Xenophobia

There can be no "Us" without a "Them."

   The politics of fear is often a fear of foreigners.
   Throughout history, not only in America but worldwide, there has been a suspicion of "Others" who don't conform to what a dominant, nativist group considers the right, or proper way to act, think, speak and behave. Which is to say, "My way is the best way because that's the way I know, and anyone who doesn't do things my way is wrong, and most likely evil."
   Moreover, this way of thinking applies not only to ethnic and cultural groups, but to gender as well. For example, consider this: Men and Women are different. Chauvinistic thinking concludes that because women are different, they are therefore inferior.
   That, however, is clearly a fallacy. (Vive la difference! say the French.) Being different does not make one inferior.
   An identical fallacy applies to the conclusion that members of a different ethnic, cultural, linguistic, educational or even income group are, because of that difference, inferior.
 Moreover, when a dominant group manages to persuade itself that because members of "The Other" are different, they are less than human, and can be treated (mistreated) accordingly.
   This happened in the 19th Century, when the Know-Nothing Party enjoyed cartoons that depicted Irish immigrants with simian features, thus reinforcing the idea that they were less than human. It happened as Americans moved westward and encountered others who were already there and objected to infringements on their territory.
   It happened again in the 20th Century, when subscribers to an Other religion were consigned to ovens.
   And it continues to happen in America as a fear of those of a different color fuels suspicion and violence.
   These are but a few examples. History and contemporary reports describe many others.
   It's important to remember, however, that fear and suspicion work in both directions. Just as members of a dominant group may fear members of "The Other," those in the minority may fear the domineering attitudes of authority figures, reinforced by their own past experience.
   It's long past time we learned to accept differences for what they are -- mostly just differences, not symptoms of inferiority.