I'm devastated in The View from the Terrace

I’m devastated about the result of the referendum. I’ve been wandering about today not able to concentrate on anything. 41 years ago I voted to leave. Over the years I’ve studied some politics with the Open University and travelled a little in Europe and I’ve realised I was wrong. The future is about unity. The whole history of mankind is about small communities joining together. Division creates disharmony and worse. I am sure this is a backward step.

What really upsets me is it seems that it was the older people who voted to leave while the younger ones wanted to stay. I have quite a few elderly friends who voted leave, their reasons are mostly that we can use the money we have been paying the EU to build more hospitals. I never believed that would happen and it has already been retracted by Nigel Farage and it is only day one. The other major issue is immigration. Well do these people who are taking us out of Europe really think all of those people at Calais will go away now. More likely the French will stop policing them and they will turn up on our shores. Most of our immigrants are from outside the EU anyway. I feel that a lot of right wing extremists have played on the fears of the ordinary people

I have kept quiet through the campaign on Facebook. Friends have been slagging each other off. I never saw anything like it. These are mature people mostly over 50 saying things like those that wanted to stay in can just leave the country and go live in Europe. We are so divided as a country I wonder what the future holds. I have to admit to anger this morning. I feel our young people have been let down and the future of our country, possibly even of Europe is at risk. I hope I am wrong. I really hope everything will turn out for the best or at least things won’t be too bad. I have 3 children and I hope to have grandchildren one day. I love my country and I wanted to hand on to them a pride in being British but right now I feel shame, shame at the predjudice and lack of foresight, the inability to see the whole picture and mostly the ‘Let’s look after us and to hell with everyone else attitude’.