It's amazing how our preconceptions towards something or someone change how we act. Foreigners are treated with suspicion, celebrities are either heroes or villains and 4x4's such as Land Rovers are used solely to destroy the Earth's atmosphere. The list goes on and on. Since 9/11 it seems every Muslim has a bad name and there's almost an expectation that something bad will happen. I experienced such a thing a few years ago flying back from Chicago, a few days after planned terror attacks on US to UK flights were thwarted.
With the airport on high alert, passengers by default were also uneasy. I was particularly so, as I hate flying anyway and the thought of being blown up mid air rather than crashing due to a catastrophic technical failure really didn't appeal to me. As we started boarding, two Muslim men rushed to the check-in desk. They were obviously late arriving and there was a real danger they wouldn't be allowed on the flight. They pleaded with the clerk to let them on, saying things like "We must be on this flight" and "We have no alternative."
I started to panic, the hundred news channels I'd seen over the past 24 hours had warned about behaviour like this. It got worse. Next they had the audacity to want to sit together "We must sit together" and finally they wanted to ensure their luggage was on the flight "It's so important our bags are on this flight". Convinced I was embarking on a doomed journey I took one last look at the Crispy Kreeme donut stand in the terminal and got on the plane.
Worse was to follow - I was put by an emergency exit and told that if anything were to happen, that the door by me was my responsibility to open. I was petrified. Not only was I going to die, but it was going to be partially my fault for incorrectly operating the door as the plane fell out of the sky in a million pieces. Of course none of this happened. The flight was fine, Nicolas Cage kept me entertained throughout (via my television screen I might add) and we arrived a tad early at London Heathrow.
Upon reflection, wouldn't you insist on being on the flight you'd booked to take you home? Wouldn't you want to sit by your friend, rather than be alone for ten hours? And finally when you arrived at your destination, wouldn't you want your clothes, shaver and presents to be waiting for you? The answer to all these questions is of course "yes". Yet, because of the media causing a moral panic in not just my head, but those passengers around me, those two Muslim men were needlessly under suspicion for the duration of the flight. I still feel ashamed and embarrassed writing about it even now.
The media also causes us to have negative preconceptions about any four-wheel drive vehicles and label those that drive them as having no regard for the wellbeing of the planet and future generations. Now unlike the furore over Muslim people, I can see some logic in the argument that parents using large gas guzzling Land Rovers just to nip to the shops or pick the children up from school is needless. In fact I agree wholeheartedly. The problem comes when eco-mentalists lose perspective. Not long ago there were calls for all off road vehicles to be banned from Britain's ancient rights of way. Just because they'd been used as roads for hundreds of years a Land Rover shouldn't be allowed now in case they roll over some mud and pebbles.
But surely if you are going to get muddy and drive over bumpy stuff, a Land Rover is the car to use? I mean if I took my Hyundai Coupe down a country track I'd either have half the road lodged in the front spoiler, or no front spoiler left at all. It's all preposterous, so if you don't just drive to the corner of your street, I pronounce you consider buying a Land Rover and ignore the media tripe.
Clearly there are other 4x4s out there, but Land Rover are the most well known for a good reason - they're the best. Admittedly the old Discovery was a pretty shocking glitch on their record, but since its re-launch in 2004 you can't go wrong - particularly as prices on used Land Rover Discoverys are in the £11,000 bracket. For a go-anywhere vehicle with the pedigree of Land Rover that's a bargain. It's just a shame the government may stop you short of any mud.