Brexit: The Vote Is In

[Content Note: Racism; white nationalism; Nazi reference.]

Yesterday, the UK went to the polls to vote on the Brexit referendum, the central issue of which was whether the UK would remain part of the European Union. (If you need a primer on Brexit, here you go.)

Well, the vote is in and the result is: LEAVE.

Honestly, I expected "remain" in a close vote, so I'm fairly stunned by this result.

There is going to be a whole lot of fallout from this vote. It's already begun, as the global markets are reacting to the news and British Prime Minister David Cameron has resigned.

For obvious reasons, the reaction in Scotland (which was widely "remain") is of interest to me. Here's one tiny picture of what's happening in Scotland:

Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Green party co-leader, has signalled his party could support a second independence referendum if that was called for by Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The Scottish Greens announced they had launched a public petition calling for Holyrood to "examine and exhaust every option for continuing Scotland's close ties with Europe" – a move which would include staging a second vote.

Describing the Brexit campaign as "deceitful, manipulative, and at times downright racist," Harvie said it would damage the economy and tear up the many benefits of EU membership.

He said: "Scotland must keep open every option for protecting ourselves from this threat. The Scottish parliament and government must be represented in the negotiations about what comes next. A cross-party plan of action should be sought, so we can defend our rights as EU citizens."

With the SNP two seats short of an overall majority at Holyrood, Sturgeon would need the six votes of the pro-independence Scottish Green party to win a Scottish parliament vote calling for a second referendum.

It's just mind-blowing (though also totally understandable) to read about Scotland considering withdrawing from Britain to align with Europe, because other parts of Britain don't want to be part of the EU anymore.

Meanwhile, from Northern Ireland:

BREAKING: Sinn Fein says "British government has forfeited any mandate to represent economic or political interests of people in N Ireland"

— Marc Mallett (@MarcMallett_UTV) June 24, 2016

In the US, the media is spinning this as a win for Donald Trump, and [CN: video autoplays at link] doing a victory lap, calling it a "great thing" and saying it's only the beginning of things to come. And it has certainly empowered the white nationalists who support him: I was up until 2am blocking gleeful Brexit celebrators on Twitter who were coming after me, whose profiles were all combinations of Trump imagery and Nazi imagery. It is chilling.

This will have global ramifications, but it will be the worst for the most vulnerable marginalized people in the UK. My thoughts are with them, especially.

The Guardian has live updates here.