I am one of those who had been personally threatened with physical violence. Perhaps my experience is untypical, but my impression is that there is a lot of nastiness among the supporters of Brexit.
Itâs hard to respect a point of view that is not based on solid ground. Mr Hodgeâs recent posts where he is claiming that the state of the economy doesnât matter to a country contradicts his belief that Britain is somehow a world leader that will go from strength to strength now it has left its influential position in the heart of one of the worldâs most powerful trading groups. Iâm sorry but I want more than arrogance and fairy tales if Iâm am going to take their point of view seriously.
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Ah, yes - The Leave Alliance - AKA Richard and Peter North.
Itâs hokum - there never was a serious chance of an âEEA Brexitâ once the referendum was over, and certainly not after the Lancaster House speech.
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Perhaps itâs still to early to reckon the benefits of Brexit? The nation is still in the âphoney warâ period, because most of the conditions of EU membership are still operational, albeit In the shadow of uncertainty faced by many enterprises and businesses who know there is likely to be ill-defined or indefinable trouble in 2021.
The same seems to be true of the anticipated benefits of recaptured âsovereigntyâ, an rather intangible (though for some Ă crucial) concept.
The mists will begin to clear next year, as then the reckoning will be more meaningful, as the effects of Brexit mesh in with real life.
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That sounds as though it will be a case of waiting to see if anything positive crops up along the way. Brexit is a major step, someone must be able to give a tangible advantage of following that course based on more than we can control our borders and we will no longer be bullied. Britain has always been a sovereign nation. I spent decades living on the Dutch/German border a twenty minute drive fro Belgium, each country had a very different and individual character that was obvious almost the minute you crossed the border.
While we might get control of our borders it will be a pyrrhic victory as no-one will want to come to our poisonous little isle anyway.
And outside the EU weâll have no protection from the bullies.
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Thank you Peter for your considered opinion. It is always good to âhearâ your moderate voice.
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There is already options for restricting movement that UK has not implemented I donât think a significant actual change will happen in this subject without massive investment in people and systems which I see as unlikely.
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Thatâs what I was getting at too. Theyâve already realised that they wonât be able to change much at all initially even if they wanted to as freight traffic cannot be allowed to build up.
That was a disgraceful act, Mike, and of course it could only ever be condemned. Some people are prone to irrational violence if challenged on extreme positions they hold. You have my sincere concern for your future welfare. 
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For many, their main satisfaction is their sense of reclaimed sovereignty, derived from what others believe is an inflated and egregious pride in national identity, and its symbols: the Crown, the flag, the currency, the language, the customs and commonplace traditions; and a corresponding mistrust and dislike of foreign counterpart symbols and practices: frogsâ legs, smelly cheese, straight men who kiss each othersâ cheeks and wear yellow trousers, elected national prĂ©sidents, girls with unshaved armpits/legs etc.
Such sentiments are so widespread it is IMO wrong not to view them as tending to a norm, or ânormalâ from a statistical point of view. If those of us who have divergent opinions, and align with pro-European thinking canât adjust to the new reality, the newly adopted ânormalâ, we are on a hiding to nothing.
If, on the other hand, we can adopt a less adversarial position, there is (I believe) a good chance of recalibrating the post-Brexit accord to Ă less confrontational one than now exists. A compromise position around which the majority can comfortably align themselves for a decade or two.
There are pressing issues (like the economy, and climate change) that will call for cooler heads, and closer collaboration, and sooner rather than later. I think I shall send a copy of this unremarkable post to my constituency MP, Mark Francois, with my recommendation that he is well-placed to embody the spirit of this healing mission, and to ask him if he will step forward to pioneer it?
Suggestions on a postcard to me #washyourmouthoutpete. 
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Iâm not sure he is capable of readingâŠ
he has enough trouble riting and his rithmatic is probably no better 
Basically, heâs illegitimate or should that be illiterate 
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I have several letters from him over his signature that prove him to be at the pinnacle of the Queenâs English, and he talks proper too, albeit wiv an Estuary twang. Donât let that git up yer schnoz, mate 
The UKs leading patriot did have a particularly special moment yesterday:
https://twitter.com/JayJay08752584/status/1280524194867019782?s=19
I think you got it right in the first part of your post. The great appeal of Brexit is to people who are constantly looking for something to take offence over.
âOo yoo lookinâ at!â By being conciliatory, in an attempt to avoid a conflict, people allow them to feel justified in their unacceptable behaviour and they only become worse.
The most dangerous people are those who feel they are victims, because they think they are entitled to take revenge on their imagined tormentors.
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I saw this, already. Like Johnson, François, is, clearly losing his grip on reality. I expect this has been noticed by his ERG minders, who might slip him something in his tea. Or he might develop a sudden illness requiring a spell in hospital. Or something. Cummings might even let him off his leash as, a distraction from Borisâs imminent Major Dispatch Box Meltdown, which canât be long delayed. He has begun to fidget his right thigh a bit like the âpsychoâ in Batesâ Motel. 
This is a bit over-generalised, Mike. You donât need to be conciliatory. In fact, at that âOo yoo looking atâ stage, itâs wiser to back off cautiously, arms lowered and away from trunk, hands visibly open palms facing aggressor. Donât turn your back on aggressor. Direct your gaze slightly above aggressorâs head¶ or slightly to one side. Avoid direct eye contact. Avoid speaking except if unavoidable to say âOKâ. Donât make sudden movements.
Always try not to reach the âOo yoo looking at?â stage by recognising rising tension in another, and keeping your level of challenge down.
Counsel of perfection of course but comes with practice and experience. Police are supposed to learn it, but too often try to meet challenge with more challenge, which escalates anxiety and risk of physical resistance.
¶This is a good distractor, as it often disconcerts the aggressor into interpreting the threat as being behind him, not in you.
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Sadopopulism! Iâve finally found a use for the word!
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Thanks for sharing.
Incredible. How fast will this government flush itself into a sea of its own excrement, sadly taking the rest of the country with them.
Hasnât it done so already? Chief sewermen Cummings and Doris are struggling to find the brush head right now, lost in the depths of a sinking stinking Britain 