Brexit

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Sunny

Sunny

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Hoping this is not considered "political," as it isn't meant that way. Our newspaper today is full of articles about the British election of Boris Johnson, and the fact that Brexit will undoubtedly go through. But as an American, I am pretty ignorant about the subject. Can anyone explain to me what the European Union is, and what it stands for? Is it about the economy or about immigration? Why are the British people apparently overwhelmingly in favor of pulling out?

Maybe one of you Brits can explain some of this to me in kindergarten terms? I really know next to nothing about it.
 

Firstly the British are not overwhelmingly in favour! The margin was quite narrow. Only the English were really in favour, the Welsh were marginal and the Scots And Northern Ireland both voted remain.

That is now a major issue in Scotland. There is a move for independence and then join the EU. That will almost certainly happen eventually.

The EU is essentially a trading bloc. There are no trade barriers within the bloc.
 
I don't think asking for information would be considered political. Brexit can and has had an effect on the stock market which would make it a financial concern for some.

I understand Matrix doesn't allow discussing elections and such but I hope e doesn't mean we have to be blind to what is going on in the world we all live in.

Matrix please give us your wise and just guidance.
 
Here is my post on a closed thread this Friday, please understand that I'm not encouraging political discussions here.

The initial political ban is to stop the bitter argument around the presidential election and both parties. We don't want to extend the ban too much beyond that.

Many topics such as taxes and health insurance can't avoid politics completely, so, usually if a topic wasn't created to discuss politics, no important political figures or parties involved, we don't want to intervene. There are also discussions about UK and AU politics, but there are no arguments, we didn't moderate them either.

We try to give the members maximum freedom to discuss things while keeping the forum a friendly place.
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The other day I wrote a sentence in a political thread that mentioned the word trump. I didn’t post any personal views about what I’d written whatsoever but my post was removed. The reason was because just using Trumps name was considered political.

Here we have a another political thread discussing political leaders like Brexit, Boris Johnson as well as the European Union and it’s acceptable.

How is it that ones acceptable and the other isn’t?🥺

Is it due to the geographical location?
 
Considering the results of the latest election, Brexit seems a done deal finally so it's senseless to debate the politics of it at this point.

My interest is that in our e-connected world, any major economic event that happens in the UK and/or EU is bound to rapidly impact the rest of us. That being said, I don't think anyone can predict the local or the global economics of the final divorce. Think we'll just have to watch it unfold.
 
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I thought I read something from our administrator that the "no politics" rule only applied to American politics. Not sure about it, though.

I think the rule was imposed to prevent political arguing. I am just asking for information. This is not disingenuous, honest. I really don't know anything about this and keep seeing headlines about it, but the newspaper doesn't ever really explain what they are talking about. I was hoping the Brits on this forum could provide some enlightenment.
 
Sunny said:
I thought I read something from our administrator that the "no politics" rule only applied to American politics. Not sure about it, though.

I think the rule was imposed to prevent political arguing.
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No American politics but any other politics is ok?
Seriously!!

How can that possibly be considered fair and just?
If that’s the case then that’s total bullsh’t!
 
I think Matrix’s explanation above clarifies Admin's stand relating to political discussions. It's just not possible, on a board as diverse and active as this one is, to avoid politics completely and unequivocally.

For example, you can't avoid the subject completely when we discuss things like taxes, health care, financial issues etc where it's plausible that we might legitimately touch on some aspect of politics, however peripherally.

However, airing one's opinions about political figures, elections, parties etc. is different than requesting information or engaging in a factual explanation about the structure of a government or other governing body.

~~~~~~~~~

As a Moderator and/or Admin on other boards and groups, I will say that it's often a thankless job, and it can sometimes look like Admin is engaging in an all or nothing, black or white approach which in my experience isn't typically the case. But on a board as busy as this one, overviewing every post is labor-intensive and tiring and sometimes just not possible to do so in as detailed a fashion as its members would wish. So sometimes the nuances of a post are lost because Admin is focusing on the larger picture.

That can sometimes make it appear that our voices are being silenced, or our freedom to post curtailed. Nope. It's just Admin doing the very best job it can to keep the board friendly and smooth running, under trying conditions and often with heavy time constraints.
 
Ronni said:
I think Matrix’s explanation above clarifies Admin's stand relating to political discussions. It's just not possible, on a board as diverse and active as this one is, to avoid politics completely and unequivocally.

For example, it's impossible to avoid the subject completely when we discuss things like taxes, health care, financial issues etc where it's entirely possible we might touch on some aspect of politics, however peripherally.

However, airing one's opinions about political figures, elections, parties etc. is different than requesting information or engaging in a factual explanation about the structure of a government or other governing body.

