My timeline is again awash with people upset about Erasmus, many commenting on a piece in The New European.

So - I went to find it - and find that there have been 7 mentions of the Erasmus scheme since Xmas Eve. 1/n

So - does it matter which one? For balance, I did a search on "Nissan", knowing that the loss of car industry to a NE city will devastate the employment prospects of an entire city. Last mentioned on December 14th 2/n

This thread is about priorities - and why I think that talking about Erasmus as if it were the main advantage of EU membership, is not just unhelpful to our cause, but actively damaging to it. I will try to explain why.... 3/n

Persuading people in what is now the UK to want to join the EU - will be done by showing them that they have lost out on things that matter to THEM

Not by banging on about things that we *THINK* should matter to them. However important those things are

4/n

To help I am going to use a relatively basic way of looking at human needs and wants that many will remember from their college days. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

5/n

The basic premise being that no person moves on to the next level of the pyramid until the needs on their current level are met.

The illustration I have used is taken from one of many many available on line - here: https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html  6/n

The needs met by holding down a job above the poverty line are in the most important group, the one that addresses availability of food, water, warmth and rest.

The needs addressed by Erasmus are at the opposite end of the pyramid, ie self-fulfilment and self-esteem. 7/n

I am not saying these are not important - just that if the more important needs aren't being met, Erasmus will be much less important to the people who Pro-EU activists are trying to be heard by..

8/n

Really is no good, as people who have reached the "fulfilment" end of the pyramid. shouting about what other people, who have no food etc, *should* want.

My best analogy is of standing in the hall when I was 16 being told that my skirt was too short, by my parents

9/n

My immediate reaction was NOT "Yeah, you must be right you are wiser than me!!"

It was "Who the f**** are you to tell me what to wear? In 2 years time I will be free of you and can wear what I like!"

10/n

At that time there was much my parents could have done for me, advice they could have given, much I could have taken...

Much support they could have given that would have benefited me, & our relationship

Instead they lectured me about my clothing & I shut them out 11/n

After 5 or so years of fighting to be in the EU, I believe that all activists should know more about its benefits than simply & only the benefits bestowed by Erasmus

There are 1000s of initiatives which benefit people, there are many that serve to help wit the most basic

12/n

ie food, water, shelter and health. Many to do with basic security, and many to do with job creation and sustainability. My suggestion is that if you know nothing of these, that you take your time to find just *one* and familiarise yourself with it - so that it is this

13/n

That you champion, rather than Erasmus. Those basic needs will always matter more

Then you can talk to the unconverted about things that matter to them, not just those that matter to you.

>Ends