Time to get away from it all

Freedom of speech is clearly a wonderful thing. But over the past few days I’ve rather fancied a holiday in North Korea to escape the bitter fallout from the surprise Brexit vote in the EU referendum.

As is so often the case, if it’s ill-informed debate, crass generalisations, epic selfrighteousness and general poison you’re after, then head straight over to social media.

In the words of the tabloids, people are “taking to Twitter” and “posting Facebook rants” in their droves. Those who didn’t have a strong opinion on Britain’s EU membership before the vote are suddenly transformed into rabid digital incarnations of either JeanClaude Juncker or Nigel Farage, depending which side of the argument they’ve taken retrospectively.

Of course, people love to have something to make them angry. And so a previous antipathy towards the EU suddenly manifests itself in a series of incoherent, rambling messages that others can cosily “like”, safe in the knowledge their world view has been confirmed in the morally pure echo chamber of social media.

The people who changed their Facebook profile pictures every time there is a celebrity death (the Ace of Spades for Lemmy, a symbol for Prince, etc) will no doubt keep the mournful EU flag image until something else makes them sad or irate.

The crowing Brexiteers are no better, many having seemingly mistaken a vote to leave the EU as a suspension of race relations laws and common decency.

Strange, then, that most people you meet face-to-face seem to be perfectly levelheaded having no more idea of the full implications of Brexit than they did before the referendum.

For the foreseeable future, Pyongyang looks very tempting.