What does 'I want my country back' mean to you'?

[Blue4ever]

That's it really. I just want to know what people mean by that. I am not British, I came to live in London 20 years ago, and I just don't know what to make of it - considering that one of my work colleagues keeps on putting it on her Facebook page, and she works at my children's school.

It would depend on the person/context but I would probably take it as someone that is more than happy for immigrants to come and bring aspects of their culture to enrich ours but not to dilute our culture so it is unrecognisable. Less political correctness. More "you've come here because you like what you've seen of our country. Learn our language, learn our customs and embrace them and we will welcome you with open arms.

its a really helpful warning signal the racist bigots emit. the other key one is "I'm not racist but..."

The minute I hear "I'm not racist but..." a racist comment is coming straight after it.

I want to go back to the summer of 2012 when the whole global Olympic vibe made the country feel like the happiest place on earth.

Personally it means nothing to me, and I don't understand in what way people think the country has been taken from them. Because of our location we've always been a nation of immigration, flux and change, and these things have usually been to our benefit.

DH's parents emigrated in the 1980's, and they talk about Britain not being the place they left, but of course it bloody isn't. If they'd left in the 1940's and occasionally came back to visit in the 1980's they'd have said the same. Having said all that I'd quite like the country rid of mouth breathing small minded Daily Mail reading idiots.

As someone who was born and bred here to British parents it means fuck all to me. Countries are lines on a map, and borders only divide us. I want my country back is a useless phrase spouted by halfwitted twats who want to hide their often quite racist views behind a veneer of acceptability.

I would have said it was a racist expression but I think a lot of people have been using it since Friday in the opposite way. I want the old UK back - reasonably tolerant, easygoing, comfortably part of Europe and not in imminent danger of breaking up.

I agree it's just a sound bite. To me it screams racist/xenophobic/bigoted views. Many of the leave voters I know cited this when talking about why they're voting leave on social media and in person. That says a lot I think.

I'm not sure what or who we're meant to be taking from where. It's a completely ridiculous statement designed to suck people in, unfortunately it worked

As a 'Remain' voter, it's nothing I would ever say, but I've always assumed people meant they don't want to be ruled from Brussels by faceless bureaucrats with no accountability (I have some sympathy), rather than anything with racist or 'foreigners out' overtones (I have no sympathy at all).

Imo, it means 'I don't want any brown people or any foreign speaking people here'
I've heard a few people say 'I'm not racist but I want my country back'. So that says it all for me!

No fucking clue what 'make Britain great again' means though, unless it means the same thing as 'want the country back'.

This sums up how I feel:
I feel like my country has gone with this referendum, and I'd like the country back which was outward looking, free thinking, funny, ironic and something I could be proud of.

I don't know who we are anymore, or what is happening to us. I thought we were a tolerant society. I don't want to be a part of the Britain that's erupted with incidents of racial abuse and xenophobia within a week of the referendum. I'm ashamed of what we're turning into.

I get the impression that not wanting to be 'ruled by Brussels' (which imo we weren't) a red herring for a lot of people and they use it in relation to 'wanting Britain back' to disguise what would otherwise be considered racist/xenophobic views.

I think it is racism basically. Often a worry that more Muslims or Turkish will come in.

It also tend to mean they want back a country that never existed. A Janet and John, Ladybird book world with lashings of ginger beer.

All this talk of "taking my country back" and "we won", "you lost" is total nonsense.

People seem to be under the impression they've been engaged in a daring battle against "the elite" (which seems to be a catch all phrase for everyone from billionaires to totally normal people who work their arise off to earn £40k+ in London).

Reality is, they took 5 minutes out of their day to put a cross on a piece of paper and pop it into a slot.

They didn't do jack shit, in reality and they barely missed half an episode of Eastenders to do it.

But suddenly everyone thinks they've fought a hard battle on the campaign trail. It's pathetic really.

This is all just instinctive response from an archaic part of the brain that evolution hasn't quite got rid of yet, and which used to keep us safe when we needed to hunt and stood a serious chance of getting killed and eaten when we left our cave for the day.

People are overwhelmed by their animal instincts and it's what Farage and his ilk have been praying on all along, knowingly.

I'm not at all surprised it's blown up like this, and if they don't get their way I fully expect things to turn violent.