Xenophobia

What is xenophobia? Xenophobia is described as the fear or hatred of strangers and foreigners or their culture. Xenophobia is different from other types of prejudice such as racism in that it does not have to be directed at a different race, only that the xenophobic person has to believe that the person is a foreigner. I think that xenophobia is a rather baseless fear, and that it is simply an excuse to hide a deep rooted prejudice. By using the word 'xenophobia', it makes prejudice sound like a medical term, something that is involuntary. I think this is a complete lie. In this post, I would like to talk about the main problems caused by xenophobia.

The main problem caused by xenophobia would be an increase in terrorist attacks. The most recent example would be the Oslo attacks, where Anders Breivik opened fire on a youth camp and bombed a government building, killing 77 people. The reason for this was that he wanted to prevent a "Muslim takeover" of Europe. Xenophobia sometimes has serious consequences, and people suffering from xenophobia are sometimes irrational and illogical. Would the 69 youths have died if Breivik did not suffer from xenophobia?

A second problem would be that xenophobia influences others. For example, if one's parents were rabidly against Americans, one would tend to have anti-American sentiments. This can influence one's actions in daily life, eg. bullying of classmates of different races. The root problem of these would be the parent's, and they might carry these irrational prejudices into their adult lives. Eventually, they will also spread xenophobia, and it only leads to more negative effects.

Third, I think that the most effective method of countering xenophobia would be to educate children. Children are the future of the nation, and through educating them effectively, xenophobia can be eradicated. An effective education can be accomplished through more interaction between different races. As children of different races get to know each other, they will understand that previously held prejudices are baseless. Also, when the children go overseas, they get to understand the cultures of other countries.

I feel that xenophobia is a very serious problem in today's society, and it is imperative that prejudices are removed and different races get to understand each other.