An Open Letter to my British Friends

By Link the Writer · Jun 25, 2016 · ·
  1. Hey, I've been doing some preliminary readings involving the UK leaving the European Union across the various forums. Some of the British folks I know there (and some here) are afraid, panicking, etc. Reactions vary from one end to the other, and some are very upset about this, especially in the other writing forum. If I remember correctly, a British poster on the Zelda Universe forum even declared that this was the demise of the UK.

    Now a caveat: I'm an American. I've absolutely no clue about how British politics and laws work. This may sound a bit arrogant of me because who am I, an American on the other side of the world, to tell the British what to feel when their country voted to leave the European Union? Still, I wanted to get this out to you all.

    <puts on preacher robes and stands on a conveniently placed soap box>

    In short... Whatever happens, whatever consequence arises from this choice, you all will pull through. Yeah, it must be scary because it's different, something new (something old, something blue-*is shot*) but you all will pull through. One way or another, you all will pull through. You've done it before. When World War II happened, and it was just you lot against the terrifying might of Nazi Germany, when the London Blitz was raging in the skies, you all pulled through. You all survived. Hell, dare I say it, I think the UK and the USSR basically won World War II all by themselves. Everyone else (who could) just helped.

    For those who didn't approve of Margaret Thatcher and her policies? Well, you survived that as well. Northern Ireland survived all the bombings and shootings in the latter part of the 20th-century. This just illustrates to me how powerful a nation can be, its people. Everywhere in the globe. No matter what happens, no matter what changes or calamity visits a people they pull through. They survive. Whether it be the UK leaving the European Union, or the US facing the reality of a Trump or Clinton presidency, or all the horrible shit you see on the news. People pull through. They adapt. They survive.

    So whatever happens, I think you all will survive. The UK will keep on doing its thing. It did before, I see no reason why it couldn't do it now.

    Anyway, just wanted to get that off my chest.
    Oscar Leigh likes this.

Comments

  1. Oscar Leigh
    Clinton is far less scary a candidate than Trump. Her reputation is exaggerated. But whatevs.
    Anyway, I like this.
  2. obsidian_cicatrix
    Northern Ireland might have, but many people including friends of mine didn't.
  3. Oscar Leigh
    Didn't what?
  4. obsidian_cicatrix
    Live to tell the tale.
  5. Oscar Leigh
  6. Link the Writer
    :ohno::bigeek:

    That's horrid! :bigfrown:
  7. obsidian_cicatrix
    There's a human face to all this political posturing. I've only been able to live a relatively normal life for the past decade and a half. Personally, I couldn't give a crap what nation I belong to as long as there's peace. This decision is going to cause further fractures in our delicate, ongoing process, and not from the expected quarters necessarily. This is still an extremely devided country and, unlike Scotland, any question of breaking away from the UK and forming a united Ireland has the potential to be met with the same reaction it has in the past — violence. I appreciate Link's optimism but, realistically, I'm witnessing a can of worms being opened.
  8. KaTrian
    In the end, it's unity that brings and maintains peace. The UK leaving feels like a prelude to an era of unrest. To use a brexit talking point as an example: It's laughable the brexiters think their choice will eg. control or curb Islamist terrorism. The EU has needed the British intelligence to prevent and expose terrorism on the continent, but the UK leaving might leave us weaker against the threat. Conversely, the UK is deprived of security and defense assistance from the EU. They might not need it at the end of the day, but whatever security the EU could provide will be out of their reach.

    My friend who lives in London and has a multicultural circle of friends already reported growing verbal abuse. Sure, could be coincidental but it's possible this choice makes the already vulnerable portion of the population even more vulnerable.

    Brexit can also fracture their own union. Scotland could actually gain independence if they get a second referendum. Northern Ireland... who knows, unites with Ireland at long last. Knowing Ireland's bloody history, I don't know, this could be fear-mongering but it's like instead of fostering peace, brexit is threatening it.

    I think brexiters took a big risk. Cameron took a huge risk; gambled with Brits' futures. I hope in the long run this won't divide us. Norway and Switzerland still work closely with the EU. Norway is part of the Nordic Council and we work actively together. All of us have to shoulder the burden of mass migration and support the struggling Mediterranean economies because if we don't, we'll fall further apart as nations and can only dream of help if say recession or civil war hits.

