• Buffalox@lemmy.world
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    17 hours ago

    Good, IMO they shouldn’t be. ;)
    But to be fair I forgot what for some is the biggest deal breaker, which is the Schengen agreement that allows free travel for EU citizens within EU. Which of course again IMO is another benefit, not a drawback. But propaganda uses it to stir up xenophobia.

    As an EU citizen I too don’t see any problems in the above points. Getting a better democracy would seem to me to be a HUGE bonus. But sometimes Brits are a bit stubborn, and they want special treatment because they believe in British exceptionalism.

    UK always considered itself separate from continental Europe, and somewhat superior to the rest of Europe. Which for decades was true, because UK were first to industrialize, and was immensely wealthy from having colonies and the world reserve currency.
    But when that broke down after WW2, UK declined quickly and became a “normal” country. But the mentality never really followed the reality.

    At least that’s how I understand it.
    But maybe the steep drop in support when the points are presented isn’t so much because they are against them, as maybe they don’t quite understand them, or think UK can get a better deal.
    What for instance does it mean to switch from GBP to EUR? That’s probably not so clear for everybody.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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        5 hours ago

        To be fair the British Pound does have a long and “proud” history, as the most significant currency in the world. And London being the financial center of the world.
        The pride of its past history will to some degree be lost, like losing the last remnant from when UK was the strongest and richest global Empire. It’s like losing a bit of history and national identity.

        • Brave Little Hitachi Wand@feddit.uk
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          5 hours ago

          I do try not to let pride be my downfall; national pride doubly so. Being a British and American citizen by birth has pretty well beaten it out of me.

          • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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            4 hours ago

            That’s very wise, but pride is a bitch, it’s hard to swallow. So I think many will not think like you.
            I’m from Denmark, and even I would feel a little sad to see the British Pound disappear.

      • KevinOnEarth@mstdn.io
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        11 hours ago

        @yakko @Buffalox
        I think that exception is the one big fly in the ointment! Especially as the City of London depends on it to, um, “manage” the flows of billions of $£€++. 😏