In a remarkable act of partisanship and dehumanisation, Berlin’s public transport company (BVG) posted a picture on its social media channels showing a crossed-out AfD lettering alongside a common pictogram banning food and drink on public transport. Underneath is the familiar message from buses and trains, “Thank you for keeping the train clean!”
The BVG has since deleted its tweet.
What was probably intended as a witty joke by the BVG marketing team was rightly met with outrage by many people. The implication that AfD voters – who now make up 20.5 per cent of Germany’s electorate – were “impure” and should be excluded from using public transport services brought back unpleasant memories of various forms of exclusion, segregation and dehumanisation in many places.
https://www.tichyseinblick.de/daili-es-sentials/berliner-verkehrsbetriebe-afd/