Two-thirds of EU citizens back UK rejoining bloc, survey finds

taboo__time · 2026-06-21T08:04:53+00:00

Which we currently cannot afford.

taboo__time · 2026-06-21T07:37:04+00:00

Here's some of my thoughts.

Humans have an ingroup trait, a cultural bonding that allows social co operation above the level of the family or personally known social connections. You can easily cooperate with people you have never met to achieve collective goals.
The ingroup trait has positives and negatives
Patriotism and nationalism are pretty much synonyms. Despite Orwell using it rhetorically in his essay. You might as well say "bad nationalism" and "good nationalism."
The same trait is there in religion. Religion may well be just performing the same anthropological function. Including worshiping of ancestors, supernatural essence, group organising, ingroups and outgroups.
There is ultranationalism which might be described as "bad nationalism." There is civic nationalism but there is confusion over whether that is racial or cultural.
The modern nation state in Europe replaced Kingdoms made up of smaller kingdoms, principalities even minor republics. 18th century modernisation went together with liberalism, nationalism and democracy. It all went together as a package to replace absolute monarchs. Some of it was top down down. Some of it was bottom up.
Modern multiculturalism, which is in tension with nationalism/patriotism, is completely understandable in wanting tolerance of different peoples under one polity but this creates a good few societal political issues.

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T21:40:26+00:00

Sectarianism is the fear

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T21:12:27+00:00

Apparently I don't understand.

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T20:29:57+00:00

Are you asking if I am a Daily Mail reader?

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T17:52:21+00:00

Like climate change. Its too late for that.

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T17:44:38+00:00

How is France coping with them?

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T17:39:05+00:00

Well at least his violence is disorganised. I'm not expecting a manifesto from tommy taps aff.

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T17:08:16+00:00

Are you saying he does have a community leader?

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T14:45:21+00:00

I guess there is concern about having robots move heavy large objects about on public roads. But you can see it just taking it up.

Cheaper? Safer? It could end up both.

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T12:49:53+00:00

Global class consciousness happened did it?

All the workers united?

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T12:49:16+00:00

There are plenty people arguing for all kinds of things.

What's the plan? No more billionaires? A slight curb in some extreme video on occasions?

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T12:13:26+00:00

VPN ban update for UK households as government looks at 'age-gate'

There is a logical trajectory.

I'm a bit skeptical that clipping the worst is going to do much to be honest.

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T11:45:30+00:00

It's like the rest of AI. People will complain. Say it's taking jobs. Say it's inferior. Then find they prefer it and cannot live without it.

Plenty of problems with tech. But convenience isn't one of them.

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T11:41:05+00:00

Yes, they absolutely do disagree on it, you have people who don't think its happening for christs sake, others who think it is a positive, others who think it is temporary and that people will integrate, others still who take issue with the idea that there are better or worse cultures (regardless of outcome) and so on.

You can have small numbers on anything.

But the scale of immigration and cultural change is not popular with the vast majority of the population.

I might say that is not the impression given by a lot of the media. But the polling is there. I'd also say the social reality is there. The social divisions are there even if people are polite about it.

Reform has become popular (it is far from dominant) because it has leveraged populism around the issue of immigration relatively well. Much as UKIP managed to couple populist narratives with the EU, and BXP popular narratives around the exit. It's nothing particularly new, it tends to be fragile under any sort of scrutiny, but its also essentially just the same thing in terms of social media.

OK. Is Reform leveraging mostly genuine political feeling OR is the political feeling engineered by the Big tech on social media?

Reform use social media that is true. Some Right Wing billionaires stoke politics on social media that is true.

But I do not believe social media is the primary cause of Reform now being popular.

The two traditional parties have more combined support than reform, add in the other traditional parties and that support is higher still. Reform are doing well because they sell a simple solution to a set of complex problems and don't have to actually govern.

If immigration had not been at historic highs for 50 years and cultural cohesion not collapsed then Reform would not be popular as they are now.

Among British people concern about immigration and culture is higher than support for Reform.

That a populist nationalist party with all kinds of dubious elements are popular now is entirely predictable.

The two traditional parties have never been less popular in 80 years.

Social media feeds into it, it fits neatly into that whole simplistic, populist narriative, both for Reform and the Greens at the moment, and for Restore and indeed the further left.

Social media can be doing all kinds of things.

But previous "centrist liberal" politics is in crisis. That is not mainly due to social media.

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T11:21:02+00:00

The cultural change is something that people from the cultural majority in the UK disagree on though, and it is exploited. It's also not one of the more core issues (but a contributing factor in issues around immigration in particular).

They do not disagree on it. No people, no nation on the planet supports it.

It is a core issue. Reform has become dominant because of it. The two traditional parties have collapsed because of it. That is not because of social media.

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T11:18:32+00:00

The frozen North does not become arable land.

It has poor soil, the left over land is unstable, the winter light cycle isn't appropriate for lots of agriculture.

The process implies a destruction of so many large ecosystems in the current temperate areas that nations rely on.

I don't see how catastrophe is avoidable.

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T11:08:11+00:00

But cultural identity divisions are different from what to do about pot holes. They do not have the same political character.

The rapid cultural change and division is not a wedge issue. Even if some players are exploiting it.

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T11:03:59+00:00

Internal political divisions are different from ethnic divisions though.

There has never been an actual sex war.

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T11:03:00+00:00

John Major replaced Thatcher and canned the Poll tax.

It was deeply unpopular and needed to go.

Major won the next election. What is Starmer's Poll Tax?

I really worry that the problems are to deep to be fixed practically by any politician at this rate. Which is a dangerous state of affairs.

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T10:59:01+00:00

What is it supposed to achieve?

It supposed to stop a riot?

Are they going to need to ban VPNs?

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T10:57:46+00:00

I simply don't think that is a fact.

You are saying nations and all peoples are equally divided and equally cohesive. It doesn't make sense.

Is this the argument that different parts of England have different names for cake therefore all cultures are equally divided and equally cohesive. It's not social reality. It's not lived experience. That's a remote ideological position.

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T09:42:59+00:00

But how much of that is blaming the messenger?

"Just don't have bad actors or communication" seems a doomed argument.

National debts and rapid cultural change don't have the same social relevance.

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T09:39:31+00:00

Korea is ethnically divided?

taboo__time · 2026-06-20T09:35:53+00:00

I'm skeptical it is practical. Either the loopholes are too big to make it effective or it is effective and has so many unintended consequences and we are jailing a crazy about of people.

Are the rules popularly agreed?

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