Xenophobia or fear of foreigners is a broad term that can be applied to the fears of people who are different from you. It often overlaps with all forms of prejudice, including racism and homophobia, but there are important differences. Unlike racism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination based on certain characteristics, xenophobia is rooted in the belief that members of an out-group are alien to your area or community. This typically involves conflict with an individual in a group or a whole group and often leads to violence. Xenophobia is similar to racism in many ways, but it is different in that racism is based on ideas of race and superiority, while xenophobia is fulled by the idea of cultural differences.
Xenophobia is characterized by people who reject foreigners and want to keep immigrants out of their country. Xenophobia can be viewed in many different forms: Xenophobic people or those who believe that the culture of the country is superior to theirs. They accuse foreigners of spreading aids and other diseases, spreading parasites at taxpayers’ expense, and so on. It can also lead people to believe in the superiority of a country or culture they do not like or consider superior, and to want immigrants to stay in their countries.
In some cases, fear of outsiders may be a protective mechanism against invasion or disease, but they may not have a real phobia of outsiders. Strangers and immigrants occur when someone is frightened by behavior that harms or antagonizes outsiders, or when people or groups are perceived as outsiders because of their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other characteristics.
One could argue that xenophobia could be part of the human genetic or behavioral heritage, and perhaps our propensity to do so protected our ancestors from harm that external groups might have done to them. A few also revolve around the fact that some evolutionary psychologists argue that we are somehow connected to prejudice, as in the case of racism, sexism, or other forms of prejudice. The Greek word Xenophobia is a combination of the words Xenos and phobia, and Wikipedia states that it is a fear of what is perceived as foreign such as foreigners in general or strangers in particular. We can describe harassment as xenophobic harassment when someone harasses you on the basis of your race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, or gender identity.
Mocking a person for their accent, clothing, and/or religion can cause a person physical harm and emotional distress. Some experts argue that classifying xenophobia and racism as mental illnesses would treat a social problem. This type of culture involves the rejection of objects, traditions, and symbols associated with a group or nationality. It is about rejecting the identity of a xenophobic person who does not believe he belongs to an immigrant or to society. Xenophobia can lead to persecution, hostility, violence, and even genocide. Xenophobic behavior has increased in recent years because of rising anti-immigrant sentiment worldwide.