I follow a number of pro-Brexit forums. It is always interesting to read a range of opinions especially those you aren't in sympathy with. And who knows, there might be some killer reason for supporting Brexit that I haven't thought of.
As with all things that are open to anyone to contribute to, you never know what will pop up. For example someone this morning simply posted a declaration that they were racist. They didn't say anything offensive, they just stated it in plain language. Accusing other people of racism is controversial, but it is important not to let people sneak racism into public dialogue in disguise. On the other hand, if someone wants to claim to be one I can't see why they should be silenced.
Nonetheless the moderators quickly removed it. This could have been justified on the basis that it was off topic. But I imagine that quite apart from that they didn't really want anyone mixing up racism and leaving the EU. Leavers in general, and UKIP in particular, have been bedevilled by accusations of racism. This is something they have always denied whenever they got a chance. I don't think it is true, but accusations have a habit of sticking no matter how unjustified. You can see why they reached for the delete button.
The most damaging form of this rhetorical attack was one I heard Will Self deploying. "You may not be racist yourself, but you do realise that all the people who are racist are going to be voting leave". That meant that the person to whom he addressed it could not use their own good character in their defence. You may not be a bad person, he was suggesting, but the people you are associating with are.
But I have from time to time wondered whether backing Brexit was something the well informed and thoughtful racist should be doing anyway. Although there is a lot of discussion about the EU being in favour of the free movement of people, this only applies within the EU. It is not especially welcoming to those from outside it. I don't want to stereotype racists. They all have their own views and angles. Some are violent thugs, but there are no doubt plenty who keep their views to themselves and don't do any harm to anybody else. But let us assume that many of them have a preference for white skinned people over dark ones. All the EU's core countries are mainly white. There are three countries that have former colonies that might be sources for large numbers of black immigrants: France, Portugal and the UK itself.
The motivation of these people is to come to Europe to earn more than they can at home. But there is also a motivation on the part of employers to bring in workers with lower pay expectations. This isn't going to change when we leave the EU. It certainly won't affect illegal immigration. But it does mean that there will be more choice open for employers of legal immigrants. So basically we can now have Somali fruit pickers, who will be even cheaper than Romanian ones. This doesn't make any difference to the people who simply object to pressure on local resources or having their wages undercut. Right or wrong, that is a logical and reasonable point of view. But it would presumably matter to racists. So if I were a racist I'd have voted to stay in.
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