Brexit as beer: do you want a glass with that?

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 20:10:50 GMT

I've seen a Brexit analogy doing the rounds on social media recently, although it dates back to at least September 2019:

Nigel Farage walks into a pub and says, "I'll have a pint of beer, please." The barman pours a pint, then throws it all over Farage.

"What did you do that for?" says Farage, drenched to the skin.

"Because you're in a metaphor which illustrates the stupidity of asking for something, but not stipulating how you fecking wanted it delivered, you frog-faced sniveling cant!"

"But I'm still thirsty, so I want a pint - this time in a glass!" says Farage.

"You can't ask again!" said the barman.

"Why not?" sniveled Farage.

"Democracy." says the barman.

Personally, I voted to Remain in the EU. I also went on a couple of protest marches after the referendum, and I think the UK government has done a terrible job of implementing Brexit. However, I don't think that this analogy is helpful; in fact, it plays into pro-Leave stereotypes.

The Brexit referendum should never have been a single question, because there were so many subtleties involved. It would have been better to ask a series of questions in an indicative vote, e.g.:

"Should we be in or out of the Single Market?"

"Should we be in or out of the Customs Union?

"How should we handle the Irish border?"

That lack of clarity means that it's absurd to claim that people knew what they were voting for, or that there was any kind of democratic mandate for what followed.

By contrast, ordering a pint of beer in a pub is a very simple process, and everyone knows what's involved. It would be ludicrous if you had to specify "I want that beer in a glass", "I want the glass to be upright", "I want you to put it down in front of me rather than balancing it on the roof", etc. That's the type of (mythical) EU red tape that Boris Johnson wrote about when he was a journalist.

I've heard some people claim that the EU are punishing the UK for leaving, e.g. by expecting us to actually stick to the terms of the deal that we signed. I don't think that's a fair criticism, but it's exactly what's happening in the analogy: the pro-EU bartender knows exactly what Farage wants, and is taking advantage of a tenuous loophole to be aggressive and abusive.

At first glance, I can see why this analogy is popular amongst Remainers. It's playing to the crowd, saying: "Hey, you know that guy you don't like? Here's a fantasy about something bad happening to him!" However, I think that the unfortunate result is to make him look like the voice of reason.

Back in my old blog, I wrote about some anti-UKIP propaganda. Then as now, I want to emphasise that I don't support Farage, UKIP, or the Brexit party. So please stop putting me in a position where I have to defend them!

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John C. Kirk

Brexit as beer: do you want a glass with that?