To point out that not ALL people who voted leave are racist

[EsmeraldaEllaBella]

I'd describe myself as extreme left. I voted leave because the EU's undemocratic. Today I wake up to ALL of my Facebook posting statuses about how they feel sick etc. all my friends are liberal, some of them would hate me if they knew. But if I was asked outright I'd probably be honest. I've made new friends recently who would definitely never speak to me again if they knew though. I feel like everyone who voted leave has been branded a racist. I feel uncomfortable that probably lots of them are sad I feel very uneasy being lumped in with them and might come to regret my decision

Posted this elsewhere but in need of some hand holding I think! Or maybe someone who feels the same way? Anyone?

just the op said herself she may come to regret her decision as many others might too.. It wasn't just about her new mates disowning her.

EsmeraldaEllaBella
i voted leave too, i'm no going into why as it's nobody's business but my own. I am not racist at all, i have friends from different countries/religious back grounds etc.
I will admit part of my reasoning was the freedom of movement, i don't agree with it, i think all immigration should be on a points based system like Australia. I don't care where anybody is from etc, everyone is equal.

RedYellow046 what I was trying to say, incredibly badly on reflection, is that out of all my friends and acquaintances who have said they were voting out - most reasons I have been given have only been about immigration, borders, being invaded. It's not just one or two people I am talking about. Asking them for any other reasons and they don't have anything else to add.

ineedwine - well you have swallowed a myth too then. Almost undoubtedly whatever deal we come to with the EU (and we will have to reach one, we are too interdependent) will include free movement of people.

I don't believe all leave voters are racist (or at least I don't want to believe) but all racists are leave voters

This is not true!

I accept that there are a lot of small-minded, ignorant racists that voted Leave for the wrong reasons but there were also racists that voted to remain, there were ignorant people who voted to remain. Why is it that it only matters because these morons voted for something you don't agree with?

Noodle - Unfortunately I think that there are a lot of people like that who are probably more inclined to be loud about their opinion. But I do believe that you probably know people personally that voted out but are too afraid to speak up for fear of being labelled "racist".

Voted leave here. Staunch Tory, 2nd gen immigrant on mothers side. Fed up being accused of being racist and stupid when I exercise my democratic right to vote. I have a master's and professional exams. The sour grapes from the loosers is making me feel sick.

What are your non-racist etc reasons for voting leave then? Am genuinely curious.
None of the arguments from the leave campaign had any substance or honesty behind them. And the whole campaign was run by a bunch of extreme right-wingers. If that doesn't ring alarm bells....

Not all.

Just most.

I keep hearing people who voted Leave attempting to distance themselves from racism and xenophobia, but so far none of them have been able to persuade me that they are, in fact, distant from racism and xenophobia. Maybe its because of their proximity to racism and xenophobia.

I don't think it's ALL racism and xenophobia.

I think it's lack of understanding: eg many of the brexiters on here display next to zero knowledge of politics eg. the pen issues/'it's fixed'/'it won't happen'

I think for some it was a protest vote - perhaps the most idiotic protest vote you can imagine. The idea that we will now move further to the left is ridiculous. What were they thinking?

I voted Leave because of immigration.

Not because immigrants are black, brown, white, yellow .. i wouldnt care if they were green ffs it isnt about skin colour.

Its about my ds nearly not getting a place at school because the area is so overpopulated.
Its about waiting 2 weeks to see a doctor.
Its about being made redundant from my job because the company have suddenly decided speaking a European language is a must.
Its about my mother waiting a year for a diagnosis for her auto immune disease because the NHS is so stretched.

I am not a racist. I could give two hoots about the colour of someones skin. I have friends from other ethnicities. I am simply worried that this country cannot take many more people. And I think I speak for many people who voted Leave.

This is all just ridiculous. Surely we all have deeply held beliefs that are also held by people we would prefer not to be associated with?

UKIP state that they are in favour of an NHS that is free at the point of access. I agree with THIS BELIEF. Does that make me guilty of racism by association?

