On Xenophobia

There's hardly a week that goes by in Germany now that journalists don't use the term 'xenophobia' to describe anti-migrant or anti-asylum attitudes in Germany.  At some point in early 2014, you started to see the word thrown around, and uttered by intellectuals to advance the pro-immigration and pro-asylum agenda within the German political spectrum.

Phobias, which I had a major interest in...several decades ago....generally means you have a fear or anxiety attack over 'something' (real or perceived).  I actually worked with two individuals who'd reached a stage where mental help was required and the 'expert' let them know in a positive sense....every single phobia that exists....was treatable.  One of them...had a vault-like phobia or as the doctor described....fear of a contained area (like a submarine).  The other had a fear of lightning or the storms that accompanies them.  As time passed and the doctor's technique worked, both individuals eased out of their phobia, just as the doctor suggested.

Is xenophobia a real phobia?  Well....here's this odd thing about the word itself.  In Latin, xeno simply means 'stranger' or 'guest'.  Course, if you suggested some fear of guests, or fear of strangers.....it would usually take you to a different discussion or a different interpretation of the intention.  So whoever drafted this Latin word to fit into their journalism piece (probably over a hundred years ago)....it was more of an intellectual effort, than a doctor's effort.

In today's world, if you pronounced these five German individuals to be xenophobic and you marched ten Greeks into the room....finding no fear or anxiety of the Greeks, then the argument of the Germans being xenophobic ought to be thrown out the door.  The same could be said if you marched ten South Koreans into the room and announced their arrival, with no reaction from the accused German xenophobics....that pretty much makes this a stupid argument.

If you marched ten Russians into the German xenophobic room, then said they were to all be new migrants or visa-carrying migrants?  The Germans in the room might ask.....do they have skillcrafts or degrees?  Are you paying them welfare supplements for the next five years?  Do any of them have police records or arrests in their past?  Is that question routine xenophobic?  No.  The Germans simply are measuring the intent/value of the 'guests' and the stupidity level of the German bureaucrat giving out the visas. 

Is this whole xenophobic argument being misused?  This is the comical side of this debate.  If all phobias are treatable....then xenophobia can be treated.  If you tasked a seasoned mental expert to develop the treatment....you'd likely hear about something which seems to be a mild form of brainwashing (that would freak the hell out of most people).  To this day, I've yet to hear a single licensed mental health doctor go into a public setting, and discuss the mental condition, the treatment, or the test to be used to assess the phobia.  That lack of information and discussion?  It stands out like a sore thumb.

It's like some 'go-to-jail' card in Monopoly when the journalists pop the xenophobic card, and wants you backed into the corner.  Rather than get defensive, you need to make the guy define the phobia, define the treatment plan, and to eventually agree that it's a heavily misused and abused term.