Editor's Blog7 mins ago
Do These People Not Understand What Democracy Means?
39 Answers
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It means that sometimes things happen you may not agree with but the majority do.
It means that sometimes things happen you may not agree with but the majority do.
Answers
Actually the right to free protest is a huge part of what a democracy is. For sure, democracies have to have losers, but the beauty part of it is that they are free to moan about losing without worrying about being punished or suppressed for it (obviously with the understandin
11:12 Sun 03rd Jul 2016
Actually the right to free protest is a huge part of what a democracy is. For sure, democracies have to have losers, but the beauty part of it is that they are free to moan about losing without worrying about being punished or suppressed for it (obviously with the understanding that the protest is non-violent).
It doesn't change the outcome of the vote, but this protest is as much a part of our democracy as the referendum was.
It doesn't change the outcome of the vote, but this protest is as much a part of our democracy as the referendum was.
Many being content to allow others to decide Gromit. Democracy isn't that wide open to interpretation.
Protest is only valid though if there is a reason to complain. Losing a vote isn't a valid reason, it's a means to winge and hope to turn over a democratic decision.
It also produces uncertainty to anyone watching, as to what will happen, and thus encourages the disruption we have been recovering from since the result of the vote was in. Not wise.
Protest is only valid though if there is a reason to complain. Losing a vote isn't a valid reason, it's a means to winge and hope to turn over a democratic decision.
It also produces uncertainty to anyone watching, as to what will happen, and thus encourages the disruption we have been recovering from since the result of the vote was in. Not wise.
In a democracy we still have the right to campaign for what we believe in. If the vote had gone for Remain, UKIP would have carried on to press for change. I'm not sure of what their point is though- however loudly they shout the government already knows that the decision was close and that they are never going to please everyone.
Even many of the Leavers may be disappointed with the final outcome and maybe some Remainers will actually be quite happy with whatever deal or outcome we see.
Even many of the Leavers may be disappointed with the final outcome and maybe some Remainers will actually be quite happy with whatever deal or outcome we see.
"Can you imagine what their attitude would be if Remain had won and Brexiteers were moaning?"
I imagine that things would have been very similar the other way round, and we would have had at least some Remainers throwing the "you lost, get over it line" back in disgruntled Leave voters' faces. What intrigues me is how keen some Leave voters are to deny that this would happen, and how they'd quietly and quickly accept the result. I find that slightly hard to believe, as I was assured by many of these same people, on this site and elsewhere, that a vote to stay in the EU was a vote to sacrifice our freedom, to doom our country and to betray the sacrifices of those who fought for it last century. Given how dire the future they assured us would follow a vote to Remain, why wouldn't they continue to protest about it and lament the fate that we had just voted for? Why wouldn't they have been angry at the electorate for swallowing "Project Fear" as they saw it? Why wouldn't they have stuck to their guns and promised to continue to fight for the best future of this country as they saw it? I'd almost be disappointed otherwise.
All you have to do to reach the position we are actually in is to swap "remain" and "leave" throughout. And why not? Apart from the gits who are protest voters, who ticked a box they didn't truly believe in just to express anger at no-one in particular and completely forgot that this is exactly the wrong type of vote to do that, everyone voted in what they believed was the best interests of the country, no? The result hardly changes what such people thought beforehand (or the people who voted for centuries of change and reconsidered their carefully-chosen positions about three days), so despite the vote going against roughly half of the voters it's still surely (so they think) in the best interests of the country and beyond to continue to argue their case as far as possible.
Throughout our democratic history this is what happened. This is the role of the Opposition, official or not. They concede the right to govern to the victors, but in turn have the right -- the duty, in fact -- to hold the winners to account and to challenge them when they think they are wrong. This referendum is extraordinary in that there isn't another chance in the near future to undo the result, but we are still in the same position. Anyone who voted for Remain and did so because they felt it was the best thing to do should hardly just shut up and allow the country to slide away from what they felt was best without saying anything.
One of my single favourite political speeches is from John Major, who put this so much better than I can (video below, a bit sycophantic at times but it still makes the point well I think.)
I imagine that things would have been very similar the other way round, and we would have had at least some Remainers throwing the "you lost, get over it line" back in disgruntled Leave voters' faces. What intrigues me is how keen some Leave voters are to deny that this would happen, and how they'd quietly and quickly accept the result. I find that slightly hard to believe, as I was assured by many of these same people, on this site and elsewhere, that a vote to stay in the EU was a vote to sacrifice our freedom, to doom our country and to betray the sacrifices of those who fought for it last century. Given how dire the future they assured us would follow a vote to Remain, why wouldn't they continue to protest about it and lament the fate that we had just voted for? Why wouldn't they have been angry at the electorate for swallowing "Project Fear" as they saw it? Why wouldn't they have stuck to their guns and promised to continue to fight for the best future of this country as they saw it? I'd almost be disappointed otherwise.
All you have to do to reach the position we are actually in is to swap "remain" and "leave" throughout. And why not? Apart from the gits who are protest voters, who ticked a box they didn't truly believe in just to express anger at no-one in particular and completely forgot that this is exactly the wrong type of vote to do that, everyone voted in what they believed was the best interests of the country, no? The result hardly changes what such people thought beforehand (or the people who voted for centuries of change and reconsidered their carefully-chosen positions about three days), so despite the vote going against roughly half of the voters it's still surely (so they think) in the best interests of the country and beyond to continue to argue their case as far as possible.
Throughout our democratic history this is what happened. This is the role of the Opposition, official or not. They concede the right to govern to the victors, but in turn have the right -- the duty, in fact -- to hold the winners to account and to challenge them when they think they are wrong. This referendum is extraordinary in that there isn't another chance in the near future to undo the result, but we are still in the same position. Anyone who voted for Remain and did so because they felt it was the best thing to do should hardly just shut up and allow the country to slide away from what they felt was best without saying anything.
One of my single favourite political speeches is from John Major, who put this so much better than I can (video below, a bit sycophantic at times but it still makes the point well I think.)
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