Those "gentle Brits" were responsible for stealing $42 trillion -- not a typo -- from India over the colonial period; for enslaving tens of millions of Africans; and for starving millions of Irish. I don't wish them ill (and hope they get it together) but is it surprising that they succumbed to the racism and xenophobia of Brexit? No. This is no surprise. Imperialism and colonialism built a racist and xenophobic society.