of the National Association of Specialist Anglers as well as a very experienced and successful specialist angler with a considerable tally of big fish to his credit. He is author of several fishing books, including the classic work ‘Fishing For Big Pike’, co-authored with the late Ray Webb and only recently his first novel, ‘Fishers On The Green Roads’ was published. He has been an angling writer in newspapers and magazines for nigh on four decades. Barrie takes a keen interest in angling politics. Away from angling Barrie is a Professor in Palaeontology at the University of Cambridge, a Fellow of Emmanuel College and a curator of the Sedgwick Museum of Geology. |
THE GREATEST DANGER TO ANGLING – THE CHATTERING CLASSES
Okay, so let’s have a go at what I consider to be the greatest danger to angling as we know it in this country. You can forget the labelled anti-angling groups: not only are their numbers small and their arguments idiotic, but we can counter them easily both by reason and by behaviour. They can be a thorn in our sides at times, but not a dagger. No, the real danger to angling lies in the Chattering Classes of this nation.
What or who are they? Well, any definition is likely to be vague, but I’ll try my best. One major dictionary refers to the term as a derogatory term covering educated people, operating as a social group and holding liberal opinions. I would modify that slightly by saying that they hold opinions, always, and on everything, from a shallow appraisal of the media, or simply through gossip with like-minded people at their seemingly endless dinner parties. The opinions can reflect great ignorance, as they do at the moment about angling (“Surely fish must feel pain from a sharp hook?” is a refrain I hear repeatedly).
Therein lies the danger to angling. The anti-anglers are not in themselves a danger to the sport, but if they manage, through misinformation, repeated ad nauseum in the media, to persuade the Chattering Classes that fish feel pain, then that gullible group will spread the word and will lobby.
Gullible? How can educated/intelligent people be gullible? Easy. The easiest people in the world to brainwash are the educated and intelligent. If you don’t believe me, try reading Simpson’s now classic book on brainwashing. It is why, for example, in wartime, intelligent people are ‘turned’ and why the good old British Tommy remains true. I am generalising, of course, but Simpson will convince you.
So who fits in the Chattering Classes as well as the educated and intelligent? Certainly plenty of middle class professionals. Not the 25 hours a day professionals such as policemen, lawyers or many businessmen and women, but the ones less hooked into the super work ethic. Amongst the media people you’ll not find what used to be called the hack journalist involved, but you will find TV people and radio presenters: especially, in my opinion workers for the BBC. Some politicians, naturally, especially in the lower echelons and, quite naturally, liberals (hence that feature of the above definition).
You can get a better idea of who they are by considering some of the other titles under which they are known – again, rather derogatory terms. One is the term Champagne Socialist. Whilst not being exactly synonymous with Chattering Classes, it means those people who espouse socialist ideas whilst at the same time having a privileged background: their social consciences are pricked, they feel a little guilty, and so they pretend to be what they really cannot be. A lot of Labour politicians are embraced by this sobriquet. National politicians, rather than local ones. Or Radio 4 presenters.
Then there is the term Caf