I didn't vote (ruined paper), I think both sides had equally valid reasons and I have seen those reasons here on MN and yet people are ignoring them. It's so unbelievably close-minded that the Remain side just dismisses everything the Leave side says, it's ridiculous.

As for the Leave campaign having no substance, I agree. But neither did the Remain. Every debate was "as a mother/it's common sense!/we don't know what's going to happen so we should be scared!" vs "take back control!/Don't listen to their scaremongering!". Both sides approached this ridiculously poorly and this labelling of "racist" for wanting to leave is probably what pushed many voters to vote that way.

january do you live in London/SE?

I do actually, yes. The SE.

Not all Leave voters are racist. But a significant number are. But these days even the racists don't like to admit they're racist.

Of course we may well see a return to those good old days before pesky political correctness stopped people having racist fun.

I think it's lack of understanding: eg many of the brexiters on here display next to zero knowledge of politics

Wow.

This is so common and you people just can't see it. If someone on the Remain side has no knowledge of politics, that's fine. But because someone disagrees with your POV, they're racist or they didn't understand. No. Maybe people don't agree with the way the EU functions for whatever reason?

Why is it so hard for people to accept that others might just genuinely have a different world view to them?

All I'm going to say january is the point you make about an overstretched NHS isn't really attributable to immigration.

You think waiting times are bad in London? Try Barrow/Morecambe Bay/Kings Lynn for size. Diabolical and not exactly hotbeds of immigration.

I think it's lack of understanding: eg many of the brexiters on here display next to zero knowledge of politics

Well that is my experience of many brexiters in RL but mostly on here! What can I say?

bbc 1 just interviewing people in Barnsley and asking why they voted to leave as a lot of EU money had been pumped in there - oh well I didn't know about that but I don't care,

A great example of a thoughtful voter.

I don't know why you're upset about this. You've won baby. You've taken back control!

I voted leave & I'm not racist. I watched the debates & realised their views were just opinions not fact based because no one actually knows how it will turn out. I think EU is too big and is labouring . Fresh start , let's get on with it

Well ok januaryblues

"I voted Leave because of immigration. "

That's not racist per se. But it is racists and xenophobes who have convinced you these problems you list are caused by immigration.

And racists and xenophobes who have lied until you believe that an EU exit would have any impact on immigration

January WHY don't you blame the educational system then for not teaching you any MFL

Times change and because of globalisation we have to learn more skills, so it's not always about your immediate neighbours having out-skilled you E.g. the advancement of engineering has demanded that the maths taught at University 40 years ago is certainly not enough and now taught at A-Level, if not earlier. So they start early on so at university they teach at A LOT harder level than they used to. Recently, at a secondary's open evening they talked to us about IT and programming being taught at a much younger age nowadays because of the progress being made.

January we also have lack of school places: in fact, on top of that Boris Johnson has approved EVEN MORE OF hundreds new flats (and DOES IT REALLY matter who will live in them as long as the area gets overly populated??) which the council HAD REJECTED as the area is massively overpopulated, there are rats around and obviously everybody blames immigration. I remember for a fact that the Guardian had mentioned when he was elected that going against the tide in his party, like his predecessor he admitted that London needs immigration in order to function. Now suddenly he wants to "control" immigration. He doesn't care about immigration, or the impact that it might have on you (if we accept that it's a bad thing), all he cares about is to use you agreeing with him as a means to HIS end: fail the NHS forcing it to get privatised, privatisation of all schools (all schools to become academies axed now was a mild start), not paid leave, no maternity leave i.e. become USA.

Massively overpopulated area but thank God for the immigrant doctors as there are plenty of surgeries (wherever they have come from)

"I voted Leave because of immigration

That's not racist per se. But it is racists and xenophobes who have convinced you these problems you list are caused by immigration

Oh turn it in! Normal adults can use their own mind, beliefs, thought process to choose who ever they like. They don't need to be brain washed or tricked. They can look at facts and choose for them selfs It's called democracy.

This is just getting bizzare now

Kimono in our area due to very bad planning and permission given to make it even worse and without any school places planned people have been convinced that it is the immigrants' fault. So yes, people do get brainwashed and tricked by racists in a grand scale, it is possible you know..