    I'm not surprised there's now bregret in the air. I don't think leavers realized they had no plan for tomorrow. Or that they were lied to, as it turns out. Or Cameron would up and leave. Or the EU would start rushing the negotiations so fast, without the UK having a strong capable leader to negotiate the new terms. Or their nation will probably end up in the hands of an Eton-bred populist who doesn't trust experts and is just as willing to lie to the people as any PM, except perhaps even more blatantly.

    Make Britain Great Again, amirite?
      ladybird and Oscar Leigh like this.
  9. Solar
    Katrian, not all 'Brexiters' voted for the same reason. Nor do they all believe the same thing. So please don't misrepresent millions of people. Otherwise you might look like a hypocrite. Unless, of course, you can prove that every single person who voted Leave believes this

    'It's laughable the brexiters think their choice will eg. control or curb Islamist terrorism.'

    Your other points are quite weak. Suggesting that British intelligence can't liaise with other European countries is quite frankly wrong. Show me some evidence to back that up.

    The sense of 'regret' has come largely from media reports, which don't actually mean anything because the sample is so small. It's just 'suggestion', that is, an attempt to create a certain atmosphere; a kind of state-sponsored mass guilt-tripping. Nothing more than emotional abuse, in my opinion.

    I haven't noticed any increase in verbal abuse. If it is happening, it may have something to do with the rising tensions being created by the mass hysteria.

    I'm not panicking. Though media is trying to make people panic. Which is highly unethical.

    It is already in the hands of Etonites. Cameron and Bojo went to Eton, and were members of the Bullingdon Club.

    You could be wrong in your EU stance. So don't pretend you're all-knowing.

    A lot of you are starting to sound like doomsday preachers and fear mongers. I'm half expecting the newsreader to stick a finger up a chicken's arse and solemnly declare the day of doom is upon us.

    Accept that we made this decision. We've bombed countries in the name of 'democracy'. Well, here's democracy. At least we're not picking up our dead children from the rubble of what was once our home.

    Deal with it.
      Oscar Leigh likes this.
  10. KaTrian
    Oh wow. @Solar No, I'm not pretending I'm all-knowing. I'm starting to wonder maybe it's the other way around? And no, I don't need to add the magic word "some" before "brexiters" to keep those in disagreement from latching onto its absence even when they know full well not every person is exactly the same and that I - nor anyone else who talks of brexiters - considers them all the same.

    In any case, there were enough signals of uncertainty in my comment to make it clear I'm not preaching the gospel truth. If you read it again, you'll see them.

    As for intelligence sharing, I based that comment on post-Brussels analyses of the problems with European intelligence. British intelligence is on a higher level and has more manpower, something EU countries could benefit from in these times. Brexit may complicate things further (obviously I'm not saying information is passed without reservation even now), which I find ironic if SOME leavers justify their vote as a way to boost safety. Well, UK's safety I guess...

    As for racist attacks and abuse. I only referred to what my friend said. But I guess the leftist media is lying about that too. Or at the very least overreacting ...?

    Look, the UK packing their packs and fucking off isn't going to be the end of the world. But it has fractured the EU, it has let down many young Brits, and it's unlikely to deliver what it has promised. It will also affect other countries.

    I think Europe is going through a very rough patch right now with failing economies and mass immigration. That's why I think it'd be better to stay united. Hopefully the rest of EU will weather the storm and strive to improve. But losing the UK is a big blow to the EU, and brexit seems to have revealed a worrisome divide among your own people. The same divide is discernable in other European countries as well, hence I think this is a prelude to more unrest and fragmentation, rather than to something that will foster stability and peace. But I hope I'm wrong!
      Kinzvlle and Oscar Leigh like this.
  11. PiP
    As you say

    " I'm an American. I've absolutely no clue about how British politics and laws work. This may sound a bit arrogant of me because who am I, an American on the other side of the world, to tell the British what to feel when their country voted to leave the European Union? Still, I wanted to get this out to you all."

    You are absolutely correct: you have absolutely no clue.

    You have not the first idea about the passion behind the vote.

    We can all play armchair politics and spout opinions and say stiff upper lip old boy etc. etc. But it will not only affect British people it will also affect migrants in the UK. There are already incidents of people telling migrants to go home and this saddens me.

    Many people I've spoken to since the 'Leave' voters won, by a very slim majority, did not realise the full impact of Brexit on the economy and ultimately jobs. I just hope the Leave strongholds such as Wales and Cornwall lose their farming subsidies and they suffer along with those who lose their jobs and diminished pensions etc. There is already talk of some companies pulling out of the UK because they need a base in Europe.

    As for Scotland and NI, if they want to remain in Europe I just hope they can renegotiate and become members in their own right.
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