Post 3281214 by ParadeGrotesque@mastodon.sdf.org
(DIR) More posts by ParadeGrotesque@mastodon.sdf.org
(DIR) Post #3281172 by fitheach@mstdn.io
2019-01-23T08:53:33Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
If you can't laugh, what hope is there?#NoDeal #Brexit #politics
(DIR) Post #3281214 by ParadeGrotesque@mastodon.sdf.org
2019-01-23T08:56:10Z
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@fitheach Mock all those #Brexit idiots mercilessly.That is all they deserve and it's something people from the UK are very good at!!
(DIR) Post #3281249 by fitheach@mstdn.io
2019-01-23T08:58:50Z
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@ParadeGrotesque The ones I can't understand are the Brexiteers *wanting* an no-deal #Brexit, as if it is a badge of honour. I honestly think they misunderstand what it means.
(DIR) Post #3281360 by ParadeGrotesque@mastodon.sdf.org
2019-01-23T09:05:08Z
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@fitheach Most of them don't care, they are filthy rich and their money is stashed overseas in opaque tax havens.Makes you wonder if #Brexit is not funded with ulterior motive...https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/09/brexiters-put-money-offshore-tax-haven
(DIR) Post #3281422 by fitheach@mstdn.io
2019-01-23T09:07:58Z
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@ParadeGrotesque I've met people who have said they want a no-deal Brexit.They weren't rich market traders, that's for sure. I even know some of them.
(DIR) Post #3281491 by ParadeGrotesque@mastodon.sdf.org
2019-01-23T09:12:50Z
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@fitheach That's true -- I have the feeling that a lot of these people have been thoroughly brainwashed by Austerity and the lies and disinformation spread by the filthy rich people I mentoned before.- Austerity makes you hate yourself for not being as rich as the people who are constantly put forward as examples in the tabloids.- Lies and disinformation spread by the same tabloids (and rich wankers) give you a convenient scapegoat in the form of the EU.
(DIR) Post #3281615 by fitheach@mstdn.io
2019-01-23T09:18:37Z
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@ParadeGrotesque Agreed.There is also something of the "British Empire" mentality about it, too.Also, some "them rules, innit" attitude. Somehow people believe that we have to go for no-deal or we will be following EU rules. As if international treaties are rule free.
(DIR) Post #3281632 by ParadeGrotesque@mastodon.sdf.org
2019-01-23T09:19:33Z
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@fitheach The mix of the two results in a very toxic mindset: self-hate, victimization, foreign hatred (bad EU! Bad!) and desire to blow it all up and start anew.This has been brewing for the past 30+ years in the UK, and almost as long (if not longer) in the US.Rich people wanting to blow things up for their own ends (less taxes, less regulations, less worker protections), spreading irrational hate.Add a dash of RU manipulation (in both cases!) and voila: President Trump and #Brexit
(DIR) Post #3281688 by fitheach@mstdn.io
2019-01-23T09:21:59Z
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@ParadeGrotesque Your third paragraph in particular. Let's create an ideal situation for buccaneer traders.
(DIR) Post #3281898 by ParadeGrotesque@mastodon.sdf.org
2019-01-23T09:31:18Z
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@fitheach I'll add that it is not surprising racism is going up everywhere.People who are extremely financially insecure, in a society focused on joyless consumption, are looking for scapegoats everywhere. And filthy rich people are only too happy to provide them, through pliant media.Fascism and unbridled Capitalism are really two sides of the same coin.
(DIR) Post #3281992 by ParadeGrotesque@mastodon.sdf.org
2019-01-23T09:36:08Z
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@fitheach I'll end by saying that this does not absolve the EU in any way: it has been pushing austerity policies for decades.It is, in many ways, exactly what the Brexiteers are saying it is: undemocratic and wasteful.But the issues with the EU can be solved a lot more easily than the mess #Brexit is going to be. Vote for honest MEPs, put pressure on the EU Commission and the different EU institutions and you will get results. A lot of non-profits I support are doing just that.
(DIR) Post #3290850 by fitheach@mstdn.io
2019-01-23T14:36:38Z
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@ParadeGrotesque I don't know what can be done about the media. If you ask people they will tell you they don't believe everything they read. Two minutes later they will be repeating, verbatim, something that appeared in today's Daily Mail. If only we could add essence of cynicism to the water supplies.
(DIR) Post #3291061 by fitheach@mstdn.io
2019-01-23T14:42:05Z
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@ParadeGrotesque I can understand people who voted Leave, there were some arguments for that position. I can understand those that voted Remain as there were also arguments for it. There were genuine people on both sides.I *cannot* understand anyone wanting a no-deal #Brexit, it is completely bonkers. Belief in no-deal goes back to what I was saying about problems with the media.
(DIR) Post #3294013 by midder@57n.org
2019-01-23T15:56:23.665642Z
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@fitheach @ParadeGrotesque I am enjoying this conversation.With regard to understanding the appeal of no-deal. If you take the outcome of the #Brexit ref as a kick against Westminster as much as a kick against the EU. Nothing since that vote has given the population any trust in the Westminster machine and since no-deal is the one thing that the political class seem to want to avoid, both in the UK and the EU. It is not a "rational" motivation but a purely reactionary one.Look at Branko Milanovic's work on income growth, the general population know that the political game is rigged, and they are just going to get panned off with shit. Well hens coming home to root, reap what you sow, or other adage. I also think a lot of people don't believe they have that much to lose, this could be the outcome of your comparative wealth 'self-hatred', though I would not call it that, caused by certain aspect s of the media.
(DIR) Post #3294014 by fitheach@mstdn.io
2019-01-23T16:27:23Z
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@midder Making a list of possible motivations for voting Leave:* Belief in better trade* Save money, spend on NHS* Regain sovereignty* Xenophobia* Empire nostalgia* Buccaneering trade fantasies* Kick back against politics* Nothing to lose* Them rules, innitAny others?I realise some are two sides of one coin.@ParadeGrotesque
(DIR) Post #3294475 by ParadeGrotesque@mastodon.sdf.org
2019-01-23T16:41:04Z
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@midder @fitheach No, I totally agree with you, there were people who just said "sod off" to all the politicos.Austerity politics, massive income inequality etc are all factors in this.
(DIR) Post #3336751 by fitheach@mstdn.io
2019-01-24T20:40:35Z
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@orbifx I've seen people picking up copies of the Daily Mail from the fuel station or the supermarket. I haven't checked the ABC figures recently, but I bet they still sell quite a few copies.Then there is the DM website, which is one of the Internet's hottest properties. Of course, people only go there for the showbiz news. Aye, right!@ParadeGrotesque