To think friend is BU to think all Brexiteers are racist?

[Soodoenim]

Have NC as this is outing. We both voted remain. Friend, who was previously not particularly engaged with politics (neither was I), became v passionate about the EU debate.

Ever since, she is really scathing about anyone who voted leave. She thinks they're all racist and possibly of low intelligence. I've tried to explain to her that yes, there probably are some people who voted for racist " get rid of the bloody immigrants" reasons but there are many others who I'm sure had very valid reasons for voting leave. She just won't have it and says even if they didn't primarily vote for racist reasons, they're "obviously ok with the anti-immigrant stance of the leave campaign". I said that actually some might be really uncomfortable with that but still felt conpelled to vote leave for other reasons that were important to them that over-rode that.I suggested to her that leavers might think she's an idiot for voting the way she did but she things there's no valid reason they could think that. I've also said it's like her voting Labour and thinking that anyone who votes for another party is stupid but she thinks it's not the same.

Obviously I disagree with the leave decision but I do respect other people's right to a different opinion than mine. TBH she's getting on my nerves. She now judges EVERYONE based on how they voted in the referendum and where possible will avoid mixing with any leavers.

How can I make her see that she's being unreasonable?

I'm not sure where you're getting that from. Living in NI I've never actually voted for Labour, they don't stand here.

Good job on completely ignoring my actual argument though.

Good job on misreading mine

No where in my post did I say you were a Labour voter

I think a country's first duty is to its citizens

That's fair but I am intrigued at what you therefore think the threat from open borders actually is that the duty of protection falls on the side of raising barriers.

Open borders can also protect economically through better growth and increased workforce, socially through new ideas and approaches preventing intellectual stagnation, culturally a through diversification of entertainment and, say, eating habits etc.

I wonder what duty the UK thinks it has here:

inews.co.uk/essentials/news/uk/theresa-may-wants-post-brexit-britain-home-innovators-home-office-told-prize-winning-entrepreneur-must-leave/

Remain voters clearly voted for open borders because that was the deal with the EU. That does not mean to say that Remain voters may have wished for a process to control other immigration but we do not know what they thought because they weren't asked! No one was actually asked for thier reasons for voting how they did but the UKIP
stance was anti EU and by definition anti immigration from the EU.

"Well even the ones who weren't voting for racist reasons were happy to stand shoulder to shoulder with the obviously racist ones because it meant they would get their own way."

I've always found this argument a bit odd. If you vote for anyone of the main parties, you will be voting alongside people who could be perceived as racist or espouse racist policies.

Foreign interventionism could be read as racist. EU freedom of movement could be read as racist. Support for multiculturalism as an administrative approach to policy could be read as racist.

Open borders can also protect economically through better growth and increased workforce, socially through new ideas and approaches preventing intellectual stagnation, culturally a through diversification of entertainment and, say, eating habits etc.

Scottishdiem, I see your point here and it is very valid. Yet significant cross border migrant flows have also destabilised countries in the past. Both DH and I have families that come from countries where non-defended borders and migrant flows ultimately led to civil conflict. Lebanon in the 70s and 80s is a very good example. Few people know that Hezbollah grew out of a movement to protect the southern Lebanese Shia from migrant/refugee actions.

Again, changes in demographic makeup of an area are notorious for causing civil conflict across the world. I suspect a lot of the time, people that promote open borders do so from a foundation of assumption informed by western European historical normalcy. In Britain, we are not "better" than other countries or peoples because we don't recognise that significant migration flows can destabilise; we have simply never been challenged in this way yet.

I'm sorry but for those saying open borders is a good idea must not remember the absolute utter chaos and carnage last Summer when Angela Merkel invited migrants and told them Germany would welcome them with open arms...before slamming the doors right in their faces after they had made the trek.

Pages ago.... there are dickhead leavers , so all leavers are dickheads.

There are dickhead remainers ( screaming Bob and his pals) so all remainers are dickheads.

Both statements nonsense. Not just one.

But this is mn where any doubt about the EU makes you a selfish racist.

You can be concerned about population growth (i.e. raw numbers) without being a racist or anti-immigrant or a xenophobe.

From my POV, if we had a million people leave the country each year, and a million move in, I'd not have much of a problem. I'd be concerned about schools having the funds to cope with non-English speaking children, for example, but I wouldn't be worrying, as I am, about a densely-populated island becoming more densely populated, house-building on green fields and the long-term security of e.g. our water supply (I live in a part of country with a rapidly rising population but which is forecast to be much drier in the longterm with global warming).

I'd have the same concerns if the population growth was driven by a high birth rate rather than immigration.

Scottish There are no WTO tariffs except those countries choose to have. Inside the EU, we have to have the EU WTO tariffs, outside the EU we can have our own, even without a trade deal.
What we can't do without a trade deal is set one tariff on, say, leather from South Africa and a different on from Morocco.
We can choose to set tariffs on many foodstuffs, clothes etc to nil quite happily and benefit from the cost savings.