In reply to Big Ger:
> That's true, and its what I thought. But to say that the country has changed so dramatically in such a short space of time, is ...rather melodramatic... wouldn't you say..
It might depend on how you look at it? If reported hate crimes have gone up by 5 times (iirc) since the 24th of June, then one might say that people feeling more free to be unpleasant to people who are observably 'not British', that's definitely one change which has occurred. Whether this will go back to pre Brexit levels or not remains to be seen, hopefully it will.
> Did the UK and it's citizens change so dramatically over the space of a few weeks / months?
> Or was it just that people had a chance to say what they thought of the EU?
From actually living here, I have noticed a change in the atmosphere at times, around the shopping area I've known since childhood in Sheffield, in a way that I've never quite experienced before, in there being a certain tension at times when groups of blokes are gathered together. It's one of those 'You know it when you feel it' things, being an intermittent thing rather than being constant. I think the leave campaign pressed 'a button of disgruntlement' in people and conflated leaving the EU with people who are 'others' being less of a source of contention in the UK, and since the referendum people are possibly feeling it more strongly - justified in their disgruntlement after winning, it is expressed and 'in the air' a little bit more.
That's just my take, and those of others will be different from living in other cities, and parts of cities, and regions etc.
I have quite a lot of faith in people in the UK being generally tolerant and agreeable, though.
Post edited at 23:46