Is anyone else getting quite tired of being called a racist?

[Peppatina]

I know it can't just be me.

It doesn't matter what carefully thought out reasons a brexiter has for wanting to leave (I've seen some very articulate and reasoned ones on mn itself) we are still all getting lumped into a stereotypical group of closet racist idiots.

And Lord forbid any of those reasons might just involve any concern over levels of eu migration!

I've been told that I'm essentially imagining the three week waiting list for my GP or that this is nothing to do with eu migration. If I say I know it is because of the names being called out I become the equivalent of Enoch Powell.

The same goes for a certain local estate very much being a no go area, especially for young girls. After braving this street once with my children and being spat on and shouted at by a group of very hostile Romanian men/boys I've been told I imagined it.

When I had my son a few week ago my I was the only English speaking person in my ward. A polish man was shouting and being very aggressive to staff as they were struggling to find an interpreter.

I absolutely know that not every migrant is aggressive and that they should build more schools and go surgeries but I believe I'm right to be concerned about a high number of migrants who are not intergrating with their local community and the unsustainable strain on services.

I'm sick of being told that my experiences don't matter. That to even mention that this is what life is like in our town means I am a racist or little englander.

You've not answered my question NameChanger22, what are your thoughts on the Report & TTIP?

I strongly dislike TTIP & think the NHS in particular will suffer under that deal & I don't like the ever closer fiscal & monetary policy that the report sets out for the future of the EU. I'm not afraid of anything but strongly dislike both those things & frustratingly haven't met anyone voting to Remain who has read either & instead they focus on scaremongering & using the race card.

Ok, Ouriana, maybe you were being completely honest and that is a real and genuine fear of yours. If so, I apologise. But don't worry, Farage won't get into number 10, not a chance.

In my defense I have heard so much bullshit lately from leavers that my 'crapometer' has become highly sensitive.

Farage had a larger % increase in votes that Blair did in 1997

I don't think he will ever get into no. 10 or into a senior position but he shall I'm sure become more powerful and get seats in parliament

Paniniswapx3 - sorry. Like most people I don't fully understand all of the implications of TTIP. I don't fully understand how being in or out of Europe will be affected by it. I will have to do a lot more research and get back to you with my opinion. Why are all the trade unions, left-wing parties, the Green Party etc in favour of remain if the TTIP is such a terrible thing?

I think Farage is more likely to get more power and influence if we vote to leave. A vote to leave is a huge thumbs up to him. There is no denying he is a racist.

I think the opposite *Namechanger• I think Farage will have his moment in the lights if Leave win and then he'll slink off and write his memoirs ( avsilzbke in a charity shop near you soon . He will not be given a job in government - he's not even an MP, UKIP won't need to exist anymore as they've achieved their aim.

If we Remain, he'll " do a Sturgeon" and start making plans for the 2nd referendum. I think masses of voters will defect to UKIP from both Labour and Tories in 2020. This will be just the start......

This is not about stupid Farage or any other personality involved! He is a mere individual, he like us all will die someday! Think longer term about your children and your grandchildren.
To me voting leave is a vote for democracy, a vote against a Euro Army controlled by Juncker in Brussels, and a vote for controlled immigration. Controlled as in a positive flow which means there can be integration and harmony.

I'm not convinced they've read it TBH Namechanger22 - on both sides. I don't understand why the leave campaign aren't making more of both of these documents & similarly, if they're so good, why the Remain guys aren't singing their praises. I feel alone in being the only one concerned by these as both are out there in the public domain (not sure about TTIP but I've seen highlights) & are blueprints for the future. No one I know has read or researched either (on both sides of the argument) despite me trying to get people to read them!

Namechanger they are under the delusion that they can negotiate against TTIP better within Europe. It is crazy, I wrote a letter to a top EU official and asked could there be a veto for the NHS - they told me no."because of gats exclusions.
We get told the EU has a democratic deficit, look it up - it means it's undemocratic. I have relatives who died in both wars. Hand on heart I cannot vote for a mega european institution that is undemocratic.

I wish at times we had never been given this choice it feels so stressful

When I think about my own child's future, I think about her being about to freely move around Europe, being able to decide where she lives and works, I think about her rights as a worker and as a human being protected. I hope she grows up in a multicultural, prosperous Europe. I don't want her stuck on a sinking island with little possibility of escape.

What happens if war breaks out in the UK? Or mass flooding? Or extreme mass poverty? Aren't we much more secure if we stay part of a group with the ability to leave if we like?

I agree with you EnthusiasmDisturbed - I don't think we should have been given a vote on such an important an issue, with so people unable to understand much about it (myself included).

On TTIP, do you honestly believe the UK will be in a better bargaining position as a country with 1.9% of world GDP or as a trading bloc with 9 times that amount? We will be desperate for trade deals. Also bearing in mind that several Brexiters have said they'll just throw open the floodgates with no restrictions?

don't forget that the most likely next PM in the event of a leave vote - Boris - supports charging for the NHS.

The main thing supporting the NHS is having the money to pay for it. You have to decide whether we will have a stronger economy inside the EU or outside.

Not all Brexiters are racist, but all racists will vote Brexit. That's the crew you're sitting alongside, which might be why you're being labelled.

I think we are stronger in.

I think Farage is more likely to get more power and influence if we vote to leave. A vote to leave is a huge thumbs up to him. There is no denying he is a racist.

I think that will happen if we remain. Especially if the vote is close.

Name Changer I love Europe but it should have been federal, this set up is undemocratic. We have been taught by history it won't work. Juncker is head of the unelected commission and he told Putin he was our leader. That is a dictatorship under anyones reckoning.We need to extract ourselves and join when it goes federal. It has to eventually. Have you looked at the youth unemployment in Spain etc. We don't want youth unemployment to be up at 40 or 50% . Ours is what 13% or something? With free travel open borders where are we going with this?

Well after much heart searching I am voting remain. I think there is too much immigration ( not racist as most eu immigrants are same race as me). Immigration on the scale we have had lessens the benefits that do come with a degree of immigration. But if we come out, we will almost certainly go into recession. The eu will not offer us any good trade deals as they will act in the political interest of the eu. The world is in turmoil in many places and a fractured eu won't help things at this moment in time. Plus the French would probably stop letting our border control operate in France and the Calais and other ports would be an open door.

I am not concerned by someone who doesn't know me labelling me a racist

I did my research and the more I read the more I thought why are we in this where is it going and questioning why is it so good to be in the EU

I was remain because that's all I've known it has good points and bad points I struggle to see what is so good when so many people are struggling (and not just here)

name your last post struck a chord with me, even though I fundamentally disagree with you.

I too am voting with the long term future of my children in mind. Until ten years or so so I was pro Europe. But I see a bloated EU and a Eurozone heading for collapse. I see the UK being dragged down.

Perhaps I'm naturally more pessimistic (although I would say realistic!) but I'm really, really worried what the EU will look like in a decade or two. In my heart, the two years or so of uncertainty will hugely be worth it.

That's kind of where I am Rooners - short term pain for long term gain (but I'm still not fully sure & agree with those wishing in a way we'd never been given the vote as I don't think anyone is educated enough to make this decision).

panini I don't disagree although it is so complex and there is real uncertainty so it's almost anyone's guess. I feel there is just as much uncertainty for Remain!

I agree Rooners, which is why I think I'll be voting out (heart rather than head voting as nothing else to base it on!).

The Leave Tories aren't criticising TTIP because they're all in favour of it. The British government has been the biggest TTIP cheerleader within the EU, and Boris wrote in the Telegraph what a wonderful opportunity it was.

I think neither campaign is bringing it up because it's not making either side look that great.