My peahen prowlers had important job

kentonline news editor

Sensationalism and journalism. To some they go together like fish and chips and are certainly just as British, however surely there is a point where we can all start having a bit of fun? “In these troubled times, it may only be me who is not comfortable with the word terrorise,” commented the aptly named Die Laughing, “when the story is in fact about a peahen walking up the road”.

Firstly, the story was actually about two peahens and they were doing a lot more than walking up the road. They were prowling around a picturesque village, digging up gardens and invading homes. But those words also went down like a lead balloon.

“This is not any form of terrorism and this writing style is crass,” added the disgruntled Kent Online reader, “It’s bad enough using words like invaded and prowling”.

I wrote the article and perhaps it was “poor journalism,” but it was hardly earth-shattering news, in fact, as the same reader remarked, it was a “lighthearted, local story”.

It was the type of story that has a very important job – making readers smile.

On the other hand maybe I’m being overly sensitive and Die Laughing’s view is unique, but I think it symptomatic of a much wider issue, one which stretches far beyond the borders of Hollingbourne and its peahen problem. Somewhat ironically, a lot of people have stopped laughing.

The constant threat of attack makes the world a very paranoid place, but to me the best way to counter that is to maintain a sense of humour.

If you cannot jokingly call a peahen a terrorist because of the current climate what can you do?