Xenophobia is an obsessive fear of unfamiliar faces; hatred, intolerance towards someone or something alien, unfamiliar, unusual. Xenophobia is also called any hostility towards a foreign object, be it the historical heritage of another ethnic group or the traditions of a non-native cultural group.
Xenophobia: what does this concept mean and why is this phenomenon considered one of the most dangerous problems of modern humanity? To answer this question, it is necessary to understand the very nature of this phenomenon.
Xenophobia is fear/intolerance of the unfamiliar/strange.
Hatred is the anger of weak people.
Alphonse Daudet
- 1.Why do people hate each other? 1.1.But is there any point in hatred?
- Xenophobia is fear/intolerance of the unfamiliar/strange.
- Anatidaephobia is the fear of being watched by a duck.
- Ergophobia is the fear of work
- Haptophobia - fear of being touched
- Social phobia - what is it, a disease of the mind or soul?
Why do people hate each other?
Unfortunately, hatred of each other always takes place in the life of society.
The reason for this may be that all people are different, individual and, accordingly, their actions and views on things are different. Often, differences of opinion lead to quarrels. Such a phenomenon as hatred of a person who is different in some way from all people was even given a name - xenophobia. Many people are accustomed to following stereotypes, thinking primitively and going with the flow of life. But in those moments when a person comes to such a team with his own fresh thoughts and tries to implement them, then all the other members of the team first of all begin to show a strong hostility towards the newcomer. It is possible that such activity by an employee will sooner or later cause hatred from his colleagues. After all, he does not behave the way they want. Here another human trait manifests itself - selfishness. And there is no escape from this, because essentially all people are born selfish. This is where people are programmed to envy and hate those who are doing better than themselves.
But is there any point in hatred?
It is unlikely that such a quality has ever helped anyone in life. Hatred can even ruin a person’s appearance, because a constant lack of mood and a sincere smile does not benefit the skin and nervous system. Is there anything that can be done to avoid the negative feeling of hatred?
To overcome hatred, you need to start loving. After all, how can you have time to enjoy life if you spend all your time on meaningless anger and hatred of others. You need to understand that by letting go of a negative attitude towards other people, you can establish good relationships with them and a lot of problems in life will immediately disappear. Going to work with a friendly team will be much more pleasant. If suddenly such a feeling appears towards a person who has done nothing wrong, you must first understand why hatred appeared towards him, what provoked it? Perhaps such thoughts will help control emotions and will not lead to conflict.
Of course, there is also justified hatred, when a person has actually done something terrible to another. There can be no talk of simple self-control here. A person must decide for himself what to do with the offender: punish him, or let life do it itself. After all, all actions in everyone’s life sooner or later return as a boomerang.
"No" to homophobia
This type of mental disorder is actively discussed on various platforms. The world around us has undergone changes, and what was considered impossible a few decades ago is now the norm. Not so long ago, who could imagine an openly gay or lesbian person in a leadership position or in politics? And now in the press there are constantly news about the next coming out of famous people - they voluntarily admit that they belong to a sexual minority and society reacts quite normally to this.
At the moment, they are actively trying to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation.
If you look at reality unbiasedly and reject stereotypes, it turns out that homophobia is, as already mentioned, a deep misconception of our society.
The facts at the moment are:
- It is useless to fight homosexuality, because it is impossible to suddenly become or stop being gay. Orientation is inherent in a person before he is born. This cannot be changed - if he was born this way, then it is forever.
- It follows from the first point that loud moaning about the promotion of unconventional love is an outright lie. And those who shout about it the loudest are unlikely to know the meaning of this term. Propaganda is the imposition of false moral values or concepts on people. Take, for example, the American TV series How to Get Away with Murder? Nowhere does it say that homosexuality is the only correct orientation, it simply shows that such people exist among us. They also live and have their own problems. Whether this and similar stories can be classified as propaganda of homosexuality is difficult to answer. After all, there are no direct calls to change orientation today and now.
- Immorality. Looking into someone else's bedroom is immoral. Who is there and with whom he sleeps should not be of any concern to anyone - be it a guy with a guy or a girl with a girl. To prove the immorality of such actions, opponents of LGBT people have a large arsenal. This can be either condemnation and insults, or direct calls for the destruction of representatives of this category. But by definition, those people who call for such methods cannot be highly moral. At the same time, they, being aggressive themselves, with a blinkered consciousness, frankly do not want to consider another point of view.
- It is not entirely clear how gender preference affects honesty and integrity. Which group has more traitors or cowards? Didn’t only representatives of traditional orientation stand up to defend their homeland, while gays and lesbians sat in the rear?
