blamebrampton | What the ever-loving fuck were you thinking?

What the ever-loving fuck were you thinking?

I know what it's like. I remember a couple of years back, spending weeks thinking 'Surely no-one could be stupid enough to vote for Tony Abbott?'

But the tragedy is that yes, they could, and the predictable disaster was even worse than we'd imagined.

What we learned from this is to never underestimate the lack of thought people can put into their vote, nor the stunning duplicity some political figures will practice in the service of their own self interest.

And while it is tempting to just look at the plummeting pound and adjust shopping and travelling plans, all the while cackling ruefully at the Leave voters who have been all over the news saying 'But I thought it was just a protest! I didn't think it would happen!' we should all learn from today.

I'm looking at you, Australia and the US. Ignore lies, ignore comedy, look to the social and economic futures of your countries and make your vote count rationally. And when it comes to economics, don't listen to anyone's smug words; look at the records, look at the numbers, look to the IMF and World Bank and your respective Treasuries, who are boring and more conservative than I would like, but who know the value of infrastructure and education.

I can't even be funny about any of this today. I have never seen such an appalling case of the older generations fucking the future of the young out of fear, self-interest and ignorance.

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I'm of the generation who voted yes to Brexit in the UK, and can only share your sentiment. My TV has been on since the polls closed last night, and what appalled me most is that barely an hour after the result was official, Nigel Farage said on live TV that one of the main campaign promises of the "Leave" faction -- that the 350 million pounds Britain is paying annually to the EU would be funnelled into the NHS instead -- was "a mistake" (verbatim) and (paraphrased) "was probably not feasible/going to happen".

Is it "honesty" if you admit that you've lied and profited from that lie?

I honestly believed they would remain. I just didn't think people would believe the bullshit, you know? But I guess that's a case of hanging out with more liberal types and an example of the echo chamber of the internet... you surround yourself with like-mindeds. More fool me.

I'd like to think they're cherry-picking remorseful Leave voters who are saying that because HOW FUCKING STUPID can you be to say you voted for something but didn't think that the thing you voted for would happen? Do these people really not know how it works?

I want to hope that it will settle down and not be as bad as it seems right now. But I don't like the way the Right has owned this. I don't like it at all.

I can't even begin to express how gutted I am at the result. What an embarrassing, long-term fuck-up. Forget the bankers, this is going to hang around our necks for a very, very long time. Child One is devastated - had hoped to study In Europe in a couple of years - that looks unlikely now.

I can't watch any more coverage of it. Boris for PM, Gove for chancellor, Farage's crowing in the foreground. I really just DO NOT UNDERSTAND how so many people can be so wilfully stupid and selfish. But emphasis on the stupid.

I remember a couple of years back, spending weeks thinking 'Surely no-one could be stupid enough to vote for ---'

This is something I ask myself constantly, and the answer is that yes. :(

Not funny at all. Unfortnately.
People can be so stupid. And most still don't understand that each and every vote counts.
This Brexit stuff - Europe will survive. Nevertheless, it is sad. And I hate to see it happen.

I'm sitting in a café in Berlin with friends, frothing and raging about this whole thing.

I'm just so sad and angry and frustrated and ASHAMED. What must the world think of us? Oh god. I feel like I've massively betrayed my children, by allowing this to happen. And it's not like we can blame the government or the bankers... the British PEOPLE have done this to themselves and it's cripplingly hideously bad.

I feel sick.

Here we had a weird neonazi comedy "protest" party in the 60s to 80s called the Farmer's Party and I trot them out to prove this to people and they basically only barely believe me and I don't blame them.

They were in parliament for TWENTY YEARS! And basically said the exact same things as all these clowns.

Devastating, am utterly, utterly gutted. And amazed by the number of people who used this as a protest, but didn't really want out- changing the powers that be is what we have a general election for! And how can anyone be surprised that the market is free fall- it will likely stabilise but how could you not expect that?

Watching the results come in last night, I kept thinking it was all a mistake. Brexit had a lot of votes, but that was just the early results and reflected a few areas and not the whole nation. But it didn't change. And then I woke up to just shock. If this were a book, I'd be peaking at the end to see how this all plays out for Britain and Europe down the road.

I'm in the US and fear for November and what our country may do.

A lot of my friends are talking about the chance of a second referendum (per EU turnout rules)--do you think that's possible or even desirable? I was watching the results come in last night with disbelief and sadness and seeing people in the UK wake up to it was heartbreaking. The only good side to the whole damn thing was Farage fucking off at long last (pipe dream, I know) but it's proven impossible to avoid all his crowing about how the British People Have Spoken and about what he "never actually said".

(Also--hello! I hope things are generally lovely with you, terrible British decision-making aside!)

There are way more racists here than I thought there were.

as I said on twitter

"Britons have woken up with the worst case of #buyersremorse ever, even worse than the one we ended up with when we realised just how terrible #tonyabbot was"

Gutted here. So much talk right now about how/when/IF Article 50 will be triggered. I don't see how they can't do it -- there will be riots and worse, I think, if the people feel their voice is being ignored once again, not to mention global chaos. It's all so completely fucked up.

I heard some baby boomers talking in the queue for the bus yesterday, about how this is the biggest thing in their lifetime since they, quote: "missed the war". One mentioned Farage's backtracking on the NHS promise and the other guy said, "Well, everyone saw through that." Perhaps here in progressive North London, but sadly, not everyone everywhere else. So many people are really suffering and barely scraping by, and they are, unfortunately, the ones who are going to be hurt the worst by this. And the spike in xenophobia and hate language ... I fear for what's to come.

Last May, I went to bed the night of the general election fairly optimistic, only to wake to the horror of the Tory's clean majority. Thursday, I went to bed bracing myself for the worst. Now I am filled with dread about what the November election in the US will bring. Scary times.

Well, I can finally bear to comment on this foul disaster and its aftermath, even though I'm avoiding much of the news on the political party leadership battles. Before the vote I spoke long and loud to my peers about why we should remain, but so many were buying into the lies propagated by the leave campaign and their own xenophobia/racism.
It was depressing, but I still hoped. It was a false hope, even if my city actually voted by more than 60% to remain. I'm one of the older voters who will now be tarnished by the stupidity of the majority of my age group and those older than me. Common sense and compassion were sadly lacking.
It's the long term damage, and the exposure of so much hatred for those deemed different, that makes me so angry and depressed. Sorry, have to stop now; I'm not really ready to talk yet.

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