•  Syldon   ( @Syldon@feddit.uk ) OP
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    191 year ago

    The only nation in the history of the world to impose economic sanctions on its self

    A very naïve view on how the world works. There are plenty of countries that have voted for secession, and secession will always have an economic impact.

    It can only be considered stupid if there was enough information to understand the effects of the decision prior to taking it. Because of the lies and money spent on campaigns, the relevant information was tainted. Sitting on your high horse and calling people stupid is never going to convince people to change their minds.

    The most googled search reference of 2016 was not “What is the EU?”. It did not even strike the top 10.

    I agree Brexit was a bad decision, but two wrong don’t make a right. Attacking people for being misinformed is not an intelligent choice imo.

    • C’mon man.

      An article from The Times?

      A magazine based in the US; with search terms involving the US election, hurricanes, and the Powerball?

      These are obviously search terms exclusive to the US.

      Here are the 2016 search results directly from The Goog, itself - but from the UK - y’know, where Brexit happened.

      While not number 1 under the “What is” section, it does pop as #4, alongside “What is Brexit” at #2.

    • It can only be considered stupid if there was enough information to understand the effects of the decision prior to taking it. Because of the lies and money spent on campaigns, the relevant information was tainted. Sitting on your high horse and calling people stupid is never going to convince people to change their minds.

      Sorry but I find this naive. The information was there. We have a highly literate population and widespread technology that means the vast majority of the adult population have instant access to unparalleled levels information through a user-friendly device carried in their pockets. It is unacceptable for them to use ‘I don’t have a PhD in economics’ as an excuse for not bothering to inform themselves before voting, in this day and age.

      I agree there were lies and disinformation, but for many Brexiters this isn’t what decided their vote. Indeed, many of them were crystal clear that they thought Brexit was a desirable outcome regardless of whether it would cause economic damage - 61% of Leave voters saying significant economic damage would be a price worth paying, 39% going further and saying they’d consider it acceptable if Brexit led to them or their family members losing their jobs.

      We shouldn’t make excuses for these people. Call a fool a fool.

      •  Syldon   ( @Syldon@feddit.uk ) OP
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        11 year ago

        Sorry but I find this naive. The information was there. We have a highly literate population and widespread technology that means the vast majority of the adult population have instant access to unparalleled levels information through a user-friendly device carried in their pockets.

        Typical gaslighting narrative. Everything was there right in front of your face.

        I have a 70 year old living next door to me who was bragging about having her first email address last month. It is this sort of ignorance that you conmen rely on.

        • I’m relying on the fact that:

          61% of Leave voters saying significant economic damage would be a price worth paying, 39% going further and saying they’d consider it acceptable if Brexit led to them or their family members losing their jobs.

          Your point on a 70 year having less access to modern technology does not represent most of the population. It doesn’t even represent most 70 year olds - my parents are that age and they’ve both had email addresses since the 1990s and smart phones for over a decade, and use them very actively.

          What does represent the wider population is that a majority of Leavers were pretty clear they wanted Brexit to happen regardless of any economic consequences. They didn’t vote based on empirical factors, they voted based on ideology. Brexit wasn’t science for them, it was religion.

          •  Syldon   ( @Syldon@feddit.uk ) OP
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            11 year ago

            Your point on a 70 year having less access to modern technology does not represent most of the population.

            So you are saying that conning most of the population is perfectly acceptable. While ignoring the fact that the con was in the information given.

            What does represent the wider population is that a majority of Leavers were pretty clear they wanted Brexit to happen regardless of any economic consequences.

            Says who? Which moron broke with the traditional lies and told people there would be economic consequences?

            People voted for Brexit because the lies were that things would be cheaper, there would be no change in access to Europe, and we would have more money for services. Didn’t you have a bus around your village?

            • Says who?

              I literally linked to an example of polling on this matter. If you Google it you’ll find the were several more similar ones - e.g. there was one showing that many Leave voters considered the breakup of the UK a price worth paying too. They didn’t give a shit.

                • Scroll up buddy. I quoted my previous comment (which you had selectively quoted from) which includes the hyperlink to a news article about one such poll. But as I said, there were several polls along these lines showing analogous results during the Brexit period.

                  •  Syldon   ( @Syldon@feddit.uk ) OP
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                    11 year ago

                    The devil is always in the question when it comes to polls. As you originally stated 61% of Leave voters. The poll covered 2,043 Leave and 2,248 remain voters. Which breaks down to the fact, out of the 4291 polled 1247 were happy to take on economic damage to get a Brexit, 30% of the people who voted were happy to accept economic damage. The poll was in 2017 so before anyone had any real information on what that damage entailed. The public were still being gaslighted at that time that there would be no damage. Any information they did have was tainted. Expecting people to understand the good V’s the bad is unrealistic in the extreme.

                    Now that people have some of that information, remembering there is more hardship to come, you still have the same 30% who wish to stay out of the EU. Given the vote again under the same circumstances only 31% would commit to voting to leave, 55% would vote remain and that leaves 6% up for grabs on either side.

                    From that it is an easy conclusion that people did not have the relevant information. Now that they have it, the voting would change dramatically. You still have the 30% of voter base who are Eurosceptical. Whereas 55% are not interested in the slightest.

    • Attacking people for being misinformed

      But, I was told people were not stupid and they knew what they were voting for. How dare I assume they didn’t understand the implication and how dare I think I know more about it than they did.

      I understand your point that attacking people and calling them stupid wont “make them change their mind”. But they had the time to research and understand the implications before the referendum. They’ve had much more time now to go back over it.

      Banging your head on the wall pretending it won’t hurt, doesn’t make you misinformed or need education. It makes you stupid and it needs to be called out. I don’t need to convince someone that banging their head on a wall will hurt.

      Sadly, I do need them to stop banging their head on the wall. As it’s a shared house and we’ve all got to live here. Holes in the wall ain’t helping anyone.

      •  Syldon   ( @Syldon@feddit.uk ) OP
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        21 year ago

        Stupid is as stupid does. You have no evidence that people understood. There is plenty of evidence people are changing their mind now they are seeing the effects.

      •  Syldon   ( @Syldon@feddit.uk ) OP
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        21 year ago

        There was a top trending search within the UK for “Brexit”, which was also within a sub category. I am sorry but this is a far cry from what you said. I agree Brexit is bad, but using information that is not correct gets swooped up by the con artists that try and push the Brexit narrative.