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Xenophobia is the scientific name for an illness a person has when they have a fear of strangers or of anybody who is different to themselves. These differences can be big or small, real or imagined. The structure of the word is important, with xeno meaning stranger or guest and phobia meaning a fear.
The meaning of Xenophobia is not only exclusive to people afraid of others different to themselves, but can also include fear of people from different backgrounds, maybe with different attitudes and higher confidence levels or maybe just “different enough”. It is also well known that people speaking in a foreign language can also be very threatening for those suffering with the illness.
Xenophobia is more a state of mind than a decision that the sufferer has decided to make. It is hard coded into their brains and no matter how much they are told that the person they fear is okay to be around, they will never believe this and argue this fact right to the very hilt and will never give in.
Some Xenophobics feel so strongly on the subject that they can become instantly violent and abusive towards the so called different person but in the large majority of cases, they will be calm and not saying anything, they might just back away and put themselves into a safer place.
Sometimes large groups of people and even tribes can almost outcast another tribe because they are different – sometimes not even a big difference. This is also a form of Xenophobia but can come in lots of different and varying levels.
The most well known bout of Xenophobia happened during Hitlers reign when he had extreme feelings towards Jews. They were gassed and killed, all because they were seen as being different. This was a very over the top view on things, but the feeling was strong and could not be overcome.
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