#PostRefRacism: Morning After Brexit, Britain Wakes To Xenophobia

The morning after Brexit, anyone who did not fit the ‘white, Brit’ stereotype was being told to ‘go home.’

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/David Olusoga)

“This is the racism we have legtimized.”

The morning after England voted to leave the European Union in a shocking blow to the world economy and anti-rhetoric politics, people from across the island reported incidents of racism, xenophobic attacks and an angry anti-immigrant sentiment. Suddenly, London, which once prided itself on its melting pot ethos was facing nationalistic backlash; where anyone who didn’t fit the ‘white, Brit’ stereotype was told to ‘go home.’ Even those who were born in Britain.

To document these instances of racism and xenophobia, Sarah Childs compiled hundreds of such tweets and Facebook comments, and pretty soon #PostRefRacism was trending on Twitter. As of now, the Twitter handle called ‘PostRefRacism’ is compiling various instances of intolerance in the UK after the Brexit vote.

Many believe that the vote has legitimized racism and xenophobia in an inherently plural and diverse European country. Here are some examples.