Xenophobia ...are we guilty of it?

Dictionary definitions of xenophobia include: "deep-rooted, irrational hatred towards foreigners" (Oxford English Dictionary; OED), and "unreasonable fear or hatred of the unfamiliar" (Webster's).^[5] The word comes from the Greek words ξένος (xenos), meaning "strange", "foreigner", and φόβος (phobos), meaning "fear".^[6]

With all the immigrants in this country, Canada doesn't seem to be xenophobic.  It's kind of interesting, our attitude towards immigrants.  We love to adopt the customs of other cultures...we eat ethnic food, watch ethnic movies, wear ethnic fashions, and even sometimes use ethnic slang.  And yet, we still bitch and complain about "foreigners" coming and taking our jobs.  Oh really?  Think of the foreigners in your neighbourhood.  They are running the convenience stores, the gas stations, and the taxi business.  Are these things we want to do?  Not many of us do.  If they are taking our jobs it's because they have better education and are better qualified.   There are many,  many foreigners who have come to this country having been  professionals in their home country, and when they get here they find out that their qualifications mean nothing here.  How sad is that?

Right now in the western world we are extremely distrustful of people from the middle east.  We fear they are all terrorists.  A group of them walking down the street conversing in their native language make us feel uneasy.  Anytime we hear someone speaking in their native language we are uncomfortable , and sometimes you hear people say 'speak English like the rest of us, you are in Canada now'.  We are afraid they are talking about us, or laughing at us, or plotting against us.  It drives us crazy not to know what they are saying.

 But imagine for a moment that you were sent to a foreign country.  Everything is strange.  You can't speak the language well, you don't know the customs, you don't like the food.  So you look for comfort in the familiar, you look for people like you.   How would you feel if you were told to speak the language of the new country when you are out somewhere with your family speaking the language you are comfortable with?  How would you feel if after all the years of education and sacrifice you were told you are not qualified for your chosen profession and you are forced to do menial jobs.  We sure wouldn't like it.

We do fear change though don't we?  People seem to be so happy to go with the status quo.  Kind of the devil you know is better than the devil you don't.  So we re elect the same ineffectual, even dangerous politicians to office...or we don't vote at all because we don't know the other candidates.  Think about all the bitching that goes any time policy is changed in the work place.  People are afraid to try something new.  The like the comfortable sameness no matter how unhappy they have been.  

So are we guilty of xenophobia as defined in the Oxford English Dictionary?  Maybe not to the extent that some countries like South Korea who really doesn't like foreigners who come there to work.  And I don't think I would call our attitude xenoPHOBIC.  Phobic is too severe. Phobic implies terror.  Perhaps we are more xenoanxious.    There, I have made another x word, there are so few of them it was hard to pick a topic.  And with two x's it would be an excellent Scrabble word.