Four million signed

Mar 24, 2019

disagreementmarchpetition

Over four million people have signed the "Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU" petition.

I am one of them.

I am sure some of the signatories did it without hesitation, agreeing with every word. I am sure others were like me: hesitant, for one reason or another. Maybe wondering whether it was trying to do too much (why not just "Revoke Article 50", to stop the runaway train?) Or wondering what it meant for democracy in our country. Or maybe just indifferent, disillusioned with the whole thing, and skeptical whether it will make any difference.

I signed in the end, given my overall affinity and continued preference for Remain, but also to register my distaste at the state of things in Westminster. I also signed to be part of the larger group, a whole raising its collective voice.

I had the same sensation walking through Westminster yesterday amongst the marchers. Sure, we all shared common ground, but we were also all different - in our focus, in our passion, in our certainty. In what we wanted, and how we defined ourselves.

I expect that commentators and politicians (and normal people) will treat the signers and the marchers as one, a group with one voice, one view. But I know that not to be the case for us (the marchers, the signatories). We are heterogeneous. We contain multitudes.

I am sure that is always the case for groups on either side of a divide. If it is true for "us", I am sure it must be for "them" as well.