My theory on all this recent Xenophobia

[Anon2381]

The irony is that theists will be fooled by the anti-Christ, for they will follow him and think he is great right up until he revealed to be who he really is.  If anyone was going to be the anti-Christ, it would be Trump.

That's so true. Obama is one of my favorite people in the world, but when I was christian he's was depicted as the anti-christ. Oh how we wanted the 2 nd coming to rid the world of his evil. The birther movement, started by trump, helped this idea of wolf in sheep clothing. Tweak some details slightly and some christian will believe anything  For a while, people were confusing Obama with Osama ben laden.

[The Grand Nudger]

Trump-as-antichrist was a cottage industry before he became the pres.  The same people peddle the same goods @ every president...and no matter how many times the world fails to end..a sucker eats it up the next election. As the years go by, I start to feel like a fool for not getting into the business of peoples silly beliefs. I could make a mint, the people operating in that niche are lucky idiots.

The money to be had pandering to xenophobes alone...shit, just look at how much money Faux News made. I know that we like to imagine that said xenophobes must be a small(ish) portion of our population..but their p/ls beg to differ......

Obviously, hindsight is 20-20, and now wouldn't be the time to sink into that sort of investment, but man, 15 years ago..... :bangs head on desk:

[henryp]

I think most Americans can be fairly justified in 'xenophobia' against islamic nations . Whether your cup of tea is 'death to america marches' and terrorism. The attitude towards christians and jews in that region. The treatment of women. The treatment of gay folks. The low level of assimilation. Everybody seems to have a decent cause for not wanting to import a bunch.

[The Grand Nudger]

It's sort of held to be true by definition that xenophobia cannot be justified....though obviously it can be, and is...both experienced and rationalized.  A justifiable fear of a specific group for specific reasons would not be referred to -as- xenophobia.  The trouble, particularly with xenophobia..is that the xenophobes lack focus...lol.

They are not afraid of a specific group, for specific reasons.

For example, some people give reasons as why they are afraid of islamic terrorism. Well, okay, but those reasons turn out, in their case, to have more to do with someone else than islamic terrorists..and they -don't- seem to have that level of fear for that group. The reasons are rationalized..in that cae, manufactured.

For example, some people give reasons as to why they are afraid of muslims, the reason being islamic terror. Well, okay, but that turns out..in that case, not to refer to "muslims" at all, unless one imagines that every muslim is a card carrying member of ISIS. Just like before, they do not seem to be quite as a-feared of christians, because christian terrorism..which is our bread and butter. Not only is the reason rationalized, manufactured.... the group itself is rationalized, manufactured.

If they possessed focus, they could identify the specific group and reasons, and the specific... actual relationships themselves..and would not then -be- xenophobic. They'd know exactly who they were frightened of, and why. Their fear might still be unjustifiable, or only minimally justifiable...but hey, at least that would lay the groundwork for an actual, justifiable fear of some group of people.

For example, being afraid of nazis, not germans. Banning nazis, not germans. We seem to be going the other way with it of late....

[henryp]

It's sort of held to be true by definition that xenophobia cannot be justified....though obviously it can be, and is...both experienced and rationalized.  A justifiable fear of a specific group for specific reasons would not be referred to -as- xenophobia.  The trouble, particularly with xenophobia..is that the xenophobes lack focus...lol.

They are not afraid of a specific group, for specific reasons.

For example, some people give reasons as why they are afraid of islamic terrorism.  Well, okay, but those reasons turn out, in their case, to have more to do with someone else than islamic terrorists..and they -don't- seem to have that level of fear for that group.  The reasons are rationalized..in that cae, manufactured.

For example, some people give reasons as to why they are afraid of muslims, the reason being islamic terror.  Well, okay, but that turns out..in that case, not to refer to "muslims" at all, unless one imagines that every muslim is a card carrying member of ISIS.  The reason is real, the group itself is rationalized, manufactured.

We tell children not to talk to strangers.  Not because we believe all strangers are attempting to abduct children, but as a way to mitigate the risk in case one of the many strangers is attempting to abduct her.  I don't think you have to believe every muslim is a card carrying member of isis to be wary of people from muslim nations rationally.

[The Grand Nudger]

IKR, it's almost as if we instinctively impose and reenforce xenophobia, through means as subtle and innocent as telling our kids not to talk to strangers.  That's probably why xenophobia is such a pernicious issue..or at least part of it.

I think that we do, at least on some level..we at least have to be open to the possibility that any given muslim before us was a card carrying member to feel that suspicion in the first place. If we fully understood and incorporated the knowledge that the tiniest fraction of that population were card carrying members...we would not be afraid, in the general, of that larger non terrorist population. Our fears would be focused and specific and clear. I think that we're capable of that..in fact, I think that many of us are, now, in that state.

No one likes a terrorist, right about now.

I harbor no specific or general suspicions about a muslim face, from a muslim place. I'll grant that I've had more interaction (than some) with muslim faces from those muslim places than others..and that may have helped to dispel whatever instinctive or latent suspicion that might have existed in me......but....I'd trample on a terrorists human rights, and then piss on his children while they cry real tears. I;d feel bad about it later, maybe...but I'd still do it.

Focus.

[Anon2381]

We need more interaction with people of different races and religions. Reality kills the misconceptions. Derek Black was an upend coming leader in the white supremacist movement. He had been homeschool and kept away from the people he was told were inferior. After a semester at a liberal college other students became aware of his role and hatred towards jews, gays, etc..
One of his jewish classmates invited him to shabbat diner and allowed him to be apart of his inner circle despite what he was reading about Derek. After time Derek got to know and love the people he was taught to hate. He disowned by his racist family and standing for human rights now.

[The Grand Nudger]

Pretty common for servicemen overseas to express insensitive positions in direct relation to how new they were.  Even if a persons perceptions weren't qualitatively improved by the constant, mostly negative interactions.  Some people still thought the other guy was terrible, for example...but at least the perception would be more accurate by reference to that experience.  

I guess that guy is sort of the holy grail for turnaround on an issue...but the world could make do with much, much less than that. Talkin bout people here, gotta aim lower.