Brexit - Fact vs Fear - Stephen Fry

[Camy]

 

[Bruin Fisher]

Stephen Fry for Prime Minister...

[Camy]

1 hour ago, Bruin Fisher said:

Stephen Fry for Prime Minister...

If only.

We're heading for an unmitigated disaster of epic proportions. People's Vote!

[Bruin Fisher]

6 hours ago, Camy said:

unmitigated disaster of epic proportions.

Indeed. On this side of the big pond. Also on the other side of the big pond. And, come to think of it, Russia. And the Middle East. And much of Africa. And....

Have we now arrived at the point where the only rational response to world events is to go back to bed and hope it all goes away?

[Cole Parker]

I don't know where this sudden spate of nationalistic fervor comes from, but guess the hordes of people escaping wars and purges in their own countries and coming to settle in other countries is a big part of it.  If so, the world's response to those escapes might be to shut down the activities that are causing the mass exoduses.  I don't know how else in could be accomplished.  Of course, there's not much possibility of doing the former, either.

C

 

 

[Camy]

The problem is... the problem is... oh, where to begin?
Let's start with the middle east - but after Kuwait and Iraq. The Arab spring - greatly helped (some say caused) by the social media revolution.

2011. Syria. You have ISIS, the Kurds, and a shed load of smaller factions, all armed to the teeth, fighting each other AND trying to oust Bashar al-Asad, the president, who is a dictator and being propped up by Russia. Syria has a border with Turkey who now has a 'president' for life (dictator). The Kurds want to forge their own country. The USA is in there too, providing arms and 'training.' It's a powder keg.

Ordinary folk who have been bombed out and want to survive, either go to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, or pay to cross the Mediterranean and, unless they drown, mostly arrive in Greece (part of the E.U.). They set out on foot to get to a 'better life.'

The following is from The Guardian, a respected UK newspaper:

More than 4 million refugees have fled Syria since the war there began in 2011. According to the UN’s refugee agency, almost 1.8 million have gone to Turkey, more than 600,000 to Jordan and 1 million to Lebanon – a country whose population is just 4 million.

On Monday, Angela Merkel said Germany expected to take at least 800,000 asylum seekers this year. The figure is likely to go up, and could hit 1 million, Berlin says. In 2014 the European nation that accepted the largest number of refugees in proportion to its population was Sweden. Hungary, Malta, Switzerland and 13 other countries accepted more asylum applications than the UK, according to Eurostat.

Between June 2014 and June 2015, the UK took 166 Syrian refugees. They were resettled from camps in Jordan and other neighbouring countries under a new government scheme. The “vulnerable persons” relocation initiative began in March 2014. Under it, the UK has taken 216 people. In June David Cameron said the scheme would be “modestly expanded”.

The Home Office says that since 2011 almost 5,000 Syrians including family members have been given asylum under normal procedures. However, the figure includes many Syrians who were already living in the UK, and who were unable to return home because of war. Britain is the second biggest bilateral donor of humanitarian aid. It has pledged £900m, the Home Office says.

Colour me disgusted with my country.

However, this is the backdrop to BREXIT. The UK seems to have become increasingly xenophobic. Add that to the NIMBY gene, and a blithering idiot in the then Prime-minister David Cameron, and you get BREXIT...

...or maybe you don't. There is a looming possibility it might not happen as the U.K. government is in complete disarray.

And then there is Trump....

[Cole Parker]

Thanks for that precis, Camy.  You think you're disappointed with your country!

When will these conservatives finally see people as people, no matter their religion, race, politics, sexuality, whatever?  People.  Wanting freedom, and decent life, and peace.  You hit the right word: xenophoia.  They've got it up the ying yang.

C 

[Camy]

2 hours ago, Cole Parker said:

When will these conservatives finally see people as people, no matter their religion, race, politics, sexuality, whatever?  People.  Wanting freedom, and decent life, and peace. 

It's been pointed out that those people who didn't have refugees* living in their towns voted for Brexit, whilst those who had refugees living locally voted to remain.

It's the terror of the stranger that seems to affect people negatively. In other words: get to know them and, provided they aren't themselves insular, you lose the fear of them.

* In middle England refugees is interchangeable with 'different class', 'not a member of the cricket club/W.I.', 'Weird', etc.

[Bruin Fisher]

Excellent analysis from Camy and the Guardian, nicknamed the Grauniad, after its reputation for poor proofreading. Personally I don't think the Guardian is proofread any worse than any other text-based media outlet these days. And they certainly do 'speak truth unto power' which is refreshing.