XENOPHOBIA

 The term xenophobia comes from the Greek concept composed of xénos ( "foreigner" ) and phóbos ( "fear" ). Xenophobia, therefore, refers to hatred, suspicion, hostility and rejection of foreigners. The word is also often used in an extended way as a phobia towards different ethnic groups or towards people whose social, cultural and political appearance is unknown.

Xenophobia is an ideology that consists of the rejection of cultural identities that are different from one's own. Unlike racism, xenophobia proposes accepting foreigners and immigrants, as long as their sociocultural assimilation is fulfilled.

It can be said that this type of discrimination is based on different historical, religious, cultural and national prejudices, which lead the xenophobe to justify the segregation between different ethnic groups in order not to lose their own identity. On the other hand, many times an economic prejudice is added that considers immigrants as a competition for the resources available in a nation.

For this reason, the economic and social crisis that many countries suffered at the end of the 20th century was the starting point for an aggressive manifestation of xenophobia, which was reflected from banners and speeches to acts of violence of all kinds. The media, for their part, often collaborate with the development of xenophobia by presenting foreign customs and cultures as alien dimensions and alien to national identity.

It should be noted that anthropologists have noticed situations of xenophobia in archaic peoples, which shows that xenophobia is a phenomenon that has always been in human behavior.

This is not hard to believe, since our species is characterized by a thirst for dominance that ignores material or emotional consequences, and can lead to self-destruction if not stopped in time. First of all, there is a clear difference between protecting our own, what one has really earned, and defending something that we have inherited, that we may not even understand or serve.

Xenophobia is often supported by this absurd protection of values and customs of the past, which in the present should not be maintained, simply because they are not lost. In short, the attitude of many peoples can be summed up in the saying "better known bad than good to know." Many despicable traditions persist because of this obtuse way of "thinking".

Defining xenophobia and understanding its negative nature is not difficult for an open-minded person, but penetrating the armor of those who refuse to progress can be almost impossible. Just take a look at the groups and companies that characterize each side to save time in the decision to "opt for xenophobia or diversity": Google is a company with employees of all ethnicities and nationalities, and thanks to that continues to break down technological barriers; the opposite example can be found by each in context, although it is probably made up of men in suits with black and white ideas.

Giving in to xenophobia is not only "rejecting the foreigner", which in itself is no small thing, but deeply hurting millions of people who have left their countries of origin for different reasons, often out of necessity, millions of children They grow up in cities where a different language is spoken, differently dressed, where features are inevitably different and all of this makes them a source of ridicule and abuse. Do we really want to hurt all these people, or welcome them with open arms so they can tell us their own stories?