By now, the repercussions of Britain voting to leave the European Union have become widely known throughout the world. To recap, after voting with 52 percent leave to 48 percent remain, the United Kingdom can now leave the EU. While the whys and hows of this process might still be slightly confusing, several crucial things happened almost immediately following this vote:
- $3 trillion was lost in plunging stocks, which still have yet to recover.
- The British pound immediately dropped and fell to the lowest value since 1985.
- Prime Minister David Cameron resigned the following day.
- UKIP member Nigel Farage went back on his promise to provide NHS with £350 million extra each week.
- The promise to cut immigration numbers to under 100,000 per year was proven false.
- As it turns out, the Leave campaign had absolutely no plan once they left.
These were only some of the effects to come from the Leave referendum. Why, then, did voters still choose leave? As it turns out, the main reason why Leave was chosen is because of immigration.
In the wake of Brexit, harassment has become much bolder and more prevalent than ever before in England. Only hours after the referendum result, signs and papers reading “Leave the EU. No more Polish vermin” were left outside primary schools in Huntington and in mailboxes in the area. A Polish Cultural Center was vandalized with racist graffiti. On buses and public transportation in Britain, verbal harassment has become far more commonplace, in which harassers attempt to force their targets off the buses or trams. A man stood making victory signs outside of a primarily Muslim school.
The majority of Leave voters were actually aged above 45, whereas the majority of Remain voters were much younger. Only 39 percent of voters over the age 65 were for Remain. Of the 18- to 24-year-olds that turned up, 75 percent were for Remain.
However, Remain voters were severely damaged by "voter apathy" brought on by having limited experience and political knowledge. Additionally, politicians are guilty of not targeting young people as effectively in their campaigns as they would older people.
It’s a common misconception that Brexit made people out to be racists. This is false; Brexit and the Leave referendum just gave racists a platform to carry out their bigoted attacks without having to feel shame or having to hide it. “We voted Leave” just became the ultimate loophole.
Any of this sounding familiar? Because across the pond, the United States is about to be contending with the same issue if we do not learn from the mistakes of the U.K.
The most commonly reflected is the sentiment that immigrants are coming in to take our jobs. Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for president, has said multiple times that “They’re [the immigrants from Mexico] taking our jobs. They’re taking our manufacturing jobs. They’re taking our money. They’re killing us.”
As a result, the number one reason why people would vote for Donald Trump? His anti-immigration policies. And, since Trump has risen, the U.S. has also witnessed the sudden uptick in racist incidents, most recently being the Ku Klux Klan’s declaration to return to the former glory they once were, 150 years ago.
Brexit was won on anti-immigration sentiment—the same sentiment Donald Trump is trying to ride straight to the vote for presidency. It can happen, and we should all be very careful to ensure that this presidential race does not get anywhere close to this.
