This is magnificent. “A Howl into the Void” by Simon Indelicate. A high minded diatribe against brexit. I have book marked it at Diigo and selected some quotes and made some notes there. This is a bit more me.
Personally, I am big fan of swearing, I think at times it can be the most accurate and emotional way to express yourself, and your choice of words speaks for me.
You state that you think it’s done, and while Labour’s parliamentary party is busy shooting itself in the nether regions, we remainers still have cards to play. The Tory remainers have to stand up and surely they must and hilariously we have the European Union Act 2011 which places a referendum lock on treaty changes with EU. So being kicked out, might not invoke the Act but a transitional arrangement probably would. Given it was passed to appease the bottom feeders, this is very funny.
I enjoyed the theoretical power of your talk of the Demos, must admit, I haven’t heard any of the Brexiters discuss this in this way; it’s more xenophobic than that …. Ooh foreigners! We don’t want foreign judges interpreting the Laws of the Mother of Parliaments when in fact that’s exactly who we do want doing this, the children of post fascist western Europe and the children of post Stalinist eastern Europe have a better idea of how to build a liberal society than the lazy children of the nazi appeasers.
You say,
“We’re European because (quite literally for those of us under 42) we were born European – it’s as intrinsic to us as being English (and let’s be honest, that’s what you mean) is to you.”
You should add, that for some of us over 60, this is a life time’s project. We knew we were voting for “Ever Closer Union” having been taught by our war veteran parents what the alternatives were.
I also like,
“It feels physically illegitimate to us that any vote could strip us of these rights. It feels unconstitutional in a bodily sense…..
“Our people are Europeans and your poxy provincial mandate doesn’t come close to the bar that would need clearing if we are to have our birthright stripped from us. It’s not a majority of us, it’s a majority of you. It’s only democratic to support it if you accept that we are only British. We don’t accept it. We’ve been European too long. I don’t honestly think that that many of us even knew that this was how we felt.
You finish talking about democratic commitment, and must be noted that these fuckers gerrymandered the electorate to meet, in your words, their poxy provincial mandate; we even denied the spouses of narrowly defined British citizens the right to vote and we are now expelling them, we denied 16-18 years olds the right to vote, we denied ex-pats and their spouses the right to vote.
I agree this will never end, but I haven’t given up, every other time a polity has voted to fuck up the Union, the Union has survived and they have remained.
There is no better Brexit terms than remaining, and we might still win if we win a second mandate as they die and youth earns the vote.
Finally, well done for writing the article without talking about economics, immigration or the democratic credentials of the EU vs. the parliamentary sovereignty, with its hereditary monarchy and appointed House of Lords. FFS. Obviously I find it hard to leave it alone but if more of us had spoken about the nobility of the cause for longer we might have won and might still do!
In solidarity! …
