15 Responses to “ What have you done?! This is what we think of Brexit. ”
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JessicaRulestheUniverse.com
Personal blog of Jessica Zafra, author of The Collected Stories and the Twisted series
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June 26th, 2016 at 07:47
On BBC a man who voted Leave looked, as the Brits would put it, gobsmacked, saying he was shocked his vote actually counted. Imagine that. Voter’s remorse. For some of them, voting Leave was a protest vote, but they didn’t really think it would become reality. When I was young there was a saying: Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.
June 26th, 2016 at 15:01
I always exercise my right to vote as it might be the one that would make a difference. Between this and the recent Philippine Elections (where I can no longer vote unless I get a dual citizenship), I’m glad that I had the chance to vote for what I believe in and that it has actually won. The EU told us it’s given us the best deal and we couldn’t expect anymore. If (the other party says) we got the best deal and we’re still not happy, I think, as in any relationship, it is better to leave. From here on it is hard work and I start by avoiding the media, as it is there mostly to instill fear and negativity.
P.S. The Monty Python sketches are still the best and if I remember correctly, John Cleese was also for Leave (no, I didn’t base my decision on this).
June 28th, 2016 at 19:36
It’s mind-boggling, the things Nigel Farrage is saying at the EU Parliament post-Brexit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40ule97jkRA
Another head-scratcher.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jun/25/view-wales-town-showered-eu-cash-votes-leave-ebbw-vale
And this one is just sad really.
https://eatseehearcardiff.wordpress.com/2016/06/26/a-remainer-in-the-belly-of-the-brexit-beast/
June 28th, 2016 at 21:22
avignon: All is not lost.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/27/stop-brexit-mp-vote-referendum-members-parliament-act-europe
June 29th, 2016 at 03:15
What saddens me the most is after winning, the Leavers are more focused on their campaign to “keep the immigrants out.” As an immigrant I obviously had other reasons for voting Leave, mainly the basics (health care, education). My husband’s job is Europe-based. He travels everywhere in Europe two-three times a month and not being a part of the EU might prove difficult for him but we didn’t think of personal gain, instead on how UK would be in the long run (we have two very young children). I had a funny feeling when I woke up and saw that we won. I was happy and thought, don’t be too happy, this might be like a giant bubble of a Red Wedding.
I may be stubborn but I still would like for Brexit to happen, maybe just because of pride and not look funny to be a part of what could be the world’s most expensive, pointless, ridiculous democratic exercise.
@jessica: Have you seen any episode of Only Fools and Horses? It’s great British comedy, it’s set in London but it’s like everyday scenes in Quiapo. I’ve watched the whole series (66 episodes) three times.
@avignon: are you in the neighbourhood (in France)?
June 29th, 2016 at 04:22
I think we’ll be fine.
http://mashable.com/2016/06/28/keanu-reeves-parliament-brexit-matrix-neo-point-break/#zueE1oBf1Pq0
June 29th, 2016 at 11:02
Catherine Walder: I salute your commitment to staying calm and civilized in the midst of the yelling. Decisions made on the basis of fear and anger never work out well, as I fear we may find soon enough. Good luck to all of us. We have an advantage in that we have the consolations of art and literature.
On a personal note I have always looked upon England as a haven: when everything goes sideways it is a beacon of sanity. That haven is gone.
June 29th, 2016 at 14:54
Jessica, thank you. I know this is getting to be very long but: Avignon sent a link above to a place in Wales which I admit is something I’ve never experienced in Europe (touch wood). I remember my late father-in-law warning me of places in England where “they’d cut off your finger just to get your ring.” Not that I’d be shocked as I’d heard of similar things happen to people I know in the Phils. Our little village is some 45 miles from London but it’s so quiet and there’s lots of countryside that you feel you’re farther. Although diverse, majority are still English people whom I find are warm, welcoming and friendly (again, touch wood). My daughter is the only mixed-race in her class, right now it’s not a problem but I know children can be cruel… We live on Church Road and the local vicar doesn’t seem to remember names or faces until on one occasion when I just happened to find out that he misses his bin collection and that it was his wheelie bin that sometimes mysteriously appeared beside ours and that the bin men emptied his and not ours (it was cheeky for a homeowner to have two). He now seems to be embarrassed every time I see him. I guess the news disappoints me because it is so different from what I experience everyday. What I’m trying to say is when you have time in the future, I invite you to come here and you might find that the England of your English literature still exists in these parts. Thanks again, Jessica, I’ve always looked up to your words.
