There is this odd thing when I say I am "European" (or "a committed European", or "pro-Europe") for a certain audience (usually in a friends+family setting, not work) they assume this is a zero-sum game with my pride for being British.
As if there some fixed amount of "patriotism" and to have fondness/pride for Europe means less for the UK. I've always been a proud Brit and committed European, and my support for Europe is I hope clear sighted - I don't think it is perfect, just that it is reasonable.
There is also sometimes an immediate listing of all the fudges, complications and messiness of EU (from arcane Eurozone finance aspects to the MEP Brussel/Strasbourg annual migration ... there is a long list)
I counter with the madness of the House of Lords (a "patched up" bit of constitution ~1922, now with this ridiculous flooding of the house on each new Parliament to ensure government can get their way) and the mismatch Scotland, NI and Wales about the (somewhat)-federal UK
No - they bluster - this is all good British democracy, not appreciating in my view the entirely messy history (and current!) aspects of it; even if they acknowledge the messiness, it is "good, British, messiness". Not that sort of bad EU messiness (!)
For an audience (older, retired, goes on holiday to Europe) I think they just think someone like me is ... naive, "liberal lefty", citizen of nowhere, in my ivory tower. Too young to know (I'm 46 for $%*& sake!), too protected from the "real world" (they say, retired...)
So - Brexit is as much about culture and worldview as it is about politics and trade. This has always been there, but ... shows why it can produce such heated arguments.
