7 of the worst reactions to the Syrian refugee crisis

While many groups and individuals have opened up their hearts in the face of the overwhelming Syrian refugee crisis, for a disappointing number, it's just encouraged xenophobia and racism.

Here are seven of the most disappointing and disturbing reactions.

Probably some of the most outlandish, offensive and inaccurate comments about Syrian refugees have come from American billionaire and Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump. Recently he told a campaign crowd that if elected, he would ensure any Syrian refugees would promptly be returned to their country. He also recently said, "What I won’t do is take in 200,000 Syrians who could be ISIS," according to the New York Post.

"These are physically young, strong men. They look like prime-time soldiers. Now, it’s probably not true. But where are the women?"

He went on to criticize German Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying "What she’s done in Germany is insane. It’s insane. They’re having all sorts of attacks."

Of course, as Trump's comments have revealed over and over again, he has very minimal interest in stating anything resembling facts or reality, preferring to pander to unfounded fears by making up fake stories, numbers, statistics and anything that comes to his mind in the moment.

Right-wing Japanese artist Toshiko Hasumi seems to think Syrian children are choosing to be refugees for all the benefits it provides. Say what?

The caption with this cartoon reads, "I want to live a safe and clean life, eat gourmet food, go out, wear pretty things, and live a luxurious life… all at the expense of someone else. I have an idea. I'll become a refugee," according to the BBC.

Although the artist argued she didn't specifically label the girl as Syrian, she admits to have modeling the image after a photo of refugee child living in Lebanon. Clarifying her position further, Hasumi claimed she was only attacking "fake refugees". Apparently she believes some people are just fleeing bombed out homes, bullets and dead family members for kicks and giggles.

Hungary has made headlines with its brutal crackdown on the thousands of refugees streaming across its borders  hoping to make it further west. This violence has been supported from the top down, with the prime minister ordering construction of a border wall and actively speaking against the refugees entering his country.

He said, "I think we have a right to decide we do not want a large number of Muslim people in our country."

When will these conservative "Christian" politicians realize that humans are humans regardless of religion or ethnicity?

This British mayor took to social media, posting and sharing highly xenophobic and offensive memes as well as jokes mocking refugees. Fortunately, he received a great deal of criticism for his actions, prompting an apology and the deletion of his Facebook account.

But if you ask us, the "apology" stemmed from the criticism and not real remorse.

Similarly to the leader of Hungary, Austrian far-right leader Heinz-Christian Strache has strongly advocated for the building of a wall to "secure" Austria's borders. He's also pandered to those who have a xenophobic fear of Muslims.

He said, "We don't want an Islamisation of Europe. We don't want our Christian-Western culture to perish," according to Reuters.

The right-wing American news channel Fox ran a report showing Syrian and Iraqi refugee men on a train chanting "Allahu Akbar" or "God is great" with the lead caption reading: "Terrorists Inbound? Taking refugees could open door to jihadists," according to Salon.

Although the report went on to clarify that the men weren't actually known to be terrorists or in any way associated with a terrorist organization, it suggested that the mere presence of Arabs and Muslims represented a threat. Because in Fox's world, saying "God is great" – in a language other than English – is apparently some kind of threat.

Echoing his fellow presidential contender Trump's offensive statements against refugees, Carson said, "We don't know whose those people are, and the majority of them are young males, and they could easily be people who could be infiltrated by terrorists," according to CNN.

Carson apparently believes the people fleeing terrorists are actually terrorists themselves. Maybe he just hasn't noticed all the pictures of wide-eyed babies and young children, or does he actually think they could be terrorists too?

Carson has also openly stated that he would not support a Muslim presidential candidate. Wouldn't it be nice if he, along with the others, put their religious and political ideologies aside and recognized our common humanity?

Greece's Golden Dawn political party has been classified by many as Neo-Nazi, with its immensely xenophobic ideology against immigrants and refugees. In a recent political rally, party leader Michaloliakos said, "Close the borders! Make the army and the navy seal our borders and not let people enter illegally," according to  Financial Times.

With the influx of refugees landing in Greece, the Golden Dawn party has unfortunately seen growing support. While Greece may be overburdened by refugees – especially considering the country has been going through a crippling financial crisis for several years – the country's economic woes stem from its government and the European Union, not the innocent people fleeing conflict.