Friday’s unprecedented Brexit vote taught us a lot of things. That the European Union is now in a lot of danger, that economic development is truly a global affair that could even affect Game of Thrones. And that age-old lesson that people keep on forgetting: their votes really do count.
Take, for example, one British man who bravely spoke to the BBC about how it didn’t occur to him that his “leave” vote could be so momentous. You can watch him stammer out his surprise in the video above, or read his reaction below:
“I’m a bit shocked to be honest. I’m shocked that we actually have voted to Leave, I didn’t think that was going to happen. My vote, I didn’t think was going to matter too much because I thought we were just going to Remain, and the David Cameron resignation has blown me away to be honest. I think the period of uncertainty that we’re going to have for the next couple of months, that’s just been magnified now. So yeah, quite worried.”
Whoops. And it looks like people are learning a lot from this man’s reaction as well, and they’re not being kind.
Totally depressing – and very frustrating. A lesson in protest voting
— Laura Topham (@LauraTopham) June 24, 2016
Plus, he’s not alone. Google searches have spiked for what the consequences of leaving the EU actually are for the pound, for jobs and other issues of vital importance. Will this get would-be Donald Trump voters to consider what would happen if they actually elected him to office? If he actually had the opportunity to make good on his promises to ban Muslims, build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, and other outlandish policy proposals? If anything, this Briton, in all his honestly, could make for a persuasive cautionary tale.