June 29th, 2016 at 17:09
Catherine Walder: I am in Manila. The Brexit doesn’t affect me in any shape or form but I have been following it with great interest since Friday when the polls closed. CNN, the BBC, and The Guardian (one of those rare sites where the comments section is remarkably idiot-proof) have given me a sense of a country united in its recognition of the issues besetting it, but deeply divided on the solution. From my distant vantage point, it looks to me like leaving the EU is like jumping from the frying pan to the fire. Why leave if the intention is to do business with the EU anyway, with little chance of being allowed control of immigration (no cherry-picking, according to Merkel), and at huge risk of economic and political instability? What is most tragic to me is all these young people saying they have been robbed of a future (being able to live and work in 27 other countries as EU citizens). I too have wondered if such a complex question, with generational ramifications, should have been put to a referendum, or if a certain threshold should have been required, say, 60%. Having said that, I watched with admiration as David Cameron spoke before the House of Commons and answered questions from the MPs. That right there, and the referendum (for all the turmoil its results may cause the country), is democracy in action.
June 30th, 2016 at 03:40
hi avignon, thank you for your reply. I don’t have numbers, just an observation that those who voted Remain have a personal agenda with regards to staying in the EU, may it be a property or like you said, jobs, and some of them probably spend only part of the year in the UK, or just come for visits. I am careful when I talk about this as it reminds me of me, of how I feel I have no right to moan or make decisions on the political situation in the Philippines as I am not there and I don’t help make it better. You have valid points and I can enumerate the Leave reasons to counter but apparently they are mostly lies which doesn’t help (I don’t watch the news so not sure if they’re having debates now, and not before?!). I’ve never been a fan of Cameron but indeed he’s redeemed himself in these recent events. Don’t know what’s going to happen; as I’m typing this I’m listening to Monty Python’s Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.
July 1st, 2016 at 17:47
@catherinewalder
Can you enumerate your reasons for voting Leave, as I cross my fingers that my brother and his family in the northwest (SR4) England are not going to suffer from racist attacks? I worked there in ’04, so I know how they behave towards somebody born from a different country.
My borough in London voted Remain. Only just but at least, considering it is a multi-cultural hub.
July 2nd, 2016 at 00:18
@ved: I find your question rather confusing as I’m not really sure how my personal choices relate to racist attacks in the North West of England. Some of my reasons are what Leave promised and I can assure you that for anyone (including myself) to suffer racist attacks is NOT one of them.
http://www.voteleavetakecontrol.org/why_vote_leave
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/22/juncker-tells-britain-you-wont-get-a-better-deal/
“This gives the game away. If we stay in there is no prospect of any further change.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/eureferendum/12143060/Britain-will-only-be-free-from-the-influence-of-European-Courts-if-it-votes-for-Brexit-says-senior-British-judge.html
I’ve heard of enough cases where a decision on a serious crime, that is far too lenient in the first place, had been overturned by the European Court of Justice. In my opinion, this is why some people have no fear at all (you could even be imprisoned if you defend yourself from an intruder in your own home).
So as not to be repetitive, please also read no. 5 in this comment section.
A lot of people I admire campaigned for Remain and I respect the difference in opinion. In our area, a lot of people I know voted Remain (mostly natives) but still, Leave won (53.94%). It’s a nice little area where people don’t expect you to vote a certain way just because you’re a certain colour and where freedom of choice is alive and well. It’s rather unfortunate that there are areas in the UK where this isn’t the case as this referendum is showing us.
I assume that you voted Remain, and I’m curious to hear your reasons. Racism was the farthest from my mind when I chose Leave and I wonder if you considered Leave at all or did you foresee there would be racist attacks if Leave won?
July 4th, 2016 at 11:16
You quoted the Telegraph, you might as well have quoted the Daily Mail. They cater to the far right demographic.
I believe that the UK is stronger in Europe. Politically, economically, it’s better to
have allies. Working, buying property in Europe is a lot less complicated. Now with the Brexit, who knows what restrictions they’re going to impose.
I’ve lived up north and also in the Shires, but mostly in London. I know how the race-conscious think. They just don’t like immigrants. The papers write that these migrants are a drain on resources. They thought voting leave meant Repatriation, not just Europeans but any one with different skin colour. Hence these racist jibes.
July 4th, 2016 at 17:29
Pardon me for being stuck in the Victorian Era as I insist on reading only the newspapers Holmes would read.
Sad, isn’t it? This country was built on migration and yet…
As Jessica said, good luck to all of us.
July 6th, 2016 at 19:20
@catherine walder
Holmes is fiction.
The papers have their agenda.
The reality now is the pound is on a downward spiral.
My husband says it will settle. The repercussions of 2008 are still here.
And I work extra hard. Why listen to Farage when there’s Mark Carney?