Xenophobia is the uncontrollable fear of foreigners. It comes from the Greek words xenos, meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and phobos, meaning "fear." Xenophobia can manifest itself in many ways involving the relations and perceptions of an ingroup towards an outgroup, including a fear of losing identity, suspicion of its activities, aggression, and desire to eliminate its presence to secure a presumed purity.
This definition, taken from Wikipedia, shows a feeling many people have today, with the increase of globalization. Xenophobia is more than a simple fear of strangers because fear causes people to run away and not to attack. Xenophobes don't run away from foreigners, they try to drive them away with insults and stereotypes. Fortunately, people seem to get more used to foreigners and are learning to accept them.
By Pedro
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