The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same

Still a lot of bad blood going round today, following the Brexit vote, from both sides.
The Remain camp are questioning Leavers' intelligence and accusing them of ruining the lives of the younger generation, while the Leave lot are calling the Remainers whiney and anti-democratic, just because the vote hasn't gone their way.
Here's the thing: had the nation voted more substantially for Leave, then there'd be no arguing with the result. Similarly, had there been any substance to the arguments made by the Leave politicians, there'd be a lot less backlash against the result, FROM BOTH SIDES.
But the truth is, the vote was incredibly tight, and following the result, the biggest claims by the Leave lot have already been debunked (and, in fact, were debunked weeks ago, for anyone paying attention):

Not only will we have to uphold the free movement of people if we want to remain in the single market (which we do), but we're going to find it more difficult to keep an eye that movement once we're out.
On top of that, that whacking great slogan on the side of the Leavers' bus...

...has been denounced as bollocks by one of the drivers of the freakin' bus!

David Cameron, who pledged to remain in charge whatever the outcome, said this:



In the face of all this, the government are now being petitioned to hold a second referendum; a petition that, of the 100,000 signatures required to force a discussion in parliament, has at the time of writing this 1,664,757.

Leave supporters are, of course, calling this undemocratic.  From their point of view, the nation has already democratically voted for Leave.

But have they?  How many of those voters voted Leave because they thought it would net the NHS more money?  How many of those voters voted Leave because they thought we'd regain control of our borders?  How many of those voters voted Leave because they didn't believe it would have a significant impact on our economy?

The entire referendum was based on demonstrable lies from both camps.  No, now that the nation's voted Leave, it isn't going to cause an economic apocalypse, it isn't going to trigger World War 3 and it isn't going to sever our trading ties with Europe.  On the other hand, the NHS isn't suddenly going to be flooded with more money, we aren't going to regain control of our borders, we aren't going to be free from EU regulations, and given our reduced economic standing, we aren't going to be able to dictate terms and trade with who we want, how we want.

This entire referendum has spat in eye of democracy.

You an Inny or an Outy?

Holy sweet nanny of Jehova, is this referendum proving a moral quandary!

On the one hand, do we want to stick with the safety and security of the EU, ensuring solid trade links, and our human and workers' rights are maintained, but at the cost of a not-insignificant financial contribution, modestly open boarders, being held to various rules and regulations largely beyond our control, and, worst of all, supporting Dodgy Dave C and his bosom buddy, Gideon of the House Osbore?

Or, do we want to take a punt at the freedom of independence from the EU, theoretically securing our own trade deals, policing our own boarders, and distributing those contribution savings where we see fit, but at the double-whammy cost of our rights and financial distributions being dictated solely by parliament, and supporting Boris the Blond Bollock, Pob and IBS?

David Cameron's currently in a flap because it doesn't seem to matter how demonstrably full of manure the Leave campaign are, or how apocalyptic Remain claims Brexit will be, support is growing for Boris and his Outers.  The problem he appears to be having is, not one of his arguments is on particularly solid ground: the 'unique status' he negotiated for the UK amounts to little beyond possibly vetoing things we don't like if enough EU members agree with us; while we may have to work harder at securing trade deals, the UK's economy is one of the biggest in the world, and far too lucrative to be ignored (especially in these continually shaky times); and claiming it would put our 'economic growth' at risk is a bit rich coming from the man who put George 'surely if we throw everyone's money at our debt, we'll look so good the economy will heal itself' Osborne.

And this didn't help:

I see now why they're having to fuck the NHS. £9.3mil well spent. Nice one #DodgyDave #CameronOut

A photo posted by Michael Adam Brockbanks (@mabrock1980) on Apr 12, 2016 at 8:29am PDT

"We share a lot of intelligence with the EU, so Brexit could put national security at risk."
So you're saying Europe wouldn't bother telling us of an impending attack if we're not part of the club?

This could, of course, be easily solved by the one argument that would turn the tide for innumerable doubters, but the one argument DC himself can't make: "Without the EU, I'll be free to shaft you all like so much fresh pork!"

Not that claims from the other side hold enough water quench the thirst of an arid gnat.  Every argument from the leave campaign seems to have been clipped straight out of the pages of The Daily Mail: a 'news'paper so ripe with judgement, yet thin on facts you could base a church on it.

Personally, curious though I am to see what would happen if we did leave - not only would it piss on Cameron's chips and make his PMship rather tenuous, the savings could be put to good use if the people in charge of them have an iota of sense and morality (which they don't), and we could secure trade deals, that may be better than the ones we have already, as long as the people doing the negotiating aren't a bunch of autocratic self-promoters more interested in doing favours for their friends than securing a profitable position for all (which they are) - and pathetic, hypocritical and hyperbolic as a lot of the Remain rhetoric has been throughout the campaign, I feel what few potential benefits we might enjoy on the outside, don't stack up against the benefits of being a member.

At the end of the day, I must constantly remind myself that, nauseous as voting with our cretinous PM makes me feel, I'd rather drink a cocktail of bile from the bellies of all who oppose the EU than grant that Etonian swine shagger and his friends unfettered control of our rights and finances.