I don't think it's entirely fair to say that Brexit was motivated by sheer racism.
However, racists may have used it as a platform to feel that they would get what they wanted. Given that immigrants from the EU who hold jobs in Britain are now in a very precarious situation, it isn't that hard to imagine xenophobic people voting out because they don't like the idea of "filthy immigrants" stealing the jobs from hard-working British citizens.
This is where a lot of Donald Trump's supporters come from.
It is a legitimate concern.
After all, there was a warehouse or power plant of some sort in Philadelphia that laid off all of its workers because it was cheaper to outsource jobs to Mexico.
And that is problematic.
Everyone needs to have a means of keeping themselves and their families alive, no matter what part of the world they're from. Using the fact that an immigrant stole your job as an excuse for the way you're behaving?
Sorry, but that's bigoted.
Even if it's coming from a good place, from wanting to have security for your family, it's still a bigoted way of thinking.
People who support The Donald do so because they seem to genuinely feel threatened by a lack of job security.
However, they don't seem to realize that doing so paints them in a racist way.
There's a sense of entitlement gripping a lot of developed nations these days.
Nobody likes to talk about white privilege because it sounds terrible.
Imagine that! Being labelled as something based on your ethnicity.
White privilege is a result of white people thinking that all doors should be opened to them based on race.
When immigrants and visible minorities "take our jobs," we see it as an attack on something we feel is ours by virtue of our skin pigmentation and where we were born.
Politicians like Trump and the people behind Brexit might not even espouse racist views.
But does it matter to them if their third biggest voting pool is a Neo-Nazi sect?
They're getting what they want via the power of democracy.
Establishments should think about a way to make it work for everyone.
Governments need to sit down and actually think of a remedy for their toothache that doesn't involve shooting their foot off.
Nick Menz
Ft. St. John
