Brexit, Texit, Bennifer, and the Referendum Apocalypse

By Vicki S. Nikolaidis

How could we not know the United Kingdom would eventually leave the European Union! Brexit was foretold in Bible Prophecy when Daniel explained for God that Europe would never stay united, it is simply not in the cards.[1] All five chapters of the Book of Daniel were written 1476 years ago, but somehow the chapters slipped past the notice of contemporary politicians and the media.[2] Although after the results were reported, commentators in the contemporary media, including Ken Livingston former London mayor, are also predicting intense doom and gloom not only for the UK but also for the EU.[3] On the other hand, a gay erotic novel inspired by Brexit shows every chance of a happy ending.[4]

The variety of opinions on why this result happened ranges the length of the English Channel to France and back again… about 20 times! Celebrants are echoing each other’s sentiments including the following. “We are finally safe from the undemocratic EU harboring secret and evil totalitarian goals.” “Now we can physically punish and force all foreigners back to Europe and every war torn location in the world.” Post-Brexit racism is voracious, and described as a “frenzy of fear.”[5,6] These activities caught the eye of Texan secessionists who plan to adopt the diminutive for seceding from the United States by calling it Texit.[7]

Probably Texit will be taken just as seriously as Brexit because the nicknames are lovable but nonsensical and imply a lack of seriousness about the action they are supposed to represent. Hollywood media and fans started the trend to show how in with the in-crowd they managed to become (well, really not at all in the inside). Bennifer (Actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez) and Brangelina (Actors Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie) were endearments for the actors in social media around the globe. Unfortunately a large number of British citizenry paid little attention to what the referendum was about, possibly because Brexit could be a vote for a national biscuit named Brexit rather than a huge policy change.

Referendums often turn political expectations on their ear because questions are notoriously vague. The voter is not quite sure what issues are on the table and who is to benefit. A recent Greek referendum on whether or not to agree to European financial terms is a good example. Calling a referendum on such an issue is against Greek law, but that didn’t stop the Syriza party from calling a referendum election. The referendum questions were impractical and the best answer was unknowable even if one spent hours and hours in study or had a specialty in national finance policy.[8] Making matters worse foreign papers exclaimed that the Syriza led government wanted a No vote when in fact they wanted a Yes vote.[9] Their wish was clearly exampled when after more ballots for No were counted than ballots for Yes, the Syriza prime minister explained to the world that the Greeks were voting No to austerity, but not to cooperating with the EU. Hmmmm. Afterwards the EU agreed to the majority of demands made by Greece to undertake its own activities for solving austerity problems… but the Syriza members of Parliament answered with another ‘no’ vote… and that is when things became incredibly annoying for Greeks.

In the US, similar problems arise during referendum campaigns where big money is always paying for the pre-vote ‘education’ of referendum issues for the voter. As a rule the most outrageous take place in California.[10] California referendums are called propositions and voting No to the proposition most often means a Yes vote because by the time the election is held the original issue becomes a total mystery. A No vote for change can mean Yes to change, and a Yes vote for change can mean No to change as exampled in one infamous California referendum election.[11]

The Brexit vote seems similar to the above examples because the most Googled search questions after the vote were all about the contents of the referendum. “What is Brexit?” “ What is the EU?” “What happens if we leave the EU?”[12]

Seventy five percent of young voters voted to stay in the EU, but their grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles voted to leave the EU. The photos of young Brits after the results were announced tell the story of how devastated they are by the exit vote.[13] Observing the reactions of the British population to leaving the EU; the retired and elderly Brits seem ecstatic over the outcome but the young people, in many cases are in shock. Even teens aged 16 and 17, who were not old enough to vote, are voicing their anger and despair on Tumbler’s the75percent site. Comments from older teens reflect the despair of their younger peers. Teens see a dark future if they remain disconnected from the EU.[14]

I didn’t mention this earlier because I didn’t want to scare you, but Bible prophecy foretells the end times will occur after a yes to Brexit vote. Still, here we are wondering about what it all means. Meanwhile millions have signed a petition demanding a second referendum on Brexit.[15] Perhaps Daniel was referring to what will happen after a second Brexit referendum.

Editor’s Notes: Vicki S. Nikolaidis is a political activist and a freelance writer who specializes in technology, environmental engineering, and the petroleum industry. She often writes for Yahoo and Yahoo Voices, and in spring 2011 was recognized as a Yahoo Top 500 content provider. She directs the Internet Radio program Vicki Chats and blogs at Dissected Dreams, Deliberative Decisions. Vicki grew up in Iowa, has traveled extensively in the US, resided in Italy and later emigrated to Greece where she lives on an island between Europe and Africa. Photograph one and six by Frankie Leon; two by Carlos ZGZ; three by James Joel; four by John; five photograph of Magritte painting by Claude Valette; and seven by Ana Rey.

References

• 1. Brexit Bible Prophecy (2016). Video. Daniel 2: 41-42; King James Version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWcFDniFu74
• 2. Book of Daniel. (n.d.). Got Questions? www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Daniel.htm
• 3. Sophie and Co. (2016). Video. “Brexit fallout may tear both UK and EU apart” RT. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQn3h1foScQ
• 4. Gabbatt, A. (2016) Pounded by the pound: Brexit inspires its first erotic novel. The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/01/pounded-by-the-pound-brexit-erotic-novel-chuck-tingle
• 5. O’Brien, J. (2016).Post-Brexit racism does not happen in a vacuum. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/01/brexit-racism-radio-show-immigrants
• 6. Khaleeli, H. (2016). ‘A frenzy of hatred’: How to understand Brexit racism. The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/29/frenzy-hatred-brexit-racism-abuse-referendum-celebratory-lasting-damage#comments
• 7. Herskovitz, J. (2016). After Brexit, what? U.S. secessionists hankering for ‘Texit’ Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-usa-secession-idUSKCN0ZA3F4
• 8. Gunter, J. (2015). The Greek referendum makes (almost) no sense. BBC News. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33311422
• 9. Ibid.
• 10. Lee, S. (2012). Five of the most confusing ballots in the country. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/five-of-the-most-confusing-ballots-in-the-country
• 11. Ibid.
• 12. Selyukh, A. (2016). After Brexit vote, Britain asks Google: ‘What is the EU?’ All Tech Considered. http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/06/24/480949383/britains-google-searches-for-what-is-the-eu-spike-after-brexit-vote
• 13. Coslett, R.L. (2016) Britain’s young people will suffer the most from an EU divorce. The Guardian. http://www.politico.eu/article/graphics-how-the-uk-voted-eu-referendum-brexit-demographics-age-education-party-london-final-results/
• 14. “75%” The Guardian and Tumblr project. http://the75percent.tumblr.com/
• 15. Millward, D. & Eysenck, J. (2016). Petition for second EU referendum reaches 4 million as hundreds attend anti-Brexit protest in London. The Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/28/petition-for-second-eu-referendum-hits-4-million-as-hundreds-att/