The Hi-jacking of Public Opinion

Minority groups impose their will on large majorities by known techniques. Relevant examples include:

Envy: Hunting is presented as ever-glossy rich, the fallacy being repeated until believed. Homely Hunts have no mention. Neither does the fox. The future of hunting is now in the hands of the judiciary (and in the hands of the Hunts themselves, which is another story and must at present remain a closed book).

Publicity: The number of anti-hunt activists is minuscule compared with followers of hounds. To disguise this they ensure they are always in the news, becoming more high profile than the Hunts themselves.

Incredulity: A clique of vets fed disinformation to Ministers through Whitehall contacts, aimed at ending the docking of dogs’ tails. It had seemed too silly to take seriously, and was disbelieved until too late.

Repetition is the key. Half-truth and untruth, disguised with enough truth to suggest validity, are pedalled until accepted as fact by an uncritical public.