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The British are Googling what the E.U. is, hours after voting to leave it

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Re: The British are Googling what the E.U. is, hours after voting to leave it

#141

Post by tacon »

TearsInTheRain wrote: post #48
a-priori wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or, perhaps, it's a compelling reason why things like this shouldn't be decided by referendum.

how should they be decided then?

Remember the European Constitution that failed a few years ago? (At least the three hundred page document that they were calling a constitution.) I was shocked when my German friends mentioned that the German people would certainly have voted no, but they never got the chance. The German legislature voted for it, and that was it. Apparently most Europeans had no direct vote up or down for that constitution. And when it finally failed, it came from one of the countries that got a direct referendum.

But then thinking back to the US Constitution, it was voted in by the state legislatures without a direct vote, too. Somehow that seems OK back then, but an affront to democracy in today's world. How times change.

Re: The British are Googling what the E.U. is, hours after voting to leave it

#142

Post by advertising »

My first impression of the result was shouldn't there be a requirement for a larger difference than 1 - 2% for something like this to pass? A majority of at least 65% for example? I don't know what I'm talking about really but that seems logical, what do you all think?

Re: The British are Googling what the E.U. is, hours after voting to leave it

#143

Post by Eupolemos »

netcan wrote: post #82

I'm strangely moved by this whole thing. It's a pretty decent status check on where we are with democracy ATM. I'm not against democracy, but I do think we need to pay attention to what it can & can't do. On one hand, this has been a model of democracy. A primary election agenda and referendum. The phrasing of the question was simple, clear and unbiased. The "will of the people" won over the will of the ruling struct…

Democracy works just fine, but it needs _some_ responsibility or bad stuff happens.

These last 5-10 years have been horrible for the EU. On the hight of this current migration crisis, the UK decides to hold their election.

If I didn't know Cameron was pro EU, I'd see it as a completely UKIP-skewered dickmove. The UK is letting go, just as the "tug-of-war" gets even more hairy.

There's a lot to be critical about with the EU, but going our separate ways isn't the solution for Europe vs the world. And at the height of this crisis it is just... cowardice? I don't know.

Re: The British are Googling what the E.U. is, hours after voting to leave it

#144

Post by mediocrejoker »

Nelson69 wrote: post #96
a-priori wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or, perhaps, it's a compelling reason why things like this shouldn't be decided by referendum.

Well you can have another, can't you? Or is leaving the EU a one-way thing? I'm sort of jealous. They had a referendum on Scottish independence and they honored the outcome. I'd love to have an up/down national vote on abortion, gay marriage, gun background checks.. At best here in the US, you're voting for a derivative, you're electing someone on the wish/hope that they support your issues if they get a chance or op…

I believe the EU has already put out a statement saying they want the exit to happen quickly, and they don't have any desire to renegotiate.

Re: The British are Googling what the E.U. is, hours after voting to leave it

#145

Post by Inthenameofmine »

netcan wrote: post #82

I'm strangely moved by this whole thing. It's a pretty decent status check on where we are with democracy ATM. I'm not against democracy, but I do think we need to pay attention to what it can & can't do. On one hand, this has been a model of democracy. A primary election agenda and referendum. The phrasing of the question was simple, clear and unbiased. The "will of the people" won over the will of the ruling struct…

> We haven't figured this shit out yet. Kings anyone? How about the best wrestler gets to be in charge? ideas?

As a Swiss citizen, I think the swiss system is very close to perfect in this regard.

Sure, emotional and stupid arguments sometimes prevail, but most of the time the people make the perfect decision. Public discourse is most often also very rational, more so than most world parliaments.

Irrational arguments have been a staple of especially the British political system. I am amazed at the low level of discussion in the UK even by their representatives.

Direct democracy is something that has to be done regularly, otherwise you end up with situations like the UK or California.

Re: The British are Googling what the E.U. is, hours after voting to leave it

#146

Post by keithpeter »

Aelinsaar wrote: post #77
mc32 wrote: post #9

Isn't that expected? People who voted for the establishment status quo want to know what might happen in the years to come now that the vote has gone against them. Voting to stay meant no change, therefore they knew more or less the outcome, but now that the outcome is opposite their votes, they want to look into the repercussions --this informs that it's likely they stay vote didn't investigate the alternative befor…

I just saw an interview with a young woman who was expressing that most of her family voted "yes" out of protest, and now they're already regretting it, seeing what the fallout is.

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-su...

I can't link directly to districts on this page but have a look at /Westmidlands/Wallsall and /westmidlands/wolverhampton.

I don't know but I suspect a fair number in those towns will have joined in with friends/family as part of the general mood.

Petrol price rises coming through soon unless you guys all start buying sterling again. Some companies have hedged their supplies but others buy only a few days forward. Priced in $ of course.

Re: The British are Googling what the E.U. is, hours after voting to leave it

#147

Post by nbouscal »

netcan wrote: post #82

I'm strangely moved by this whole thing. It's a pretty decent status check on where we are with democracy ATM. I'm not against democracy, but I do think we need to pay attention to what it can & can't do. On one hand, this has been a model of democracy. A primary election agenda and referendum. The phrasing of the question was simple, clear and unbiased. The "will of the people" won over the will of the ruling struct…

What prominent lies from Remain? There was a lot of what people were calling scaremongering, but if you look at the markets it looks like it was pretty accurate. I've seen thorough takedowns of blatant lies from Leave, but haven't seen anything similar for Remain.

Re: The British are Googling what the E.U. is, hours after voting to leave it

#148

Post by tarpherder »

howlingfantods wrote: post #122
turar wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This doesn't explain "What is the EU?" being the second ranked search query.

I would guess it's mostly students and such, a population with a disproportionate effect on online social trends and deep gaps of real life knowledge.

Well it won't be old people and such, a population with very low digital knowledge/presence and deep gaps of real life knowledge.

Re: The British are Googling what the E.U. is, hours after voting to leave it

#150

Post by at-fates-hands »

So when googling something is an indication of what people actually know??

This only tells you what people were looking for not what articles they read or what conclusions they drew from the actual articles they read. We have truly jumped the ship if people are drawing conclusions based solely on what people are searching for in Google.

Here's your sign. . .

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