Signatures against hate

The weather ultimately proved too difficult an opponent, but there's no giving up: the ‘Nicht mit uns’ (‘Not with us’) organisation may not have managed to get 100,000 signatures against far-right extremism, racism, hatred and hate speech, but the organisers led by former mayor Christian Ude and artist Ron Williams will keep going. The project got off to such a wonderful start, they say, because it encouraged people to engage in an in-depth dialogue about the values of our democracy and diversity. 

FC Bayern has supported the initiative with various actions: president Herbert Hainer, honorary president Uli Hoeneß, Thomas Müller representing the professional footballers, Austrian international Katharina Naschenweng for the women and basketball players Andreas Obst, Niels Giffey, Johannes Voigtmann and Nick Weiler-Babb all signed the petition. Furthermore, FC Bayern legends Giovane Élber and Roy Makaay not only signed but also helped to encourage fans to sign. In addition, stickers were available for fans in all fan stores in and around Munich, and there were stands on the esplanade of the Allianz Arena, before an FC Bayern Women's match at the Campus and at BMW Park for a basketball match.

At a rough estimate, just over 50,000 signatures were collected. Nevertheless, there was no disappointment at ‘Nicht mit uns’. This was not due to the unwillingness of Munich residents to sign; the time was simply too short, plus the weather and the difficult logistics. To summarise: 50,000 people signed, most of them told their families and friends about it, and many shared photos online.

Countless discussions have been initiated and the topic has attracted a great deal of attention. There are good reasons for ‘Nicht mit uns’ to continue. Further information can be found at nichtmituns.org (German).