I am a citizen of the world

I thought I'd come to terms with it. I really did. I thought I had managed to accept the changing political landscape and all the consequences of it. I mean, sure, I wasn't happy with it all but in some ways that's just the nature of living in a democracy. A majority (by some definition) of the population had spoken and, as a result, decisions were made that will probably shape not just the future of the country, but potentially the continent and even the world.

Looking back on some of the things I wrote both before and after the referendum I was reminded of a whole range of emotions. Optimism, complacency, worry, shock, sadness, anger, disbelief, pragmatism and then some more optimism, they were all in there. And despite my misgivings over the result, I had hope that this would all be a shot in the arm for our domestic policies and would enable us to have a clear and frank discussion over the very real worries and fears of a sizeable section of the populace.

And despite my frustrations during the intervening months that we seemed to lack anything even vaguely resembling a plan and my despair at an opposition party consumed by infighting, I was still optimistic that the worst was behind us and in the end logic and sense would prevail.

How wrong I was. Over the last few days, I've felt all those emotions coming flooding back and in greater force than ever. What the actual fuck is going on?

So apparently I haven't been paying enough attention. Apparently when you win a referendum that was mired in lies, deceit and power-grabbing by a few percent, that's a "clear result". There are many democratic institutions in the world where that wouldn't be enough to even be declared a result. And apparently British politics is now centred around whether your particular brand of xenophobia is politically correct or not. And in the meantime, anyone who displays even a sniff of dissent is branded a "remoaner". Last time I checked, a key component of democracy is to be able to express your opinion about the policies being enacted on your behalf and the right to feel represented in government.

Now I appreciate that while it would be nice if it were possible to live in a peaceful world where everyone had the same opportunities and rights, the concept of nations and borders is a necessary one, at least for now. And likewise, immigration control is an important component of those borders. But if I was someone who had jumped through all the hoops in order to gain the right to work in a country then I would be pretty shocked to then be labelled as "foreign" and made to feel like no matter how much I contributed to that country I was still inferior.

I might be pleased to hear the prime minister declare that she wanted to make the country a place "...where everyone plays by the same rules and where every single person, regardless of their background or that of their parents, is given the chance to be all they want to be...", but judging by the comments from the rest of government, that comes with the caveat that it only applies if you're British.

Even if we put to one side the disgusting xenophobia that is becoming more prevalent in political rhetoric, I don't see how any of these new "policies" are going to do anything but damage our economy. Why would a global company want to invest in the U.K. if the government won't let them transfer any of their staff into the U.K.? Why would they want to submit themselves to draconian policies designed to shame them for recruiting the best talent they can find. Does the government really think that companies are just going to go along with this? Immigration is an unavoidable fact of most trade deals and having a global economy and that isn't going to change just because we've decided we don't like it.

And even though there apparently isn't any money available for the NHS (ever since the magical £350m evaporated), we can afford to spend more money on training new doctors even though there probably won't be any decent jobs available for them in the end because we can't afford to pay them. Oh, and if they decide to go abroad to actually have a reasonable standard of living? We'll fine them. But it would probably be worth it.

Seriously, who gives a flying fuck where someone was born? Does that make them any less of a person? Does that flip of the coin mean they are any less deserving of having a reasonable life where they strive to make the best of themselves? Multi-culturalism is a wonderful thing that needs to be embraced, not feared. Oh, and Theresa, fuck off, I am a citizen of the world, and nothing you say can take that away from me.