I've posted multiple times now that xenophobia has been a factor in the Brexit vote. Nobody denies that. The extent of that xenophobia and of outright racism, which despite Paul's recent protestations has long been an accusation he's leveled at the leave vote, is highly debatable. I've taken specific and particular disagreement with a statement by Paul and been quite clear about the basis on which I've done that. It's a narrative he's been peddling on here for years and it needs pulling up.
What I will say is completely my opinion. I believe most of the people is xenophobic to a certain degree. Also I believe most of the people do not have any problem with a foreigner in a neutral or positive environment. Is even nice to meet someone from somewhere else, share experiences or simply you don't mind. But when you get the sensation that this person is affecting negatively your life, and is part of a collective that you think have less rights than you for the sole fact that is not born in your area, then is when you have a problem with them, even if is just a liiiitle bit that might not affect really much your perception....but it does. And that doesn't only happen between countries. It happens city vs countryside, neighbouring towns/cities, even neighbourhoods in big cities (and not that big)
So, for the ones that wants to sell the narrative that immigration is a problem, they only need to fan the flames of it and making this little bit of xenophobia, bigger, and the ones that are already xenophobic, being straight assholes on the topic. We had been seeing that lately everywhere and yes UK included.
Till here I just said what is obvious (I think)
My believe is that Brexit is deeply xenophobic, I don't see for which reason UK would vote against the EU. someone appeals ignorance, and yes, but is xenophobic ignorance. in my opinion there are 2 big topics.
- They appeal to foreigners stealing jobs=Xenophobic.
- Taking back control of the country as other countries deciding on and badly for the UK, like foreign stupidity, deliberately wanting to harm the UK or other reasons ignoring that most of the rules, UK had a big saying and some of them, related to immigration were not enforcing them=Xenophobic.
- Foreigners taking advantage of UK benefits. Not being seen as a problem that a brittish takes advantage nor that for example there are less spanish people in UK than brittish in the UK and that the first are mostly young and healthy and paying taxes and the latest are mostly old and using the spanish health care system and liberating the brittish of that burden=Xenophobic
Even me I made some assumptions and some comments that are xenophobic.
You are saying that:
"It's a narrative he's been peddling on here for years and it needs pulling up."
Good luck with that, you are asking proves to Paul, you can't prove the opposite neither.
Even in your link, that is completely not about what we are discussing, because this article is about brittish as a whole, and not leavers, that is what Paul was saying, you just picked what suit your opinion and I can do the same:
http://nationalconversation.uk/wp-c...onversation-exec-summary-2018-09-v2-PRINT.pdf
link said:
Many of the concerns about
immigration centred on sovereignty and the UK government’s lack of control over EU migration
flows, or the belief that immigration regulations were not enforced
It shows that Many have at a certain degree xenophobia for the EU immigrants
link said:
A majority of the online survey respondents chose either the minimum or the maximum score: almost
one-third (31%) gave a score of 1 out of 10 and a quarter (23%) gave a score of 10 out of 10. This
helps to explain the highly polarised nature of online debate. These most strongly-held views were
much rarer in the nationally representative ICM research, where just 15% of the ICM sample chose
either end of the spectrum: in ICM’s representative poll, just 8% chose the lowest score of one, and
just 7% the highest score of ten.
Figure 1 below shows the responses to the open online survey and nationally representative ICM
research together, highlighting the difference between online debate and overall public opinion.
You speak about balancers. I speak that the top "haters" are 31% and the top "lovers" are 23%. In a voting, that would be de decisive factor as the rest of 46% would be balanced and therefore, a majority of Xenophobics would win. Thats what a majority is called.
And that with BRITTISH POPULATION, not Leavers, that is what we are discussing. I am sure that if we would only take leavers, that balancers would go to another scale
And another one:
link said:
Most people want EU migration to be better managed
If that is not a sentence in your own link that Most of the people in the UK are xenophobic at a certain degree with the EU immigrants I don't know whatelse can be
And I repeat, the study refers to brittish, remain and leave, not only leave
One of the few things related with Leavers that I saw is this:"
link said:
In contrast 53% of
Leave voters believed that the UK should not offer a preferential immigration deal to the EU, even if
business would lose out, compared with 16% of Remain voters
That is not only majority, but absolutely majority negative towards EU immigration
You can discuss shadows of greys on my comments, but definitely you will not "pull up any narrative" with that even if you think you need to.
Opinions are based in our on reality, our own sources and environment, and there are many that have that opinion and as difficult is proof that is the reality as is impossible to measure the entire population, specially when some people they are not even aware that are xenophobic, the same way you will not be able to proof the oposite
What I think we can agree, being the MAINLY reason or not, is that Xenophobia was an important part of it