- Political expediency. Sometimes people become homophobes when they need to advance their political career. This is very beneficial for some politicians and helps to manipulate public opinion. This has already happened in history and not so long ago. A striking example is Nazi Germany. According to various estimates, at least 500 thousand people suffered at the hands of the Nazis for their unconventional orientation. Homosexuality was not welcomed in the Soviet Union either - the Criminal Code included an article punishing it. It was abolished only in 1993 with the adoption of the new Constitution of the Russian Federation.
What is xenophobia: definition
Xenophobia is FEAR
. Exactly like that, with a capital “I” – irrational, inexplicable and poorly controlled. This is panicky rejection, rejection, hostility, hatred, the whole spectrum of negative emotions towards everything that falls under the category of “alien”.
The victim of this definition may be a representative of national minorities, a visiting foreign tourist, or just a stranger on the street - the reaction of a xenophobe will be unpredictable, from an attempt to avoid contact and gloomy withdrawal to open manifestations of aggression towards a stranger.
A xenophobe is a person who is afraid, and therefore does not accept, everyone and everything that is alien to him.
Xenophobia in a person arises at the personal level and when interacting with other people in small groups, but the results and consequences of its spread can be costly for the entire state. Unlike other common phobias, such as, for example, fear of spiders or closed spaces, xenophobia is a fear that brings discomfort not so much to the subject as to the external object at which it is directed.
The concept of “xenophobia” should be divided into medical and social aspects. In the first case, it can be manifested in the form of stupor, anxiety or a panic attack that occurs in a xenophobe when it is necessary to interact with strangers. Such people feel uncomfortable in a crowd, in a strange company, in a new city or place; even in a critical situation, a xenophobe most likely will not be able to turn to a stranger for help.
The second case is when interacting exclusively with social strata and groups, xenophobia is expressed in terms of wariness and mistrust to extremist aggression towards representatives of another race, ethnic group, subculture, etc.
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Do you know that:
If you delve deeper into the meaning of the ancient Greek terms that underlie the word “xenophobia,” you will find that xenophobic people, literally, are “fearful of strangers.”
The word "xenophobia", an elegant term for aversion to strangers, comes from two Greek terms: Xenos
, which can be translated as either "stranger" or "guest", and
Phobos
, which means either "fear" or "flight". The word "Phobos" is the basic root for all English -phobia terms, but many of the definitions of phobias were actually coined in English or New Latin, using the combination of the new word with the prefix -phobia. The term “xenophobia” itself originated in New Latin and first appeared in print in English in 1903.
AIDS
Another common misconception is that AIDS is a gay disease. At first, it even had a different name - “immunodeficiency associated with homosexuality.” This is largely influenced by the lack of information and condemnation by the surrounding society. The fact is that after conducting more thorough research, scientists determined that infectivity with this virus is not related to orientation.
For example: in Russia, more than half of the cases of infection occurred through traditional heterosexual relationships, although members of the LGBT community are at risk and get sick more often.
Types of xenophobia
The presence of a tendency towards this phenomenon is not necessary and is not clearly expressed in every case.
Aggressive legal xenophobia is the propaganda of discrimination, extremism and violent methods of struggle. However, its hidden form, expressed in rejection based on persistent prejudices in relation to certain objects, is much more common. Depending on the orientation, these types of xenophobia
How:
- Racial/ethnic
. This includes racism, ethnophobia, anti-Semitism, Sinophobia, etc. - Religious
. A striking example is both the medieval Crusades and modern conflicts between representatives of Christian, Jewish and Islamic religious movements. - Territorial
. There can be both hostility towards foreigners in general and local divisions, for example, enmity between teenagers from neighboring streets or groups from different parts of the city. - Social
. This implies a division of society along any basis: from financial status to cultural preferences and appearance, the most common being sexism and homophobia.
Types of misanthropes
According to general characteristics, there are two main types of misanthropes:
- passive - these are individuals who do not show obvious aggression;
- active - those who do not hide the manifestation of negativity towards others and even experience pleasure from insults and humiliation of people they do not like.
However, delving into the characteristics of a misanthrope, we can also identify such types as a “bitter personality” and a “fighter for justice.”
Fierce Personality
This type only notices the bad side of the world, believing that humanity cannot change, so it is necessary to completely refuse communication. They can turn into recluses and hermits.
Fighter for justice
This type is an idealist who loves the world deep down and dreams of improving it. Being a supporter of any reforms, he does not tolerate injustice well, as a result of which he acquires a sharply categorical attitude towards individuals, but not towards the whole world.
Misanthropes cannot be reduced to a general model of behavior; they can be completely different personalities
Study of the level of xenophobia in the modern world
The University of Bielefeld (Bielefeld, Germany) conducted a study among 650 respondents from the country between 2015 and 2016.
regarding the level of goodwill, or, conversely, hostility towards immigrants constantly arriving in the country. The PsyMod.ru portal has translated and adapted interesting and, at the same time, shocking data on xenophobia, which you can see in the infographic below.
