Xenophobia In America
America is a melting pot of different nationalities and is a place full of immigrants. These immigrants have brought with them their own cultures, skills, expertise and talents, all of which are integrated into the society and have gone on to make America the world’s greatest superpower. However, there is a flip side to this as well, which is seen by most immigrants as racism.
What is xenophobia?
The increasing instance of crime scenes, violence and terrorism has led people to believe that all blacks are thieves or all Muslims are terrorists, for example. This is further giving birth to another form of hatred towards immigrants, which is known as xenophobia.
Xenophobia is a form of racism that manifests as feelings of fear or dislike towards foreigners or strangers because of their differing race, culture, religion, etc.
Xenophobia in America
Xenophobia has caused much resentment across the world towards America, as its aim is to retain the ethnicities that were part of its society in the pre-globalization era, while ostracizing the recent stream of immigrants who want to settle there. Americans like to stereotype entire races based on past political catastrophes that are still fresh in people’s mind.
If a person or group belonging to, say, a particular country or religion commits a crime, suddenly everybody hailing who comes from that country or practices that religion becomes evil, even if s/he is a US citizen. For instance, Iraqis in America are hated because Iraq has threatened America’s national security after 9/11.
The treatment accorded by Americans to people from these nations is the result of psychological brainwashing. The public perceives these people in the very same way the US media portrays them. Xenophobia is still present in American society, because its citizens are unable to let go of the old ideas of isolation and protectionism.
Moreover, the superiority complex every white American has in their mind, the belief that they are better than everyone else due to their technological advancement has led them to look down upon the rest of the world. These xenophobes would do well to remember that their country couldn’t have achieved superpower status without this diversity of races.
Now is a time when globalization is prevalent and countries are working towards progress through trade, commerce, etc. Hence, America should make a conscious effort to let go of this backward xenophobia; otherwise, it could lag behind in the global race and its superpower status might be at stake.