The National Mortification Of The Flesh Over Brexit

This might be one of those problems that we’re just going to have to live with. You see, Brexit has caused the national mortification of having the French laugh at us. Unpleasant, undoubtedly, and entirely worth of sinking their Navy off Cape St Vincent. Or Cape Trafalgar if they insist. Or Aboukir Bay. Mers El Kebir works too. We have a certain experience of how to do this. And yet, when laid against the benefits of Brexit, which is not to have to be in a political union with the French, this does seem like something we should be willing to just suck up. Painful though it is and all that.

Apparently Nick Cohen disagrees:

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]One thing now unites Britons – a sense of national humiliation
Nick Cohen[/perfectpullquote]

Not sure that humiliation is quite the right description of our having given the Continent and Anglo Saxon Wave. But each to their own, chacun a son gout as we’ll still be allowed to say despite not being ruled from French speaking Brussels.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Mortification is all that unites this shredded country.[/perfectpullquote]

I’m really not sure that’s quite right you know. I’ve seen very little rending of garments, throwing of ashes over hair and shoulders.

There is, of course, a certain unease in certain quarters. But that’s not the nation, the populace. That’s the establishment wondering what the hell just happened to them. Why did us peeps not take their word for it?

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]We hear men speaking for us of new laws strong and sweet,
Yet is there no man speaketh as we speak in the street.
It may be we shall rise the last as Frenchmen rose the first,
Our wrath come after Russia’s wrath and our wrath be the worst.
It may be we are meant to mark with our riot and our rest
God’s scorn for all men governing. It may be beer is best.
But we are the people of England; and we have not spoken yet.
Smile at us, pay us, pass us. But do not quite forget.[/perfectpullquote]

We were asked and we spoke and by ‘eck don’t they regret ever bothering for our opinion? For that is what really happened. The people of England spoke and what the People of England said was “Bugger Off Matey”.