What the hell is Xenophobia? Whenever I have used this word, this is a common question I get asked. Ironically, it is a very common behavior in America. You would think that everyone knew exactly what it means. On any given day in the USA, there are examples of Xenophobia in the news.
Now I pride myself on doing blog posts that will appeal to the average person. No big words that only someone with a Ph.D. can understand. Yet here I am using a word that perhaps a large percent of Americans would not know what it means. So, I guess that it is time to pull the curtain back and “give it up.”
Xenophobia is the irrational fear, hatred, or dislike of people from other countries, cultures, or backgrounds who are perceived as foreign or strange.
Key Characteristics
- Origin: The word comes from the ancient Greek words xenos (meaning “stranger” or “guest”) and phobos (meaning “fear” or “flight”). It first appeared in English in the late 19th century.
- In-Group vs. Out-Group: It is built on the mental division of people into an “in-group” (those who belong) and an “out-group” (outsiders viewed as a threat).
- Common Triggers: It often spikes during economic hardship, political instability, or rapid social and demographic changes, where outsiders are used as scapegoats for local problems.
- Manifestations: It can lead to social exclusion, verbal harassment, discrimination, institutional policies against migrants, or violence.
A Xenophobe is a person who strongly dislikes, distrusts, or fears people perceived as foreigners, strangers, or members of a different culture or nation.
How often have you heard people say “This is America, speak English” or “If you don’t like it here go back to your own country?”
Let’s break this definition of Xenophobia down further:
In-Group vs. Out-Group:
My team, my church, my religion, my God, my beliefs, my group, my club, my race, my ethnic group is better than your group. In fact, my group is so much better than your group, that I think we need to eliminate your group from America.
The thinking that underlies the belief that my group is superior can lead to the idea that violence is justified so as to eliminate your group. In some cases, this will mean taking the rights away from other people. In the extreme it can mean denial of basic rights, expulsion, physical attacks or murder. History has repeatedly shown us a progression of violence against others that goes from stereotyping, to blame, to tolerating humiliation of others, to denying fair treatment and sometimes ending in violence. Think Nazi Germany.
If you have been paying attention, you will notice that people we call racists, bigots, sexists all share many of the characteristics of Xenophobia.
Xenophobia, racism, sexism, and Homophobia can share common biases and reinforce one another, while targeting different characteristics. However, there are some substantive differences between Xenophobia and Racism as well as between Xenophobia and Sexism and Xenophobia and Homophobia. For instance:
Xenophobia vs. Racism
- Xenophobia focuses on a person’s nationality, culture, or foreign status (the idea that someone is an “outsider” who does not belong).
- Racism is a belief system that judges an individual’s worth or capabilities based on fixed physical attributes like skin color or racial category.
- While they often overlap and feed into each other, a person can experience or display them independently.
Xenophobia vs. Sexism
Xenophobia and sexism are both forms of systemic prejudice and discrimination, but they differ fundamentally in their targets, origins, and expressions. Xenophobia targets people based on their nationality, geographic origin, or cultural foreignness, whereas sexism targets individuals based on their sex or gender identity.
Xenophobia vs. Homophobia
Xenophobia and Homophobia are both forms of systematic prejudice rooted in an irrational aversion to a specific group, but they target entirely different aspects of identity and operate on different social dynamics. While Xenophobia targets a person’s geographic, national, or cultural origin, Homophobia targets a person’s sexual orientation.
Shared Similarities between Xenophobia and other Prejudices:
- Scapegoating: Minorities, women, gay people and immigrants are frequently scapegoated by political or social movements during times of societal stress to deflect attention from structural problems.
Now one might well ask, well how much Xenophobia actually exists in the USA today or perhaps how many Xenophobic people are there in the USA? Here is what my AI assistant gave me in response to this question.
| Survey | Finding | What it tells us |
| PRRI, March 2026 report | 33% agreed that “Immigrants are invading our country and replacing our cultural and ethnic background”; 62% disagreed. | A substantial minority endorses a belief I would interpret as a strong indicator of xenophobic attitudes. |
| Gallup, June 2026 | 21% said immigration is bad for the country; 73% said it is good. | Most Americans favor immigration overall. The negative response alone does not establish prejudice. |
PRRI: Immigration Enforcement, ICE, and Civil Liberties in the Second Trump Administration — March 26, 2026. Source for the 33% agreement with the invasion-and-cultural-replacement statement.
Gallup: Americans’ Support for Immigration Down, Still Strong — Source for the June 2026 findings: 73% said immigration is good for the country; 21% said it is bad.
