Ten years after the Brexit referendum, only one-third of people in Britain believe that leaving the EU was the right decision. Among young people in particular, support for rejoining the European Union is strong.
I remember before Brexit, I was still on Facebook. That’s been so long I struggle to remember exactly how Facebook worked; mostly you were posting among your own coterie of friends but some places were more public. I remember posting my own “You really don’t want to do that” on the subject of Brexit, and some idiot Brit came back with “you yanks don’t know what it’s like having your laws made for you by politicians you didn’t elect 500 miles away.”
Motherfucker I live almost exactly that far from Washington DC, out of 435 congressman and 100 senators I get to vote for exactly three of them. The difference between me and the average citizen of the UK is I understand what it means to be a citizen of a federation.
In the words of my grandfather: “You made your bed, now eat it.”
I’m a citizen of the United States of America. I know what a federation is, the separation of powers between my state’s government in Raleigh and my nation’s government in Washington D.C. has direct effects on my daily life.
Per Wikipedia, “The EU is often described as a sui generis political entity combining characteristics of both a federation and a confederation.” So it’s a Federation Umm Actually. The part where it has a legislature populated by delegates from each member state is the relevant characteristic here, a trait the EU shares with federations.
That Blimey Limey that bitched at me years ago was presumably expressing frustration that the United Kingdom only got to send one representative to the EU Council, and then accused me of not knowing what life is like in the United States of Mitch McConnell.
A few federal traits does not make a federation. My federal government in Berlin impacts me on a daily basis, and it may overrule state or communal governments. My state shares a common constitution with the other states and leaves a bunch of tasks completely on a federal level; they could not function on their own.
The institutions in Brussels on the other hand do not impact me much, mostly because they relate to specific areas like trade or environment. Member states retain a very high degree of sovereignty, so much that the EU constitutes a unique, supranational construct. Non-members like Switzerland or Norway can productively co-exist with treaties, a bureaucratic hurdle the UK has to face now, too.
This blimey limey has been told by rat catchers that Brussels has far more power than it really has. I mean we weren’t allowed to call jam products marmelade because of the brits (this has been reversed yay). That’s the level of impact for the average Joe and Jane.
Argue about how specialweshul you are until you’re blue with stars in the face. Doesn’t change the fact that an idiot with bad teeth said something stupid to me over a decade ago.
I was born and raised in the state of North Carolina. One of several states that seceded from The Union during our Civil War. That was right at 160 years ago, and we’re STILL riding the waves from that splash. As a student of history I tried to warn them, but the damn limeys had to find out the hard way.
I remember before Brexit, I was still on Facebook. That’s been so long I struggle to remember exactly how Facebook worked; mostly you were posting among your own coterie of friends but some places were more public. I remember posting my own “You really don’t want to do that” on the subject of Brexit, and some idiot Brit came back with “you yanks don’t know what it’s like having your laws made for you by politicians you didn’t elect 500 miles away.”
Motherfucker I live almost exactly that far from Washington DC, out of 435 congressman and 100 senators I get to vote for exactly three of them. The difference between me and the average citizen of the UK is I understand what it means to be a citizen of a federation.
In the words of my grandfather: “You made your bed, now eat it.”
But you obviously don’t understand what a federation is (hint: the EU ain’t one).
I’m a citizen of the United States of America. I know what a federation is, the separation of powers between my state’s government in Raleigh and my nation’s government in Washington D.C. has direct effects on my daily life.
Per Wikipedia, “The EU is often described as a sui generis political entity combining characteristics of both a federation and a confederation.” So it’s a Federation Umm Actually. The part where it has a legislature populated by delegates from each member state is the relevant characteristic here, a trait the EU shares with federations.
That Blimey Limey that bitched at me years ago was presumably expressing frustration that the United Kingdom only got to send one representative to the EU Council, and then accused me of not knowing what life is like in the United States of Mitch McConnell.
A few federal traits does not make a federation. My federal government in Berlin impacts me on a daily basis, and it may overrule state or communal governments. My state shares a common constitution with the other states and leaves a bunch of tasks completely on a federal level; they could not function on their own.
The institutions in Brussels on the other hand do not impact me much, mostly because they relate to specific areas like trade or environment. Member states retain a very high degree of sovereignty, so much that the EU constitutes a unique, supranational construct. Non-members like Switzerland or Norway can productively co-exist with treaties, a bureaucratic hurdle the UK has to face now, too.
This blimey limey has been told by rat catchers that Brussels has far more power than it really has. I mean we weren’t allowed to call jam products marmelade because of the brits (this has been reversed yay). That’s the level of impact for the average Joe and Jane.
Argue about how specialweshul you are until you’re blue with stars in the face. Doesn’t change the fact that an idiot with bad teeth said something stupid to me over a decade ago.
Go fuck yourself.
I was born and raised in the state of North Carolina. One of several states that seceded from The Union during our Civil War. That was right at 160 years ago, and we’re STILL riding the waves from that splash. As a student of history I tried to warn them, but the damn limeys had to find out the hard way.