Thread by @NiceConvos

7½ years ago in January 2013 David Cameron proposed in his so called "Bloomberg speech" the renegotiation of the UKs EU membership terms, due to pressures from Eurosceptics. He added it into the Tory manifesto, to act upon as soon as a Tory majority was to be returned.

5 years ago, after Labour & LibDems also added the promise of an EU referendum to their manifestos, The European Union Referendum Act 2015 was voted through parliament. MPs voted 544 to 53 in favour of the principle of holding a referendum, only the SNP opposed. It passed 316:53.

This started a neverending right wing campaign full of misinformation and xenophobia, blaming the EU & foreigners for all ills within the UK.
In the run-up to the 2016 referendum, there was a huge increase of hate crimes and racially motivated attacks.
We knew what was coming.

After a small majority of 52% (driven by results in England and Wales) voted to leave the EU, these xenophobic attacks did not stop. Instead, they have become increasingly more extreme, with the hostile environment driven by several PMs and championed by home secretaries.

Seeing fascists doing Nazi salutes on the streets of London 5 years later is a direct consequence and no surprise. For years, from the very top of consecutive UK governments, racism & xenophobia have been promoted & normalised. It didn't happen over night. It won't just go away.

Ask those of us who have been the targets of this driven xenophobia for the last few years.
They knew, what they were doing. They were told. And they continued on purpose to enhance their own agenda.
We knew. We felt it again and again. We are not surprised. But sad and angry.

There are so many of us. And we all have our own stories. We have been telling our stories for years. We've not been believed or told we exaggerated. We've been told everything will be fine. And we've tried to warn that things can't be fine as long as this hate continued.

So today, things are not fine.
Do you finally begin to see it?
Do you believe it now?
Can we please now start to fight this hate and stop the xenophobia and open racism instead of just saying everything will be fine?
Can we all fight it now?
All of us?
Please?

Please please please please please.
Please don't keep saying things are fine.
Please don't keep looking away.
Please don't keep ignoring what's been happening over the last few years
Please acknowledge that this is a problem.
And please start doing something about it.
Please!?

I sometimes wonder how many more stories we need to tell. And each time we tell our stories, it is draining, because we need to relive the terrors. But I will keep telling them, if there's a chance people will start to listen.
Do you want more stories?
Please read the thread.

You know those horror stories coming out of the states how black people are often targeted and treated differently by the police?
Yeah that happens here as well.
Black friend's car was keyed. Called police. First question they asked him: where he was born. Born in England. 🙄

Or would you like to hear the story where a boss asked openly at a recruitment meeting if it was worth even inviting that candidate with the foreign name for an interview, as they may leave because of Brexit. I told them that was illegal discrimination. Happened in Scotland. 🙄