Following the terror that occurred last week, I've seen so many despicable comments on the internet and on television that demonize Islam, Muslims, and the "liberals" that "defend Islam." When I was in college, I chose to conduct research on the roots of Xenophobia and Islamophobia in the United States. Since it's long, I've broken the research into five parts. I'm not a sociologist, nor am I a researcher. I hope you enjoy. I'll include my sources as well.
In terms of race, ethnicity, culture, and socioeconomic status, The United States of America can claim its place as one of the most diverse countries in the world. We often pride ourselves on this fact, and export this narrative of our melting pot democracy to the rest of the world. However noble or romantic the essence of this narrative may seem, our actual perception of multiculturalism in this country can border on hypocrisy when it comes to embracing it. Many minorities and marginalized groups in our society can fall prey to systemic inequalities and discrimination. In the beginning of this new century, an era that was once looked towards with hope and admiration opened with sheer terror due to the terrorist attacks that occurred within our shores on September 11, 2001. , is it acceptable to systemically and culturally marginalize a group of people based on faith, culture and ethnicity. What serves as an additionally disheartening fact is how our country did react, and is continuing to react to the events of that day. In the 21 C, it is acceptable to systemically and culturally marginalize a group of people based on faith, culture and ethnic affiliation. This can be found within our society’s portrayal of Islam and its followers. Once again in our nation’s history, we are dealing with an outbreak of Xenophobia; this time, it can be defined as Islamophobia. The attitudinal trend of discriminating against those who are not like us has always existed within our country, and has been prevalent at certain times. However, following September 11, the immediate responses to the attacks taken by both our government and the media, along with the deliberate actions taken during the aftermath, have ushered in a heightened sense of xenophobia and Islamophobia in our society. These prejudices have been manifested themselves through many channels and avenues in our society.
What is Xenophobia? Accounts of Xenophobia in our history and the portrayal of Islam in American culture
In order to properly introduce this argument, one must define the word Xenophobia. Xenophobia is described as an irrational or deep-rooted fear in foreigners, or an unreasonable fear or hatred towards people of other races or ethnic origins. It can also be described as an aversion towards other cultures, beliefs, values, norms, language or orientations. This form of discrimination that can manifest itself in society can be characterized as a dirty little secret that America fails to portray to foreigners seeking the opportunity to live out the American Dream. This way perception, or aversion, to people of other cultures that seem different than an “American” one is not a modern problem. These tendencies can be found throughout our nation’s history. In a recent editorial discussing the newest form of Xenophobia in America published in The Boston Globe, the writer of the article acknowledges this is not a new trend. “We have been here before. Know-Nothing bigotry is nothing new. Chinese, Irish, Jews, Italians, Slavs, and others have had their turns on this hot seat, with African-Americans perennially warned that they “don’t have a place here’’ (Carroll, Opinion/Op-Ed).
That note can lead someone to wonder why a country that prides itself as a democracy, and was founded on the ideas of individual freedom, liberty, and equality, would engage in such behavior that seemingly contradicts its ideals. If one is basing their idea of democracy in the universal understanding of the idea, then there could be some confusion; however, we must remember that every country has its own interpretation of what democracy and freedom are, and what they mean to its people. A substantial part of the narrative of American democracy is the idea that our country is as, as described by President Ronald Reagan in his farewell address, a “shining city upon the hill”. This view, first recorded by the pilgrim John Winthrop in his famous “City upon a Hill” sermon, was one that led to the development of American Exceptionalism, along with the concept of Manifest Destiny. These ideas are what shaped our concept of what our democracy ought to be. Our form of democracy differs from the type of democracy that sprung up in Europe, using France as an example. In France, their idea of democracy was to abolish the old social order and to eliminate privileges from society. American democracy is shaped by the idea of spreading ideology in crusader fashion, believing it is our duty to civilize and Christianize others around the world. The idea of Manifest Destiny can be loosely interpreted to be in line with God’s covenant with the Jews, and this began to emerge in the 1840s as a means to justify our expansion across the continent. If one was viewed as resistant to understanding our democracy, or the values or ideals associated with it, then it makes sense for them to be excluded in society (Rockmore, 7). An individual who did not reflect the characteristics that we associate with what it is to be “American” is automatically cast into the category of “other”.
At different times in our history, several ethnic groups have found themselves the victim of an American mentality that was less than friendly to those they considered outsiders. The most obvious example that comes to mind would be the plight dealt to African-Americans; however, the mistreatment of African-Americans was a part of the system or American machine that was engineered to ensure that Americans kept their way of life and continued on the path to economic prosperity. Despite the mistreatment and destruction that was a part of the institution of slavery, Black slaves were a part of the American narrative. On to the next marginalized group-the Irish. While Irish had long been emigrating from Ireland, it was around the mid-nineteenth century that they began to come over in much larger numbers. Due in most part to the Great Famine that had taken over, the number of Irish immigrants to fleeing Ireland to America tripled in the 1840s, and then quadrupled in the 1850s. Here, they lived in squalor, working the lowliest of low jobs to survive. More often than not, however, the Irish could not find any employment. The American attitude towards these newest immigrants was one of revulsion and a lack of understanding. The Irish were also targeted for their Roman Catholicism, which did not sit well with their new neighbors, America being a mostly Protestant nation.
Another prevalent example of Xenophobia that is often mentioned during the discussion of this topic is the treatment of the Japanese-Americans during World War II. Mostly living on the West Coast, due to its proximity to Japan, Japanese-Americans found themselves living in decent relations with other Americans before the war began. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, public outrage towards Japan began to dictate public behavior towards Japanese. They found themselves ostracized within their communities, and accused of being traitors or spies for Japan. In 1942, during the war, many Japanese-Americans were forced to oblige to curfews set by their neighborhoods, and later were forced to move into internment camps. One of the most famous cases, Korematsu vs. The United States, deals with the issue of the forced relocation of Japanese-Americans. Korematsu, a man of Japanese ethnicity who was born in America, violated the orders to relocate and was arrested because of this. The Supreme Court agreed with the decision of the lower court, and decided that racial prejudice was not the motivation behind the exclusion; rather, it was done in the name of national security. Since Korematsu just happened to be of Japanese ancestry, he had to be segregated for the rest of the population until the war with Japan was over. Eventually, the government found itself shamed from the decision, and acknowledged that it provided another black mark on the face of our country’s history. In the early 1990s, those forced into relocation camps were given reparations by the government, and Fred Korematsu was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1993 by Bill Clinton. In both examples given, the marginalized group eventually found themselves assimilated into American culture; perhaps it was of their persistence to conform and accept the American way of life, or the American people began to accept them and view them as a part of our narrative. One will never know, but basing the analysis on attitudes that were present at the beginning our democracy, and in our more recent history, shows that the attitude of Xenophobia is something that exists within the undercurrents our society.