In recent years, the English-speaking world has witnessed a sharp rise in racism, xenophobia, and hate crimes against minority groups.
By that same token, we’ve also witnessed a corresponding rise in anti-racist organizing meant to counteract those white supremacists who are trying to drag society into an abyss of ethnic, racial, and religious intolerance, discrimination, and violence.
Such was the case in Manchester, England, where an anonymous local hero has devised an ingenious method to combat the racist propaganda littering public spaces around the city.
The Manc reports that cat stickers have begun appearing over racist posters that were deceptively meant to look like authentic placards from the global environmentalist movement Extinction Rebellion (XR).
The anti-racist stickers, which bear a picture of a gorgeous tabby, read:
“There was some racist rubbish here but I covered it up with this picture of a cat.”
The stickers are meant to combat a wave of fake posters that have been popping up across the U.K. in recent months. The posters bear the iconic hourglass logo and unique typography of authentic Extinction Rebellion materials. However, unlike the climate action group’s messaging, the fake posters bear extremist white supremacist messages about immigration and race, including references to the “white genocide” trope and calls for attacks on refugees and asylum-seekers.
While the identity of the anti-racist activist remains unknown, the stickers come from Australian left-wing anarchist mail order website Cracks Appearing Distro.
Extinction Rebellion has emphatically denied any connection with the racist posters bearing their logo. In January, the group denounced the proliferation of the posters after they began appearing in Brighton. In an official statement, the group said:
“Extinction Rebellion do not endorse these vile messages in any way whatsoever. Our movement is based on love and inclusion of all people … We welcome everyone and every part of everyone and avoid blaming and shaming.”
And while the group has urged people to report the disgusting posters to local police, we figure that deploying the cat stickers may be one of the more brilliant methods devised to both combat racist propaganda and uplift the hood’s spirits with a bit of much-needed feline magic.
https://themindunleashed.com/2020/03/an-anonymous-hero-in-the-uk-is-covering-vile-racist-graffiti-with-lovely-cat-photos.html
