Petition @SumOfUs against That Disgusting Daily Mail Cartoon

I was disturbed by Donald Trump's recent comments about requiring

American Muslims to carry identity cards. To me, that immediately smacked of 1930s Germany and I wondered if Trump, or other American wannabe leaders, might go further and suggest some form of distinctive badge to be worn at all times? I am amazed at the outpouring of hatred towards followers of an entire religion, although our recent visit to the fortified Crusade town of Aigues-Mortes reminded us that such religious intolerance is sadly nothing new. And the inflammatory rhetoric I keep seeing is beyond belief. Do so few Western people really understand that These Refugees Are Risking Everything To Escape From ISIS and civil war? They need our help, not our anger.

I have also heard that our dear Tory government is threatening to spend British taxpayers money on further bombing of Syria, despite overwhelming evidence from elsewhere that such aggression may well end up causing even more chaos in this war torn country and, therefore, resulting in even more refugees. I have emailed my MP, Kerry McCarthy, via this Care2 petition asking her to take a stand against such shortsighted madness.

We seem to be plunging headlong into 1984.

This morning I received an email from SumOfUs drawing my attention to a disgusting cartoon published in The Daily Mail and asking for signatures to a petition demanding apologies and removal of the cartoon. I am not going to republish here as I am sure that, if you haven't already seen it, the image will be easy enough to Google. I know The Daily Mail has a history of supporting fascism, but to see this kind of blatant bigotry in a mainstream British 'newspaper' in the 21st century turns my stomach. This is not representative of my country.

SumOfUs said "The Daily Mail published a racist editorial cartoon that suggests Syrian refugees are ISIS terrorists - depicting them as rats. It's imagery right out of 1939 Germany. Literally. Tell the Daily Mail to withdraw the cartoon and apologise now.

Millions of people are fleeing a brutally oppressive regime and almost certain extermination. And The Daily Mail depicts these people as rats and mocks their desperation. It’s appalling and hard to believe, but true. The Daily Mail published a cartoon depicting Syrian refugees, one carrying a rifle, and a throng of rats streaming into Europe. It closely resembles an infamous piece of 1939 Nazi propaganda depicting Jewish people as rats shut out from democratic countries after escaping Hitler.

There is no excuse for this hateful, dehumanising cartoon. Tell The Daily Mail to apologise and withdraw the image. Anti-immigrant forces across Europe have already been trying to demonise and dehumanise the four million Syrian refugees fleeing ISIS and a catastrophic civil war back home. With the recent Paris attacks, that trend has only increased. For The Daily Mail to join in, with imagery literally used by the Nazis, is beneath contempt.

The Daily Mail has been here before. It ran articles supporting fascism, the rise of Hitler and Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists, and later whipped up a frenzy of fear when Jewish refugees were seeking shelter in the UK fleeing the Nazis. Now the Mail has turned its hatred on Syrians fleeing war, violence and persecution. We can’t let the Mail’s portrayal of desperate people to stand unchallenged. Join us in demanding that The Daily Mail take responsibility for its cartoon that could have come straight out of Nazi Germany.

Thanks for all you do, Martin, Hanna, and the rest of the SumOfUs team"

Please sign the SumOfUs petition.

Please sign the Care2 petition and email your MP.