Though few human rights activists would consider Rome an ideal city, there are any number of organizations in the Eterna that we admire, not least for their efforts to raise awareness about the equality of all human beings irregardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation.
We’ve shown you publicity mounted by those organizations in the past, most recently the posters put up by the CGIL labor union, reminding us that Italians and foreigners share basic emotions and bodily functions, with their “same blood,” “same sweat,” “same smile,” and “same tears” campaign.
That CGIL campaign was so elegant and so emotion-stirring that when we stumbled upon the latest piece of advertising meant to remind us to treat others as we ourselves would be treated, we were a bit taken aback at its uncompromising bluntness. That said, we like the posters that have appeared all over town thanks to ARCI, a leftist organization dedicated to social promotion.
You can see the poster above in a beautiful photo taken by the famous and fabulous Susan Sanders. Above the figures, it says, “You call us a dirty black man and a disgusting lesbian.” Between them, the text continues, “But are you offended if we call you a mafioso Italian?” And then further below, “Racism is a boomerang. Sooner or later it comes back to you.”
