Brexit and the Failure of Western Establishment Institutions
I often point to the 1998 Minnesota gubernatorial election[1] as an example.  Polling was awful (Ventura was given no chance).  Reporters were jokingly dismissive, and the comments coming out of the University of MN were downright shameful.  Election night was a &quot;big surprise&quot;.<p>I get the feeling the US is going through that scenario writ larger.  I get the feeling (I&#x27;m not from UK) that Brexit was similar.  The BBC seemed like it picked a winner, and the US media does the same while dismissing all others.  If I remember right the last UK election was pretty surprising to the BBC and its pollsters.<p>In the US, the average person has grievances, is made fun of constantly on TV, and watches as people argue solutions that don&#x27;t seem to have anything to do with the problem but sure fit their &quot;let no crisis go to waste&quot; mentality.  Religious people are always portrayed as secretly corrupt or idiots[2].  Your jobs can get shipped off, replaced by someone on a visa, or a robot will do them.  Celebrities are constantly shown knowing more about your job than you and calling you stupid or a villain.  It seems chalk on a sidewalk with a candidates name is a national trauma?  Never mind the number of government agencies that can just take your stuff without any recourse on your part.<p>and people wonder why the old Top Gear was so popular<p>I fear its going to get to the point that we really have no common ground left.  I hope pasbesoin[3] isn&#x27;t right, but I&#x27;ve lost a lot of hope.<p>1) and no, I dislike the winner intensely - suing a widow is a no go<p>2) MASH, Babylon 5, and The West Wing for the exception.  At least The West Wing had the decency to portray Republicans as sometimes heroes.<p>3) <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=11977593" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=11977593</a>