After voting to leave the European Union, Britain is now waking up to fall out of its decision. Commentator after commentator is warning about the disaster that is looming on the horizon because many of the things that the British took for granted – including the ability to travel freely and work on the continent – are now looking as if they will disappear. This will affect youngsters the most-not surprisingly, the young voted to remain.
Even those who drummed up the campaign to leave – on the right, left and the far right – are now making some conciliatory noises. Britain will always be part of Europe, said Boris Johnson. Nigel Farage, whose ultra-nationalist United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) admitted the day after the rest that the claim he and his colleagues had made that Britain gave 350 million pounds every week to Europe was wrong. Think of it as a jumla of epic proportions, since that was one of the key pillars of the Leavers’ campaign.
WHEN Trump starts abusing the minorities, he releases a spring among those who feel suppressed. Suddenly, it is okay to give vent to the worse kind of bigotry, because no less a person than the Presidential candidate is saying it. The media plays it up further boosting his fame and popularity which leads him to becoming even more outrageous. The downstream effect is obvious.
Not surprisingly, as everyone smells the coffee, the British are showing no hurry to invoke Article 50, which will kick-start the irretrievable two year process to leave. At the same time, reports suggest the Europeans are asking the British to get on with it. There is also a lot of hope and wishful thinking that somehow this decision can be reversed and things can go back to as they were. But wouldn’t that be undermining the voice and intentions of over 50 percent of the country that voted to leave? One way or the other, it is a messy situation.
But while the politicians and bureaucrats think of next steps, an ugly mood seems to have gripped Britain. Racist attacks have increased and migrants and minorities are being targeted. A BBC reporter who was born and grew up in England was called a Paki, an abuse that was rampant in the highly charged 1970s and ‘80s but had died down. There are accounts of people being told on the street to “go back.” Polish residents, living in the country legally, are being sent leaflets urging them to leave. Clearly, Brexit has brought latent and ugly racism to the fore. It is now acceptable to say things that were unsayable; it is natural, considering the rabid campaign run by the Leavers.
This is not an isolated phenomenon. In the United States, the demagoguery of Donald Trump – he calls Mexicans rapists, wants to stop Muslims from coming into the country – have got a huge response from the public, propelling him as the Republican candidate for President. Such things were never said earlier, at least not in public and certainly not by a prominent person. But that does not mean that the prejudice that lurks in society had disappeared. If anything, many who harbour such thoughts felt uncomfortable saying it and blamed it on “political correctness.” They think they are being told what to say and think, not realising that in any civilised society speech has to be civilised.
When Trump starts abusing the minorities, he releases a spring among those who feel suppressed. Suddenly, it is okay to give vent to the worse kind of bigotry, because no less a person than the Presidential candidate is saying it. The media plays it up further boosting his fame and popularity which leads him to becoming even more outrageous. The downstream effect is obvious.
In our own country, we have seen the debasement of our public conversation in recent years. The Yogi Adityanaths and Sadhvi Prachis are unlike the other politicians of the past — they don’t stop themselves from uttering communal remarks. They thrive on it and it helps them electorally.
Instead of stopping them or rebuking them, their leaders turn a deaf ear. What is the message that goes out— that it is okay to say these things without any fear of retribution. Indeed, one might even be rewarded. Lower down the food chain, this often leads to violence. At the very least, even educated people feel there is nothing wrong in expressing their deepest prejudices in public, something they would have hesitated to do in the past.
Bigotry, communalism, racism — they never really disappear; they only go underground. But a combination of laws, socialisation and public disapproval ensure that a certain modicum of civilised behaviour is maintained. Political leaders are supposed to be role models — they set the tone. When they start uttering such remarks or don’t stop others from uttering them, then the dam bursts loose — all the pent up feelings of hatred towards the Other begins to gush out.
Observers are warning that an ugly mood is overtaking Britain. In the chaos of change and transition, and the absence of clear-eyed leadership, things could get worse. The Brexit campaign had focused on immigration — the fear of the foreigner. It has raked up deep visceral emotions among people, focusing on insecurities and in the process undone decades of social cohesion. Not just visible minorities but also anyone who may be white but a European can be vulnerable. The same is the case in other countries where an anti-minority and anti-immigrant mood is rising. This could lead to serious consequences down the line.
