# A vote for Brexit shouldn't be a vote for bigotry, but it is. **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 20, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893 "2016-06-20T16:33:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Salvor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Salvor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salvor)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/201 "2016-07-04T00:54:58Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > So I’m supposed to draw from this that you’re alright with a religious test for immigrants, correct? > > “Excuse me, are you a fundamentalist Muslim or are your views more moderate?” > > Yeah, right. You don’t need to get that intrusive and explicit. 1. Limit the total number of immigrants from muslim majority countries with large numbers of radicals. 2. Do extended background checks and analysis of immigrants from muslim majority countries to try to better weed people out that have issues. (yes, profiling, deal with it) This won’t be enough to stop them all, some muslim immigrants that are not radical have children that become that way after listening to other radicals make arguments over the internet. The common pool of Islam as the belief substrate makes those believers more susceptible to radicalization compared to other belief systems, even if total numbers are low, you will have a higher chance of having someone from that background go nidal hasan or omar mateen. I am willing to accept some of that to not completely shut out the decent members of the muslim population from the more radicalized members. But a million immigrants like Germany? No. That is literally crazy. If there is a way to safely let in more, I am open to that, I am not against immigrants for its own sake, I am primarily concerned over letting in radicals, or the parents of future radicals/time bombs. And to me, unchecked immigration from muslim majority countries is the most sure fire way to allow exactly that to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/202 "2016-07-04T03:20:06Z")
I’m sure you’re willing. Others (like me), less so. This is America, not Germany. There are already caps for immigration based on country of origin. You and I both know we won’t be seeing an influx of a million Syrian refugees. That’s just a dog whistle to fear. And there are already background checks. Double secret probation, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/203 "2016-10-05T17:25:32Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > Here are, in my view, the consequences of a Leave vote: > > 1. Britain starts the process of leaving the EU. > 2. Far-right groups such as Britain First, the English Defence League, LibertyGP, and the English Democrats will believe that their ideas have widespread support. It is their rhetoric of “I want my country back” and foreigners coming for jobs, benefits and the NHS that mainstream politicians have been aping in this campaign, they will have a point. > 3. Mainstream rightwing politicians will respond to the success of this campaign by strengthening their own rhetoric and policies on immigration, thus reinforcing the idea that xenophobia is a) part of our culture and b) a votewinner > 4. Mainstream left-wing politicians will pander to the concerns of racists by abandoning pro-immigration stances as vote-losers and failing to challenge bigoted policies. > 5. Our political culture will become more fearful, more angry, more divisive as the ludicrous notion that we face some sort of existential threat is given credence it doesn’t deserve. Highlights of Tory Party Conference: Foreign doctors to stay only until we have trained up enough British ones. Numbers of foreign students to be reduced in a “generous offer” to universities Businesses employing “too many” foreigners to be named and shamed. Landlords to be \*\*jailed \*\*for letting to illegal immigrants. Recent Labour comments on immigration: > [@](#): > > Former Shadow Cabinet minister Rachel Reeves has warned that Britain could “explode” into rioting if immigration is not curbed after Brexit. > > The former Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary warned that there were “bubbling tensions” over immigration that could spill over into violence if the deal agreed with the rest of the EU did not include an end to freedom of movement. Fucking \*nailed \*it. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/204 "2016-10-06T21:13:10Z")
It seems like the lesson to be learned from this thread and the brexit movement all together is that people don’t stop voting the way they want to vote just because you call them deplorable. They just stop telling pollsters how they will vote. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/205 "2016-10-06T21:34:03Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > It seems like the lesson to be learned from this thread and the brexit movement all together is that people don’t stop voting the way they want to vote just because you call them deplorable. They just stop telling pollsters how they will vote. Or those who(whom?) are deplorable begin to outwardly act that way when they feel that people might just agree with them, even if those others have their own reasons for the chosen vote/candidate. