5 ms·

As a yank, this issue is none of my business. As long as the people are voting, there is a feedback and correction system in place, I try not to worry about the

As a yank, this issue is none of my business. As long as the people are voting, there is a feedback and correction system in place, I try not to worry about the internal affairs of allies. Having said that, I am quite taken back by all the drama I'm hearing on my social feeds. It looks completely beyond the normal angst you would see in a nation changing its treaty status. I didn't hear this kind of emotion when decisions were made to go to war. That's really quite strange and somewhat disturbing. Weirder still, much of this emotion is being brought out by my friends who aren't even part of the vote! Saudi Arabia is busy beheading people, and my friends from the U.S. are concerned about a possible recession in Britain due to a change in their trade policies. I do not understand this and it makes me think the conversation is being prodded/changed/guided somehow. But that's just a guess. Whatever they do -- and I hear now that maybe they'll vote to go back, or the first vote doesn't mean much -- as long as there is a system in place for feedback and course correction, and the governing system has the consent of the governed, I wish them the best.

mjklin 10y ago
IMO all the drama is not over the significance of the vote itself but rather what it might portend: * The end of the UK (not all parts voted to leave) * The end of the EU (starts a domino effect for other withdrawals) * The rise of the political right in Europe, and what that means for upcoming elections * The rise of populism worldwide, and what that means for the US election * Instability in financial markets due to uncertainty
- DanielBMarkham 10y ago
  Friday I finally asked some friends on FB to explain it to me. The answer I got was that this was a symbol that is related to a lot of other issues people care about, both overseas and at home. So the thing itself is not as important as what it might symbolize or portend. I think this agrees with what you list. Still, my interest is in free countries peacefully deciding how they want to govern themselves. Much more than their actual policy changes or what it might portend. If I had to have an opinion, simply from watching the monetary policy sausage-making, I think the EU is a beta. And like many betas, it's structurally broken. That doesn't mean stay or leave. I really have no idea how you would go about fixing these structural issues. I imagine that no matter what some folks might think, there are no easy answers. Anything you do is going to suck in one way or another.
  - crusso 10y ago
    I like your view of it as a beta. I've talked about this brexit as a "refactoring". The EU is a code base that grew quickly and accrued a great deal of cruft in a short amount of time. The UK is simply taking their module of functions and breaking them out of the spaghetti EU behemoth. Rather than tight coupling to the rest of the EU code base, they'll be creating new and specific interfaces.
simonswords82 10y ago
>As a yank, this issue is none of my business. As long as the people are voting, there is a feedback and correction system in place, I try not to worry about the internal affairs of allies. You've no idea how nice it is to read somebody talking about this situation with a level head. > Having said that, I am quite taken back by all the drama I'm hearing on my social feeds. The media have stirred up the general public in the UK to levels of crazy I've not witnessed since Tony Blair and the weapons of mass destruction. I'm not on Facebook but my partner is, and the amount of emotion and spats she's witnessed on there have forced her to seriously consider closing her account. She's a self confessed Facebook addict, and just can't handle the amount of noise and vitriol. People are genuinely losing their minds over here. It's impossible to have a meaningful discussion with pretty much anybody about the situation. Everyone has a very emotional stance, hardly anybody has facts to reference their arguments by. > Whatever they do -- and I hear now that maybe they'll vote to go back Despite the 2m people who have signed a meaningless petition, there's no going back. I hope people here now invest their time and efforts in making this work and coming together as a nation, rather than continuing to bitch and moan at one another - all the while freaking out about the fall of GB. The UK has been through much worse than this. Like most things in life, the outcome won't be as good (or as bad) as those on either side would have us believe. I'd like to think one thing we have learned is not to trust the media - but I doubt it.

mjklin 10y ago

IMO all the drama is not over the significance of the vote itself but rather what it might portend: * The end of the UK (not all parts voted to leave) * The end of the EU (starts a domino effect for other withdrawals) * The rise of the political right in Europe, and what that means for upcoming elections * The rise of populism worldwide, and what that means for the US election * Instability in financial markets due to uncertainty

DanielBMarkham 10y ago
Friday I finally asked some friends on FB to explain it to me. The answer I got was that this was a symbol that is related to a lot of other issues people care about, both overseas and at home. So the thing itself is not as important as what it might symbolize or portend. I think this agrees with what you list. Still, my interest is in free countries peacefully deciding how they want to govern themselves. Much more than their actual policy changes or what it might portend. If I had to have an opinion, simply from watching the monetary policy sausage-making, I think the EU is a beta. And like many betas, it's structurally broken. That doesn't mean stay or leave. I really have no idea how you would go about fixing these structural issues. I imagine that no matter what some folks might think, there are no easy answers. Anything you do is going to suck in one way or another.
- crusso 10y ago
  I like your view of it as a beta. I've talked about this brexit as a "refactoring". The EU is a code base that grew quickly and accrued a great deal of cruft in a short amount of time. The UK is simply taking their module of functions and breaking them out of the spaghetti EU behemoth. Rather than tight coupling to the rest of the EU code base, they'll be creating new and specific interfaces.

simonswords82 10y ago

>As a yank, this issue is none of my business. As long as the people are voting, there is a feedback and correction system in place, I try not to worry about the internal affairs of allies. You've no idea how nice it is to read somebody talking about this situation with a level head. > Having said that, I am quite taken back by all the drama I'm hearing on my social feeds. The media have stirred up the general public in the UK to levels of crazy I've not witnessed since Tony Blair and the weapons of mass destruction. I'm not on Facebook but my partner is, and the amount of emotion and spats she's witnessed on there have forced her to seriously consider closing her account. She's a self confessed Facebook addict, and just can't handle the amount of noise and vitriol. People are genuinely losing their minds over here. It's impossible to have a meaningful discussion with pretty much anybody about the situation. Everyone has a very emotional stance, hardly anybody has facts to reference their arguments by. > Whatever they do -- and I hear now that maybe they'll vote to go back Despite the 2m people who have signed a meaningless petition, there's no going back. I hope people here now invest their time and efforts in making this work and coming together as a nation, rather than continuing to bitch and moan at one another - all the while freaking out about the fall of GB. The UK has been through much worse than this. Like most things in life, the outcome won't be as good (or as bad) as those on either side would have us believe. I'd like to think one thing we have learned is not to trust the media - but I doubt it.