Well Brexit just got a bit personal for me

[Shebear]

6. It is not just about racism and xenophobia...

... but extremists will try to exploit people's real concerns and suffering. We shouldn't be helping them do it by branding anyone who has concerns about de-industrialization, job loss and loss of democratic process as racist.

I just came back from the UK and there is (no surprise) a different perspective than we have here. Even among immigrants, there is a divide - those of non-EU backgrounds (Pakistanis, Indians, etc.) feel less favorable treatment than EU immigrants, for instance. Most of the EU immigrants are Caucasian.

The local BBC town halls showed the fault lines are not along traditional left-right boundaries. There is a very strong feeling of national independence - not adopting the Euro has spared Brittain the worst of the austerity measures, for instance. There wouldn't have been this mood to exit if the EU had concentrated its policies on the welfare of citizens, rather than making the banks a priority.

Much of this was publicly discussed... particularly being more sensitive to the plight of the bulk of the middle class that has not fared so well as the upper classes in the so-called "recovery".