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/206 "2016-10-06T21:52:25Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > It seems like the lesson to be learned from this thread and the brexit movement all together is that people don’t stop voting the way they want to vote just because you call them deplorable. They just stop telling pollsters how they will vote. People certainly resisted the (London-based liberal) media framework, and in particular the compulsion of same media to _judge_ them for not accepting the referendum was a binary choice about _us_ as a compassionate nation. That was bullshit and bogus. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/207 "2016-10-07T09:23:56Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > People certainly resisted the (London-based liberal) media framework, and in particular the compulsion of same media to _judge_ them for not accepting the referendum was a binary choice about _us_ as a compassionate nation. > > That was bullshit and bogus. And yet, somehow, following the success of campaign which used a shot for shot remake of Nazi propaganda\*, hate crimes are on the rise, Opposition politicians are saying we should be so worried about racist violence that it’s best just to give the thugs what they want, and the Government has run its entire party conference on the theme of “Foreigners: threat or menace?” on the grounds that the referendum gave it a clear mandate to introduce anti-immigrant policies. In short, the government is treating the referendum as a binary choice about _us_ as a compassionate nation, the opposition is treating the referendum as a binary choice about _us_ as a compassionate nation, and the bigots who suddenly feel safe to abuse or assault people in the street are treating the referendum as a binary choice about _us_ as a compassionate nation. Who could possibly have foreseen this? At some point, the millions of Leave voters who aren’t remotely bigoted are going to have to face the fact that they unwittingly gave encouragement and solace to xenophobes and bigots. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/208 "2016-10-07T10:51:31Z")
> [@mascaroni](#): > > So, let’s get this straight; In your imagination people were saying one thing when they mean’t another. There’s nothing strange about that at all. Especially when it comes to anything related to xenophobia or racism. People are first off remarkably blind to their own problems in these areas, or don’t want to admit it. And they second have been told it’s wrong so much that, even if they don’t know it, they won’t express it outside a safe space. I myself took a test and found out that I find it easier to associate good words with my own race than with other races. I even felt it happening as it happened. Yet I am so anti-racist that I’ve played around with the idea of criminalizing racism. But even I have to acknowledge how my inherent racism may affect me, even when I don’t know it. We all want to think of ourselves as better than we actually are. That immigration made it to number two is bad. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/209 "2016-10-07T11:05:07Z")
I see these same dynamics playing out here in the US. Even if Trump doesn’t win, we have maybe 4 years - if that - before a complete meltdown strikes on this side of the Atlantic. Globalization (or global neo-liberalism) is dying. It isn’t inherently bad, but if these oligarchs had just fucking listened to the concerns that main street had about the loss of jobs and preservation of the middle class, we wouldn’t be in this predicament. Instead, there is a general spreading wildfire of no-confidence sentiment that is engulfing industrial countries that threatens to undo the system they’ve worked hard to create. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/211 "2016-10-07T15:17:57Z")
> [@Skywolf](#): > > The EU is an undemocratic organisation. It has undemocratically elected official represent each nation. Then why are there regularly scheduled elections for the European Parliament? ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/212 "2016-10-08T05:05:57Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > At some point, the millions of Leave voters who aren’t remotely bigoted are going to have to face the fact that they unwittingly gave encouragement and solace to xenophobes and bigots. If that’s a by product, so be it If the mood of the country has gone from happy clappy welcome everyone from all over the world to very rare instances of racism, then the authorities will deal with that. Move on. Remain lost - and for a host of reasons. Try and leave this fixation with immigration behind. Welcome to the brave new UK. Tbf, there are bigger issues to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/213 "2016-10-08T10:01:06Z")
The [Telegraph](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/07/every-eu-migrant-can-stay-after-brexit-600000-will-be-given-amne/) is reporting that all current EU immigrants will be staying. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/214 "2016-10-08T12:03:56Z")
