7 ms·

I’m curious, just how wrong is the comment? A parallel political scenario, the election of Trump, was also characterized by a fundamental political platform cen

I’m curious, just how wrong is the comment? A parallel political scenario, the election of Trump, was also characterized by a fundamental political platform centered against other races and cultures, and this was acknowledged and successful.

williamgrant 6y ago
The referendum certainly gave a voice to a demographic of nationalists, amongst them some quite insidious people, that's absolutely true. However, it's simply incorrect to characterise the larger Brexit demographic as people who, majority living in the most deprived areas in the UK, voted for anything other than naive or misguided assumptions about the economic impact of EU membership. It seems to be a fundamental political platform for all parties these days to dehumanise opponents over practicing the slightest bit of empathy.
- scott_w 6y ago
  I feel you over-play the economic discussion, at least insofar as it was at the forefront. While economic "freedom" was pushed by the official campaign, however, you can't deny the widespread publicity of the Nazi-esque "Breaking Point" poster. Anecdotally, I saw people pushing to vote Brexit to stop "the scum of Eastern Europe" from coming here and taxi drivers who voted Brexit to "kick the P*s out" (ethnic slur for Pakistani citizens). The people airing these views weren't hardcore nationalists but regular working class people. Economic circumstances certainly made these voices louder (as hardship always causes populations to turn on "the other"), I will agree there.
  - xkyscore 6y ago
    It always baffles me when people claim "Paki" is an ethnic slur when used for Pakistani citizens. Do you consider "Brit" for a British citizen to be an ethnic slur as well?
    - hellofunk 6y ago
      Despite that you’re getting downvoted, I’m rather curious about the connotation of these words myself.
      - detaro 6y ago
        In the UK it's a derogatory catch-all term for anyone that vaguely looks South Asian and was initially widely publicized in the 60s/70s around "paki-bashing" (= aka "lets gang up and beat up some immigrants").
    - jjgreen 6y ago
      A few years of hearing skinhead Nazis shouting "pakis out" will do that to a culture.
    - DanBC 6y ago
      People don't push dog shit through your letter box and spray paint "pakis out" if you're white British, but they do if you're Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi, etc etc.
    - detaro 6y ago
      Is "Brit" widely used in a derogatory sense when bullying or attacking British-looking people? You can't decide "slur or not" just by "is it a shortened form of a country name".
    - scott_w 6y ago
      No because "Brit" is never used as an ethnic slur. For a good example of P* being used in a derogatory form, watch Bend it like Beckham, where it's used against an Indian girl because of the colour of her skin.

williamgrant 6y ago

The referendum certainly gave a voice to a demographic of nationalists, amongst them some quite insidious people, that's absolutely true. However, it's simply incorrect to characterise the larger Brexit demographic as people who, majority living in the most deprived areas in the UK, voted for anything other than naive or misguided assumptions about the economic impact of EU membership. It seems to be a fundamental political platform for all parties these days to dehumanise opponents over practicing the slightest bit of empathy.

scott_w 6y ago
I feel you over-play the economic discussion, at least insofar as it was at the forefront. While economic "freedom" was pushed by the official campaign, however, you can't deny the widespread publicity of the Nazi-esque "Breaking Point" poster. Anecdotally, I saw people pushing to vote Brexit to stop "the scum of Eastern Europe" from coming here and taxi drivers who voted Brexit to "kick the P*s out" (ethnic slur for Pakistani citizens). The people airing these views weren't hardcore nationalists but regular working class people. Economic circumstances certainly made these voices louder (as hardship always causes populations to turn on "the other"), I will agree there.
- xkyscore 6y ago
  It always baffles me when people claim "Paki" is an ethnic slur when used for Pakistani citizens. Do you consider "Brit" for a British citizen to be an ethnic slur as well?
  - hellofunk 6y ago
    Despite that you’re getting downvoted, I’m rather curious about the connotation of these words myself.
    - detaro 6y ago
      In the UK it's a derogatory catch-all term for anyone that vaguely looks South Asian and was initially widely publicized in the 60s/70s around "paki-bashing" (= aka "lets gang up and beat up some immigrants").
  - jjgreen 6y ago
    A few years of hearing skinhead Nazis shouting "pakis out" will do that to a culture.
  - DanBC 6y ago
    People don't push dog shit through your letter box and spray paint "pakis out" if you're white British, but they do if you're Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi, etc etc.
  - detaro 6y ago
    Is "Brit" widely used in a derogatory sense when bullying or attacking British-looking people? You can't decide "slur or not" just by "is it a shortened form of a country name".
  - scott_w 6y ago
    No because "Brit" is never used as an ethnic slur. For a good example of P* being used in a derogatory form, watch Bend it like Beckham, where it's used against an Indian girl because of the colour of her skin.