We're divorcing the EU. So why do hard Brexiteers still feel jilted?

[Soph0571]

There is a jilted quality to the way some Tories talk about Brexit, which is odd, given that Britain is dumping the European Union. The resentment would make more sense if it were the other way round: if 27 member states had expelled Britain from their club. But after decades of treating everything European as a punishment inflicted on a nation against its will, the habit is hard to break. Even the act of leaving is configured by the Eurosceptic imagination as something done by them to us. There is an illustration in the resignation letter sent by George Eustice, an agriculture minister, to Theresa May last week. Eustice was appalled by the prospect of an article 50 extension, which would, he fretted, be “the final humiliation of our country”. He said the European commission had “not behaved honourably” and had “deliberately made progress slow and difficult”. Yes, George, it would all have been quick and easy without those meddling Brussels bureaucrats.
———————
Macron knows it. He sees darkness in the underlying character of Brexit, as many EU leaders do. They see it perhaps better than May. She is squinting through the lens of parliamentary arithmetic and party management. Tory eurosceptics have their view warped by the need always to be victims of Brussels. The missing angle – the vital perspective from the other side of the table – is that Brexit is not something Europe is doing to Britain. It is something we chose, for ourselves and are now inflicting on our neighbours.

[link:https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/05/divorcing-eu-hard-brexiteersn-eurosceptics-brussels|

It is because the are little englanders with an empire complex who cannot believe Johnny Foreigner has the audacity to say no to them..... heh

[DetlefK]

1. They are pissed that the EU is not trying harder to win them back.

UK: "I'm leaving you!"
EU: "Okay. But I'll make this divorce hell for you."

some time later

UK: "Your lawyers are stripping me bare! Why do you have to make this divorce so hard?"
EU: "I warned you."
UK: "WHY DON'T YOU LOVE ME ANYMORE???"

[canuckledragger]

2. cons never seem to take responsibility for their own actions

And this is more of the same.

It was the British conservatives that chose to leave, can't handle the consequences of their actions so of COURSE, they're going to try and blame someone else.

[T_i_B]

3. In my experience

Last edited Wed Mar 6, 2019, 08:38 AM - Edit history (3)

An awful lot of the people who support this mess

a) Are perennial moaners
b) Support this whole mess out of spitefulness towards other groups in society
c) Think this will only affect other people than themselves
d) Don't understand the implications or complexity of this whole matter
e) Believe what bad politicians and newspapers are telling them. (i.e. "project fear" )

There is the whole rose tinted nostalgia for a non existent previous era as well.

[democratisphere]

5. Sounds exactly like another f'd up country across the pond from the UK.

When a significant percentage of a country's population are stupid idiots, this is what happens.

[Scoopster]

4. Because they have no clue how badly they fucked Britain up.

This is the problem with nationalists. THEY DONT THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR ACTIONS. The entire Brexit thing is so complex but they don't gives a shit about that because they want everything done now. And never mind the cost, hardship, or bad behavior that arises.

[tanyev]

6. Because cons always, always, always have to play the victim.

[ProfessorPlum]

7. what a damned travesty this is

i can't believe the people of the UK are going to let one stupid vote take down their whole country. But there it is, apparently.