Funny, here’s people telling me to get over it because I lost. Wonder what we can change next week? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/215 "2016-10-08T12:16:22Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Globalization (or global neo-liberalism) is dying. It isn’t inherently bad, but if these oligarchs had just fucking listened to the concerns that main street had about the loss of jobs There’s nothing anyone could have done before or can do now to stop these trends that won’t make things even worse. Any country that actually tries to pull out of globalization is dooming itself. Those jobs are gone forever. And, furthermore, every other job is on its way out. Technology is making all labor obsolete. To save the middle class will require a basic change in our economic structure. There’s no going back to the past and trying to do so will make people suffer even more. Interfering with immigration is one of those things that will make things worse. Immigration is good for the economy. Everyone will suffer if you lock the gates. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/216 "2016-10-08T16:30:37Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Interfering with immigration is one of those things that will make things worse. Immigration is good for the economy. Everyone will suffer if you lock the gates. If you haven’t yet twigged, an awful lot of people on both sides of the Atlantic don’t give a flying fig if immigration is ‘good for the economy’, or at least that relentless neo-liberal mantra. They have a wider agenda. And they know ‘what’s good for the economy’ is code for what’s good for the 1%, because they’ve lived that experience for a decade and longer. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/217 "2016-10-08T16:48:26Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > If you haven’t yet twigged, an awful lot of people on both sides of the Atlantic don’t give a flying fig if immigration is ‘good for the economy’, or at least that relentless neo-liberal mantra. > > They have a wider agenda. And they know ‘what’s good for the economy’ is code for what’s good for the 1%, because they’ve lived that experience for a decade and longer. It’s not just the 1 percent that benefits from globalization and immigration. But regardless, they might have the political strength to implement this “wider agenda,” but it won’t benefit them. They’ll just suffer for it. And make everyone else suffer for it too. What I have “twigged” is that there are a lot of idiots out there who are just going to fuck things up for everyone based solely on their prejudices, fear, and ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2016, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/218 "2016-10-09T12:39:27Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > What I have “twigged” is that there are a lot of idiots out there who are just going to fuck things up for everyone based solely on their prejudices, fear, and ignorance. Yep, if only they would listen to the enlightened happy-clappy middle class and/or professionals with their trusty moral certainty who prosper from super cheap services. The game’s up; the bogus association of compassion with ‘immigration’ is over. Find another plumber. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/219 "2016-10-10T12:52:44Z")
[Homophobic attacks in UK rose 147% in three months after Brexit vote](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/oct/08/homophobic-attacks-double-after-brexit-vote) > [@](#): > > Statistics from the police have already documented a spike of hate crimes against ethnic minorities and foreign nationals. Few analysts predicted a rise in hate crime based on victims’ sexual orientation, however. Galop gave support to 187 LGBT people who had suffered hate crimes in the three months that followed the referendum vote, compared with 72 in the same period in 2015. The rise is proportionately higher than other hate crime rises in the wake of Brexit . > > More than 3,000 allegations of hate crimes were made to UK police, largely in the form of harassment and threats, in the week before and the week after the 23 June referendum vote, a year-on-year increase of 42%. Probably just a coincidence. Move on. Nothing to see here… ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/220 "2016-10-10T14:30:20Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Yep, if only they would listen to the enlightened happy-clappy middle class and/or professionals with their trusty moral certainty who prosper from super cheap services. > > The game’s up; the bogus association of compassion with ‘immigration’ is over. Find another plumber. Remain got 48%. Just how many middle class professionals do you think this country has? Enough of the “only the middle class give a shit about racism” nonsense. The 48% included \*\*millions \*\*of working class voters. Your persistent claim that the whole working class are anti-immigrant is patronising and insulting to the people you claim to be championing. The truth is that there are millions of Britain’s working class who saw through Leave’s racist bullshit and pretending they don’t exist won’t make them go away. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893/221 "2016-10-10T14:39:46Z")
More importantly, the idea that somehow the Leave campaign won a sweeping mandate and Remain voters were a small fringe of society is a lie the Conservatives and fellow travellers are currently pushing. 48% is a minority but not remotely a small one, nor one composed solely of the disaffected and radical. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vote-for-brexit-shouldnt-be-a-vote-for-bigotry-but-it-is/757893.md?page=10)