BREXIT: “I now feel that I live in a country full of stupid, racist, small-minded drunks”
I have just received this email from an English reader in Britain.
Not long now until the polls close, and one can only hope that the vile xenophobia unleashed during the campaign will not prove victorious. One of the most unattractive characteristics of the British is this hatred and suspicion of ‘foreigners’, usually kept under control but given a free rein in the last few weeks.
As a close friend said in an email this morning, “The damage is done. I now feel that I live in a country full of stupid, racist, small-minded drunks. Well, yes, perhaps I had noticed it before – but not 50% of the population”.
The atmosphere here is oppressive. Farage has become mainstream and we have Boris to thank for that. People feel empowered and whichever result we have will be a huge problem. The genie is out of the bottle, and it isn’t going to go back in.
My instinct and that of my friends and family is that Remain will win, but that may be wishful thinking. I am going to stay up tonight and watch the results and maybe, just maybe, this horrible feeling of apprehension will disappear.
If the result is Leave, I apologise in advance for my country. Fight as hard as you can against any calls for a referendum like this in Malta, for it is incredibly divisive and deeply unhealthy.
