I love my new country. We just had a new votation and the UDC, the far right party wanted to make getting a passport harder. As it is people have to live here 12 years, speak at least one of the four official languages and be integrated. Filling out a mortgage application is less detailed and there are interviews as well. It took me three years, eight months and three days after filing to take my oath.The UDC wanted to restore secret ballots at the commune level with no appeals, processes that were ruled illegal by the Supreme Court several years back. The poster makes it clear they are worried about the black hands. The motion was defeated.
The sheep poster was an earlier attempt by the UDC to kick out certain individuals usually with dark skin. It gave rise to a number of other posters including a black and white sheep kissing and a series of sheep all with different wool, plaid, stripped, flowered.
At least my countrymen and women had the good sense not to give into xenophobic racism. It helps we have about seven major parties and a number of smaller ones varying from far left to far right.
They also voted down a new health care plan that would give more power to the insurance companies. My American side screamed NO NO A THOUSAND TIMES NO, although I was only allowed to vote once.
The right to vote on issues that make a difference in our lives is one of the things that make the proudest about being a Swiss.
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2 comments:
As a student of graphic arts I can only applaud the brilliance of the two UDC posters. One simple drawing worth, not a thousand, but a million words. But that doesn’t mean I have to agree with them. Was the black sheep used to show black people, or people who disturb our comfy life? I like to think it meant the latter.
And as for passport grabbing, I see five hands on the poster, all of different shades. And I’ll bet you a million dollars to a donut that the only people who felt a need to complain were the ones with black hands.
Thank you for doing your civic duty.
I agree on the brillance of the poster and disagree on the philosophy. I worked in PR and marketing too long not to appreciate the effectiveness. If it weren't for the sheep poster I would tend to agree that the hands poster was less racist, but the two together show a trend. And if you take the context of the UDC in general and the places where Balkans and blacks were always rejected for citizenship it adds another dimension. You can follow up with me off line if you want to discuss further.
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