Causes of xenophobia
Essentially, every person is a xenophobe.
This is inherent in us by nature: it is believed that primary socialization causes the need to unite on the basis of a common characteristic, to draw the line “We” - “They”. Xenophobia in the modern world is no less tenacious than hundreds and thousands of years ago. Massive trends towards multiculturalism and multinationality in modern states lead to the manifestation of natural instincts of protection, group self-identification, and fear of dissolving in the growing ethnic and cultural diversity. The threat to social identity is an important, but not the only reason for the manifestation of xenophobia among the population. It is generated by:
- an ideology that is fashionable and widespread in certain circles; upbringing;
- lack of education leading to fear of the unknown;
- as well as personal experience based on negative experiences and associations.
How to get rid of xenophobia
If we consider the situation as a clinical phobia, then its treatment directly depends on the degree of involvement and voluntary consent of the patient.
If a person is aware of the need to overcome, the origins of it and is ready for change, then a series of sessions with a psychologist or psychiatrist (depending on the complexity of the case) is quite capable of solving the problem. Sometimes during therapy, medication is used to help the patient reduce anxiety and get rid of panic attacks in the presence of strangers. Less common, but no less effective, is the use of hypnotic suggestion.
Books about misanthropes
There is a lot of literature that talks about misanthropy, the nuances of the life of misanthropes. Here are some of these books:
- I. Edelfeldt, “Contemplating Dogs.” The hero of the novel is characterized by unsociability. He chooses to communicate not with people, but with dogs. The novel is a letter written by the hero for his psychiatrist.
- G. Hesse, “Steppenwolf”. The novel explores the psychology of a person in search of himself. He is critical of society, but is torn between the human and animal principles.
- D. Gorchev, “The Wild Life of Gondwana.” The book contains misanthropic stories, absurd situations and black humor.
In Russian classics you can also find images of misanthropic heroes. Thus, Bazarov from Turgenev’s work “Fathers and Sons” was defined by the author as a nihilist. However, in his behavior one can see signs of a misanthrope.
Prevention of xenophobia
In modern society, the concepts of “youth” and “xenophobia” are often linked through various extremist movements, such as neo-fascism, neo-Nazism, skinheads, etc. This type of xenophobia is, first of all, the result of ideology and education, and therefore requires mass prevention at the state level .
To prevent the emergence of xenophobic ideas among the younger generation, the following means are needed:
- Condemnation of xenophobia as an ideology.
- Promoting the principles of tolerance and tolerance.
- Replacing fear with curiosity through the study of the unknown, familiarization with foreign cultures, religions, nationalities through mass events.
- Timely identification of extremist tendencies and neutralization of groups supporting socially dangerous movements.
- Fostering the ideas of equality and respect at the level of the family, mass media, educational and educational institutions.
Famous misanthropes
Among the famous people susceptible to misanthropy were many philosophers and thinkers.
Schopenhauer hated the world, yet his work is still in demand, even though it has passed through the centuries. Jean Jacques Rousseau had a bad character, but gave the world many of his works. Nietzsche treated fundamental cultural and moral concepts with contempt and mercilessly criticized religion, but the whole world reads him. Unsociability and the desire to limit contact with people led Przhevalsky to study animals, and Tchaikovsky to write many talented works. The publicity of the acting profession did not in any way affect the misanthropy of Bill Murray.
However, history also contains examples that reflect the destructive side of misanthropy. Adolf Hitler openly hated certain human qualities, so he wanted to purify humanity and create a better race. The methods by which Stalin acted are also far from philanthropy.
Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer - one of the most famous misanthropes in history
One of the clearest examples of xenophobia
A teacher at a Jewish school in Arizona (USA) was fired after a series of comments she made on the microblogging service Twitter.
In one of the correspondences on the microblog, Bonnie Vern spoke insultingly and aggressively about immigrants in the United States, suggesting that they simply kill them all.
After such statements from the school teacher, students, their parents and relatives bombarded the school principal with condemning messages, arguing that a person with xenophobic and racist tendencies could not and should not be a teacher.
The wave of indignation and condemnation did its job - the teacher was fired, and her profile on the social network was immediately deleted with all her messages.
About same-sex marriage
Many people ask the question, why is it necessary to register such unions? To begin with, the right to marriage is enshrined in the Human Rights Convention. It states that men and women have the right to marry without violating national laws. Only 42 countries have partially or fully legalized same-sex marriage; in the rest it is not legal. That is, same-sex partners in these states are not considered family members and do not have the legal rights that are provided in traditional unions.
The legal aspect is of no small importance. For example, partners in such couples do not have rights to inheritance unless a separate agreement or will is concluded, they cannot inquire about their health status if one of them is in a medical institution, and they cannot adopt children. In almost all cases, heterosexual couples have preferences over homosexual ones.
