This is why so many people are wearing safety pins after the Brexit vote

If you've just come back from the moon, Britain voted to leave the EU.

For many it represents a new start for the country of complete self determination and independence from European rule. For many others Brexit is the day Britain turned its back on Europe and closed its doors to our neighbours. Whichever way you voted, people of both stripes have been horrified at the ugly upshot of hate crimes across the country in the wake of the EU Referendum. There has been a 57 per cent spike in reports to this online hate crime reporting site since last Thursday's vote, according to the National Police Chiefs' Council. Immigrants, or people perceived to be immigrants, have suffered the brunt of these attacks with Polish school children being targeted, racist graffiti appearing in cities and even a former US Army veteran allegedly being abused on a Manchester tram. https://twitter.com/a_karpowicz/status/747053130613952512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw The main thrust of the xenophobic and racist hatred again and again appears to be 'We voted Leave, so you should go home'. Decent people on all sides have been appalled but in the face of this rising tide of hate one American immigrant living in the UK has done something about it. Allison, who is from the US but lives in London, wanted to create something in solidarity against racism in the same vein as the Ride With Me movement after the Sydney cafe shootings. She told the Indy100 she came up with the idea of people wearing a simple safety pin as a sign of support to anyone who feels threatened in the UK at a time when hate crimes were on the rise. https://twitter.com/cheeahs/status/747164564748394496 https://twitter.com/cheeahs/status/747164751583674368 https://twitter.com/cheeahs/status/747164975223930881 https://twitter.com/cheeahs/status/747165211124187136 https://twitter.com/cheeahs/status/747165416473108480 She came up with the idea while watching Euro 2016 with her husband at the pub. But since then the idea and the #SafetyPins hashtag has been adopted by scores of British people. She explained: "Thousands of people who voted both ways have been horrified by [the attacks]. Regular people need to know that they can do something small about it." "It's simple because you don't have to go out and buy it, there's no language or political slogans involved. "It's just a little signal that shows people facing hate crimes that they're not alone and their right to be in the UK is supported." Already the movement has swept across Twitter.. https://twitter.com/keithgrimes/status/748053547841896449 https://twitter.com/Markfergusonuk/status/748078654735921152 https://twitter.com/DrAlakbarov/status/748067533614354432 https://twitter.com/psimonk/status/748058862931087360 https://twitter.com/AlbFreeman/status/748056568835543044 https://twitter.com/clinteldorado/status/747811377625042945 And she managed to piss off Piers Morgan, she she must be doing something right... https://twitter.com/cheeahs/status/748080578466033664