My best assessment is Xenophobia affects tens of millions of Americans and has considerable political significance, but the evidence does not support calling most Americans xenophobic. We can measure the prevalence of specific hostile beliefs much more confidently than we can count “xenophobic people.”
Conclusions:
I would like to leave you with three questions. If we can create one iota of doubt in even a few of the people out there who exhibit some of the hostilities I have discussed we would have made some progress.
No one is born Xenophobic. Many of us welcome meeting new people, experiencing new cultures, talking with people who are not “just like we are” or people who “do not belong to our clan or church or group.”
Just like Racism, Sexism and Homophobia, Xenophobia is learned. Something that is learned can be unlearned. But it takes developing some empathy and compassion for all people. The Baháʼí believe in the Unity of all humanity. We are all one people on the face of the earth trying our best to do what we can to lead a decent life and create a good future for our children.
Xenophobia is a virulent disease. It spreads from one Xenophobe to another. It becomes a group identity and a safe haven from having to question one’s own prejudices.
An open Democratic society is not a society that is without risks.
In the “Parable of the Good Samaritan”, the Samaritan gave aid to a wounded traveler thought to be Jewish. First-century Jews and Samaritans were divided by deep religious and historical hostility. The Samaritan gave his own money and time to help the victim with no guarantee that he would be paid back. The Samaritan crossed a boundary of prejudice to help someone outside his own group.
Three Questions:
- How do you think people coming to this country for a better life feel when they are told “Go back to where you belong, we don’t want you here?”
- How do you think people who belong to a different group than you do feel when they are told they are dirty, dangerous and unclean or worthless?
- What do you think Jesus would say to an immigrant who needed asylum or to a Gay person who simply wanted to be treated like other people?
This conservative trend was already well underway when in 2017, a billionaire real-estate developer named Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States of America. In addition to the hard core conservative beliefs of many mainstream Republicans, Trump added the once discredited idea of American Isolationism. We would now put America first, no matter what. No more negotiations with other nations unless it was clear that we got the better of the deal. We would build a big wall to keep Mexicans and other immigrants out and we would renege on our trade deals with China and Europe. About the only country that Trump liked was Russia. Eventually, he agreed to give Alaska and parts of Canada back to Russia.
I am 39 years old and have two children. I have never worked (at least outside of the home) as women have not been allowed to work since 2022 when they passed the “Women in the Home Law” as it was popularly called. The Federal government passed the law and it was ratified by every state and municipality in the nation. Some places tried to hold out but the government cut off all funding to them until they capitulated. This law effectively outlawed women working. It also barred women from the military. Ten years later (2032) they passed the “Mandatory Birth Act.” This bill proscribes that every woman (physically able to) must give birth to at least two children. Any woman who reaches the age of 32 and still has not given birth to two children is forcibly removed to a National Birthing Center where she will be artificially impregnated and kept confined until she has had at least two healthy children. Sickly or unhealthy children are sent to Disposal Camps where they are “recycled” per official government propaganda. No one is quite sure what happens during recycling but the children are never seen again.
nations. Since banning imports of such items, we have created millions of jobs making goods that were once made in low wage countries. The demand for such goods has skyrocketed but now we are providing them. Unfortunately, the wages and education needed for such work is still low. My husband did not finish high school but most men in our town do not. The Fathers have repeatedly stated that real men don’t need higher education. (I will talk more about education later.)
not allowed in the living room when his sports are on except to bring in some beer or chips. This does not really bother me much as I have plenty to do with the kids, housecleaning, cooking and all. I have my own TV in my sewing room where I can watch any of the approved programs for women. We have 30 different “Women Only” channels where I can learn more about cooking and cleaning and how to be a good wife. There are some good romances and family drama stories that are occasionally on. I look forward to watching these when the kids are in bed.
Libraries are now mostly museums. With the passage of the “Books Only Lie Bill” in 2038, all funds to public libraries were cut. The Fathers decried that books did nothing but cause trouble and stir up discontent. Anything citizens really needed to know could be found on the “Citizens Channels” offered by the government Department of Public Wisdom. There are over 100 of these channels which are available on public TV. They are on 24/7 and offer many programs for good citizenship. Some of the programs are:
Introduction:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
The research that purports to explain the Trump phenomenon almost never goes beyond the “Right Wing” narratives for Trumps election. These narratives all point to abortion, guns, taxes, small government, immigration and jobs as the key factors in Trumps victory. Trump blames the Democrats for everything wrong in rural America and the Republicans have provided a compelling set of schemes that have convinced many in rural America that a partial solution to their problems lies in more capitalism. 
