Today is a sad day. For Britain, and for me. Though the mantras of "global Britain" and sovereignty have been woven ever thicker into the political spin, one only needs to look back at the anti-immigrant, anti-foreigner, populist emphasis of the Leave campaign to know what was at the heart of most people's vote to leave the EU.
When I moved to London in 2005, it was the height of the W years. America was still suffering from the PTSD of 9/11, railing against gay marriage, and Islamophobia, xenophobia and nativism were replacing the historic ideals of liberty, equality and freedom of religion. Arriving in London, I felt like I had found my people: open, liberal, mild-mannered and thoughtful about the world. But even before June 2016, I had felt Britain becoming ever more like the country I had fled. And, much like the Trump election has allowed Americans to feel free to express the worst versions of themselves, Brexit has unleashed an ugliness in the English character that I didn't think existed 15 years ago.
So tonight, while Brexiteers will be celebrating (mercifully, without Big Ben), I will not. We are going over to Jan's for drinks and games, putting our phones in a box, no TV, no clocks, to pass the hour unnoticed and unacknowledged.
I will miss EU, and hope we're together again soon.
For now, ciao,
Shaun
http://shaunism.blogspot.co.uk/
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