I think the OP is right to be pissed off. What an outrageous thing to be handing out. Though they probably did the right thing; I suspect confrontation was what this loser was wanting, either to profit from it, or to bolster his hate campaign.
He might even be mentally ill, and a small step away from blowing up government buildings and gunning down innocent children. You did right to avoid this, but you'd be wise handing this into the local polizei ASAP, and reporting the whole thing.
What's the legal situation here anyway? I mean, it's clear from the 'black sheep' campaign that racism isn't regarded in quite the same way as it is in the UK, for example, but I'm pretty certain that over there you could be arrested and charged for distributing this sort of hateful literature.
My experience is not limited to the city limits of Zurich as I have spent a lot of time in Winterthur, Bern, AG and a couple of villages. If the folks in your village are really that boneheaded... better run for your life.
Of course are there a few underprivileged losers... every society has them in some form. But claiming that many Swiss think the way this guy did is bizarre.
there is absolutely no excuse for this kind of behavior. if people have a beef with the refugee situation, their proper avenue of redress is their government.
Now, the best thing is to rise, rise, rise way above those people- and don't let them see they've got to you. Not sure how I would have reacted. Knowing the local language would really help - so you can coldly and without anger give them some very witty reply to that sick gesture and text.
I'd get in touch with your local trades union and ask them what they think and do any enquiries to see if this is common a recent common practice or just a 'nutter'. Or get in touch with your local newspaper about it - and expose those people.
Shameful and racist - but please do not think all Swiss think like that. Prove them wrong- and accept my sincerest apologies for this guy's behaviour.
My wife happens to be visibly non-Swiss, but I can say that over the years there were at max two incidents I would call open racism, one of which came from a fellow expat.
There are a lot of tiny comments by the very conservatiuve Swiss continuously underlining that the Swiss way is better (not very sublimal telling you that your country is basically inferior in any way possible...) which might annoy, but that is not the level of some guy handing you a hate pamphlet on the tram. I am not saying that every Swiss welcomes African refugess with open arms, but I am quite sure that the average is smart enough to not believe that they are all criminals and all abusing the refugee system. You might hear these statements from the local alcoholics in a village pub, but overall is Switzerland far better than that.
One time my husband was actually yelled at by a stranger after accepting what appeared to be some sort of free newspaper or such. She thrust it in his face and barked at him, and when he took the paper into his hand, she began yelling that he owed her money for it. She would not take the paper back when he said he would not pay her and he left it on the ground at her feet. After that experience, we became conscientious of being aware of any people handing out papers or advertising, refusing every time by simply holding our hands up in a "No thank you" gesture.
I am sorry that you were suddenly jumped upon by this person and you did not have the thought to do the same in order that you would not have been subjected to reading this shameful paper and the thought that you were singled out to have it handed to you.
IS this trendy lately? She made a point and just check some of the late polls in CH about MIGRATIONSPOLITIK in the newspapers and you will see that large portion is actually quite large and that 'many" is really a LOT.
Like it or not, stating the facts (RIGHT OR WRONG) is NOT racism, it is just being objective on this.
You then quote my quote of her post including her post-edit.
This is very poor behaviour from both of you. If she wants to retract such a blatantly provocative statement then she should stand up and do so. If you want to criticise others groaning at her because of it, then at least have the decency to do so based on what was written at the time, not on what was edited in afterwards.
Handing out flyers on public transport to anybody who does not look 'typically' Swiss is just wrong, punkt schluss, surely.
And BTW: If you would take the time to read my post carefully before red rep, you would have noticed that I replied to your post and I also used "many" as you used it. So stop being a hypocrite, as I see it, You are very quick in judements yourself.
Secondly.. this must be illegal. Does anyone know enough Swiss law to comment sensibly ? If it is, then the right thing to do is to find a nearby policeman and ask him to arrest the idiot (at the very least it must qualify as harassment)... preferably videoing the whole episode on a smart phone.
Thirdly.. there is absolutely no defence for this action and any attempt to do so is shameful. It is completely irrelevant if 1, 10, or 10,000 people in Switzerland are 'frustrated' that some dark skinned people are walking around in Switzerland. Anyone who is legally entitled to be here.. is legally entitled to be here.. end of story.