...Brexit was not fuelled by hope for a different future. On the contrary, many Leavers believed that withdrawing from the EU wouldn’t really change things one way or the other, but they still wanted to do it. I’ve long suspected that, on some unconscious level, things could be even stranger than this: the self-harm inflicted by Brexit could potentially be part of its appeal. It is now being reported that many Leave voters are aghast at what they’ve done, as if they never really intended for their actions to yield results.

Tony Judt's Postwar, Brassed Off, comparisons between the collapse of the British auto industry in the '70s and the collapse of the US auto industry in 2008, and much of the industrial music of the late '70s/early '80s gave me the impression that there are vast swaths of the UK that essentially haven't had meaningful employment in their neighborhoods since the '70s. Thatcher, for her part, kicked the shit out of working class UK families that are now into their 2nd generations of welfare.

The article is insightful - families that are dependent on aid are not thankful for that aid. They long for a return to utility and "fuck everybody, at least we're all suffering now" becomes a viable strategy.

Spent way too long at Los Angeles International Airport today/yesterday. There was a fat kid - couldn't have been 20 - wearing a "Trump: Make America Great Again" shirt in the security line. He just kept making eye contact with everybody he saw, spoiling for a fight.

This kid has no understanding about politics. But he knows that his guy makes you upset, and since he doesn't like you, that's good enough. It really doesn't matter that his livelihood is dependent on you - what matters is that he gets to spite you.

Thank god the minorities hate Trump.

posted 2858 days ago