~~~~~~~~~

As a Moderator and/or Admin on other boards and groups, I will say that it's often a thankless job, and it can sometimes look like Admin is engaging in an all or nothing, black or white approach which in my experience isn't typically the case. But on a board as busy as this one, overviewing every post is labor-intensive and tiring and sometimes just not possible to do so in as detailed a fashion as its members would wish. So sometimes the nuances of a post are lost because Admin is focusing on the larger picture.

That can sometimes make it appear that our voices are being silenced, or our freedom to post curtailed. Nope. It's just Admin doing the very best job it can to keep the board friendly and smooth running, under trying conditions and often with heavy time constraints.
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Yes Ronni, sometimes it’s impossible to completely to avoid the odd comment or two but to start accepting political threads when there’s CLEARLY a ‘No Politics’ RULE is breaking the rules.

If there’s a no politics rule just for American politics then that’s just blatantly unfair for ALL concerned and total nonsense.

So politics are allowed for some but not for others? So who exactly are allowed to discuss politics and who aren’t?
 
Sunny said:
Before we get bogged down in a big argument about whether or not we are "arguing," :rolleyes:, I did find a link that provides a pretty good, though elementary explanation.

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/wh..._TNtVszdcQViZBgqg8vpFw33pQLlqg7caAhagEALw_wcB
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Thanks Sunny! For further reference, here is a link to a full explanation of the European Union and how it works which I have discovered is pivotal to understanding Brexit. Below is a small excerpt from the full article.

The European Union is a unified trade and monetary body of 28 member countries. It eliminates all border controls between members. That allows the free flow of goods and people, except for random spot checks for crime and drugs. The EU transmits state-of-the-art technologies to its members. The areas that benefit are environmental protection, research and development, and energy.
 
Keesha said:
Yes Ronni, sometimes it’s impossible to completely to avoid the odd comment or two but to start accepting political threads when there’s CLEARLY a ‘No Politics’ RULE is breaking the rules.

If there’s a no politics rule just for American politics then that’s just blatantly unfair for ALL concerned and total nonsense.

So politics are allowed for some but not for others?
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I get what you're saying Keesh. I can't comment definitively one way or the other about your last couple sentences because I haven't actually seen that stated by Admin.

Personally...and this is completely MY OWN INTERPRETATION of the "no politics" rule....I have always taken the rule to mean that we don't air our own opinions, proclaim our loyalties, champion our favored leader or political figure, and then engage in arguments with other members about their loyalties and favorites. Again, that's MY OWN takeaway from the rule. And it does make sense to me when I view it that way.
 
Thanks, Ronni, for the link you provided and also, for whatever it's worth, I agree with your interpretation of the Admin's stand on this. To some extent, everything is political, and if we started worrying about every subject being "political" or not, we'd never say anything!

I think the Admin is just trying to avoid angry fights on this forum. Keesha, asking about the meaning of terms such as Brexit and European Union, and other world events, is not in violation of the rules here. Can we just discuss what the terms refer to (factual discussion), rather than getting sidetracked into what is "fair" and so on?

I am really annoyed with my local paper, the Washington Post. Day after day, they print headlines about this issue, but when you read the article, there is never any real discussion as to what they are actually talking about. They just keep emphasizing the popular vote, whether Britain is going through a major upheaval, etc. But geez, for us ignorant Americans, how about a little explanation? I don't even know which side I am on!
 
I don't see this as a disqualifying political post because it's a request for a simplified explanation of what's going on, not for people's individual opinions about it.

Sunny isn't asking who likes, approves or is fearful of Brexit, Boris Johnson, Queen Elizabeth, whatever, and whomever. She requested an overview of what's happening (which some have provided and I thank you for those).

It likewise wouldn't necessarily be political if someone asked for an explanation of the steps in US impeachment. A reasonable response would include the process through the House of Representatives and Senate, and could be easily be presented in the mode of US History 101, meaning without opining whether the poster believes the charges have merit.

We are all adults here, and while we have political opinions it is within our abilities to explain a process without slanting them with our personal positions.
 
Ronni said:
I get what you're saying Keesh. I can't comment definitively one way or the other about your last couple sentences because I haven't actually seen that stated by Admin.

Personally...and this is completely MY OWN INTERPRETATION of the "no politics" rule....I have always taken the rule to mean that we don't air our own opinions, proclaim our loyalties, champion our favored leader or political figure, and then engage in arguments with other members about their loyalties and favorites. Again, that's MY OWN takeaway from the rule. And it does make sense to me when I view it that way.
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And here’s how it reads to me.

We don’t mind politics as long as it’s not American politics because that ‘might’ upset administration and other members who are American.

I’m most certainly not trying to purposely upset any members but this IS how it reads
 
Well, I have, and i will always abide by the set rule however......I do respectfully protest against it.

Politics & or government is the one & only thing that effects all of us here, and IMO it above all subjects should be discussed.

As for Brexit ? No comment.
 

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