Brexit cont.

[elisi]

I received a letter from Lord Sugar today, asking me to vote Remain. This almost feels like rubbing salt in the wound, as I of course can't vote, being Danish. (Nevermind that I've lived here for 20 years. Btw I don't have any particular reason for not becoming a British citizen, except for being able to live here without any issues ever, because of being in the EU and never having £600-800 spare...)

Here are some thoughts from other European countries:

Dear Britain: Elena Ferrante, Slavoj Žižek and other European writers on Brexit

Instead of ranting, I give you Sir Patrick Stewart: What has the ECHR ever done for us?:

ETA:

This is one of the most accurate comments on the Brexit campaign I've seen pic.twitter.com/LYl6nSOUDk

— Tomas Hirst (@tomashirstecon) June 18, 2016

So depressing I can't even. And once people realise they've been lied to it'll be too late. :(

Comments

[kita0610.livejournal.com]

I had no idea you were Danish. Of course I know next to nothing about the EU's problems, but.

[elisi]

I'm pretty well assimilated by now... ;)

And I grew up in the Faroe Islands, so my nationality is a bit of a mishmash.

(And don't start looking into the whole Brexit circus. It's all very depressing.)

[kathyh]

I presumed you had a dual nationality and didn't realise you wouldn't be able to vote. How frustrating when it's so important.

I'm a confirmed Remain voter anyway but even if I wasn't the Leave campaign would have completely put me off them.

[elisi]

I presumed you had a dual nationality
I'd like to, but the cost put me off... And as I never had reason to before, well, why should I? And I'd have to sit a test and allsorts, and it wouldn't be on stuff like popular culture.

didn't realise you wouldn't be able to vote. How frustrating when it's so important.
Yeah, it's... very very annoying.

I'm a confirmed Remain voter anyway but even if I wasn't the Leave campaign would have completely put me off them.
It feels weird to technically be on the same side as Cameron, but since the other side has Boris & Nigel...

[gillo]

It's also the side of Corbyn and a lot of decent people, even though many CEOs and international movers and shakers are there too. I am sick with fear about what might happen next week.

[elisi]

You and me both. :(

Didn't help going to work & discovering that the three work colleagues in the office were all voting Leave. We got broken off, so the discussion was rather short, but as far as I could make out all the information that's filtered through has been the Leave propaganda.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

A while back, I read a book on the Crimean crisis, which included several interviews with pro-Putin people about how they felt about the Russian annexation, saying "Well, sure, our passports are suddenly invalid for international travel, and all the banks with our savings and pensions have shut down, and unemployment is up, and there's no food to buy... But at least we have our pride again. And besides, we all know the Ukraininan government would have killed us all sooner or later if Putin hadn't protected us."

I don't know why I keep thinking about that the more European politics collapse into a mess of fear, paranoia and makeshitupitis.

[elisi]

It's the one upside to the very, very, very long American elections - they get a good look at the candidates, and can see them react to all kinds of crisis.

So the Trump mania is... small enough, to presumably be contained. If it carries on like it is now, Hillary will win in a landslide. Whereas here... :(

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

I don't know if I'm that optimistic. Whether we're talking about Trump, or Putin, or Kjaersgaard, or Farage, the more people get a close-up of all these assholes being incompetent assholes, evil assholes, lying assholes, etc etc etc, the only thing that seems to change is that more people are willing to take them seriously. Even if Trump loses, he's brought back a LOT of political arguments that have no business being on the table in 2016.

That Guardian article about Jo Cox you posted yesterday put it well when they said that we're living in the age of "post-fact politics". Politicians have always lied, but at least they used to pretend that it mattered whether what they said was true or not. Now we're stuck with a bunch of populists whose only message is "Be afraid. Be very very afraid of everything, and I'll protect you."

[elisi]

Even if Trump loses, he's brought back a LOT of political arguments that have no business being on the table in 2016.
Sad, but true. Although I think it's been brewing - the dark underbelly to the Obama Hope & Optimism.

Now we're stuck with a bunch of populists whose only message is "Be afraid. Be very very afraid of everything, and I'll protect you."
The 'Others' are coming to take everything. Hi, 1930s...

[ragnarok-08.livejournal.com]

All of that really does sound so chaotic and depressing...

[elisi]

It's a bit like the US elections. Except the sane side has run a terrible campaign, and the racist rightwing nutjobs have shouted the loudest. :(

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

Oh honey...gods, the worst is happening all over, isn't it?! UGH...

*HUGS*

[elisi]

I can only hope & pray that somehow sanity wins out over misinformation.