X is for Xenophobia- #AtoZ Challenge

Today's blog is going to be short and sweet. It's going to point out world problems, it's going to appeal for humanity, and then it'll be over- but hopefully it plants a seed in other minds and proliferates. Spread the word. The message is important.

X is for Xenophobia. What does xenophobia mean?

Dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries.

 Wikipedia has an expanded explanation:
  

Xenophobia is the fear of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange. 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. Xenophobia can also be exhibited in the form of an "uncritical exaltation of another culture" in which a culture is ascribed "an unreal, stereotyped and exotic quality"

Sounds painfully familiar, doesn't it? It doesn't seem matter if you're a refugee forced to flee your home, a gay or trans person, a woman, or just someone with a skin color that is considered something other than "white", or a body feature considered other than "normal" (whatever THAT is!) There will always be someone telling you to "go home", someone shouting that you're an abomination, someone threatening to kill you, someone wanting to build a wall to "keep you out", someone trying to abuse you mentally, physically.

I could go on for days about all the unbelievable excrement I see people pour forth, venting their racist, homophobic, bigoted, bullying and misogynistic hatred... but what is the point? I wouldn't be much better than them, then, would I?

If I, the writer behind Living and Learning, could stress one thing to my readers- it would be this:

We are all human

The world- life in general- is terrible and frightening enough already. Why must we fear each other? Why must we torture each other with ridiculous stereotypes, accusations and outright lies? We are all having a hard time- let's not make it worse.

Please. Stop. Look each other in the eye, look past the differences to really see the other person, and say: "You are human, and so am I."

And then share a cup of tea or something.

Live. Learn.
Most of all: LOVE