How Does Xenophobia Work?

perceived as foreign or other isn't always blatant. Xenophobia even appears at times to be on the decline, say after the signing of the Civil Rights Act of nineteen sixty four. But other times it seems to spew with fury and venom unapologetically from the mouths of common citizens and former presidents alike. It's a fact of American life, never easy to face, and never ever pretty. For the article this

episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke with Erica Lee, a history professor and the director of the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota. She's also the author of the book America for Americans, A History of Xenophobia in the United States. She said to me, when I see xenophobia throughout history, I see it as changing, morphing, adapting, but not necessarily going away. It's very common to be

swept up in some of these moments. The concept of xenophobia is often muddled with isms like racism, which is the belief that our race determines our traits and that a particular race is inherently superior, or nativism, which is favoring current inhabitants over new immigrants, And to be sure,

xenophobia goes hand in hand with both. It's sometimes hard to tell them apart, but all of these root from mistrust, moving into fear and hatred of people who are not us or not from here, which of course raises all sorts of questions like who exactly are we and who is from here? It's a riddle that's especially pertinent in the United States, which is a nation of immigrants and

is supposedly, if not always factually welcoming of them. It's important to note, though, that xenophobia is alive and thriving in many parts of the globe and has been forever. But it's because of America's self billing as a haven for immigrants that we have some splainin to do when it comes to our deeply embedded history of xenophobia from the very beginning. Many who came to America, even if that immigrated only recently themselves, cast a squorely eye on newcomers,

a meaning those newcomers have battled discrimination and worse. A German and Irish Catholics the mid eighteen hundreds were shunned and even killed. Campaigns against them claimed that they couldn't be good citizens because that only vote the way of their priests. Through the eighteen hundreds, Chinese immigrants were said to be cheap laborers taking away jobs from real Americans.

In the early nineteen hundreds, Italians were branded criminals. During the Great Depression, twenty percent of Mexican Americans were deported, more than half of whom were American citizens by birth. Japanese Americans were interned during World War II. Today, Muslim and Middle Eastern Americans are branded terrorists. Many of these groups, even long after they've woven themselves into the fabric of

American society, but after generations still grapple was xenophobia. Lee explained that it's at the crux of a uniquely American dichotomy. No other country has allowed more immigrants to settle and more refugees of safe haven than America. Today, about twenty eight percent of Americans are immigrants or US born children of immigrants, some ninety million people. Yet no country has deported more immigrants some fifty seven million since the late

eighteen hundreds. Lisaid it points to a contradiction that is as old as the United States. We have these very conflicting notions about who an American could be. There were very romantic proclamations that an American is someone who chooses to be an American as long as you had it in your heart to accept the ideals and the values of the United States. Than we unlike countries that were based on a monarchy or hereditary citizenship, but we had

this much more inclusive definition of American citizenship. And in many ways that was true, but in many other ways it was very narrow. For example, the first law about naturalization was passed in seventeen ninety, and it was relatively open. It said that quote any alien being a free white person end quote could apply for citizenship as long as they lived in the United States for at least two years. But that law, of course excluded enslaved people from Africa,

Native Americans, and others. Even when the US has taken steps that would seem anti xenophobic. There have been stumbles and pushbacks. For example, the Immigration Act of nineteen sixty five overturned immigration quotas that were based on national origins.

Originally designed to favor immigrants from European countries, the law paved the way for millions of legal immigrants from Latin America and beyond, and for an increase in illegal immigration as well, and all of that spurred some xenophobic reaction. The nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute wrote about this in twenty

fifteen a quote. The law's proponents see it as a historic success and assert that the estimated fifty nine million immigrants who have come to the United States since its passage as of twenty fifteen have made the younger, infused it with diversity and talent, and generated prosperity and economic growth. Critics contend that high admission levels of diverse groups of immigrants have created more competition for low skilled US workers

and shattered the country's cultural homogeneity. Lie said, the connection with racism is really powerful, So what's wrong with racism? It treats people unequally, it demonizes entire groups, is dangerous and threatening. Either because they're racially different, or they practice a different faith, or that they're just thought of as inherently dangerous, and we treat them as a group rather

than treating them as individuals. On top of all of that, our government is made up of people, and sometimes people codify those ways of thinking into law. It's hardly the self evident truth etched forever into the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal, but it's undeniable at this point. America, again, like many other countries, has asenophobia problem. It's deep rooted and insidious and it won't be cured anytime soon. But that doesn't mean there's nothing we can do.

From our interactions and our daily lives to our voices in the government, we can all fight against hate and discrimination. The first step may come from within, learning to identify hateful rhetoric wrapped in the guise of national pride or personal gain, and to think critically about why people would promote that hate and fear. What do they have to gain from making you afraid of your neighbors instead of talking about the systemic institutional problems that are making both

your and your neighbors lives harder. On a community level, you can provide practical support to the diverse cultures that add so much to our lives by supporting the local businesses like restaurants run by immigrants, and by supporting local events from international artists like cultural festivals, theater concerts, and film screenings. Online and in three dimensions, you can call out hate speech and bigotry. Let the people you're acquainted

with know that dehumanizing stereotypes are never funny. On the flip side, it can be better to not interact with people online who you don't know, and sometimes feeding the

trolls can only further their spread on social media. Also, if it's safe for you to do so, stand up to real life bullies by calmly making your presence known, asking the victim of the harassment if they'd like your support, and then, if so, de escalating the situation by remaining calm and being attentive and empathetic while attempting to remove people from the location or situation. Finally, vote in national

and local elections. Your vote is mutual aid. There are lots of resources online for how to help fight hate like xenophobia. The United Nations has a bunch of great material. It's scary out there, but after all, we're all just human people in this together. Today's episode is based on the article why Zenophobia Thrives in Troubled Times on how Stuffworks dot Com, written by John Donovan. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how Stuffworks

dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.