brexit continued: Mark's full quote

Here's a bit more from Mark Roberts on Brexit, a portion of which is included in my article over on Blue Dot today:

“I see it as a really complex situation. I don’t think it’s black and white. I tend in general in any situation to see both sides [and that’s been the case in this situation too]….

“For me it seemed straightforward that we’d remain in Europe. I didn’t see the advantage of leaving. [The experts, business leaders, and movers and shakers in the world were advocating staying, and they tend to know these things.] I had a generally positive perspective toward the EU….I supposed I’ve benefited a lot by being able to come over to Europe, live and work here. So I’ve seen the advantages of the EU. I hadn’t really looked into the disadvantages.”

The night of the referendum, Mark stayed up late to find out the results.

“It was a shock to see Britain is leaving [and so much happened that same day, the pound plummeted, talk of Scotland leaving the UK, the prime minister stepping down…]. I think everyone was a bit lost….I was quite removed from the situation. It was bizarre to be on the outside looking in. It was unpleasant. There was a lot of anger between those who voted leave and those who voted remain...."

"I was feeling really frustrated, really stressed. That first week was really hard. I was going to work but thinking about what was happening in the U.K.”

Mark decided it was time to call home, since it had been so hard to get the real picture of things via Facebook. He talked to older family members who surprised him by saying they were in favor of leaving. According to Mark, they’re people who aren’t anti-immigrant, one of the images regularly painted of those in the leave camp.

Instead, these family members had done a lot of reading and explained that things that had been promised with the EU hadn’t happened. They also noted that without a democratic basis, the EU is a dangerous system with a huge amount of power. So that was why they were against it, not because they didn't like immigrants.

“I can understand the leave camp, and I can understand the remain camp. I think the thing that’s really sad for me is that we left without having a proper plan….The whole country is in this confusion and uncertainty about the future which is quite serious.

“The United Kingdom is no longer united. It’s divided. [There are those who’ve taken the decision to leave as an excuse to be very anti-immigrant, for example.] I’ve seen the country change hugely in the last two weeks. Two weeks ago we looked like we had everything under control; now it’s more like we’re in a spiral.”

“I think the U.S. can take a lot of warning, to realize how quickly things can change in a country based on one vote. It can be a wake-up call for the U.S.”