My (British) parents are staying with us for a couple of weeks in the US and I've noticed my father is quite xenophobic. When my wife's parents were over earlier in the year, I noticed the same in her father.
Some questions:
1) is this xeneophobia inherent in UK society?
2) is it confined to older generations? If so, why? Has the recent (last 20 years) 'shrinking' of the world in terms of travel, commerce, and communications made mine and later generations more accepting?
3) if so, why? is it because of experience or cultural dilution/amalgamation (if these terms exist)
The environment I work in (Microsoft) is extremely diverse in cultural and ethnic background and so it really grates when I hear someone being xenophobic or racist in any way.
Any thoughts?
Paul.
Originally posted by RussI think the whole NIMBY (not in my back yard) thing has grown in prevalance in the UK recently. I can't say the same about the US as I've only lived here for 5 years, but over here (Seattle) it seems to be more around where to put things like half-way houses for sex offenders.
I think the recent escalation of asylum seekers/illegal immigrants, and specifically the coverage it gets in the UK media, may be the cause of this. But it is a real problem for many.
This story today, for example.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/3163139.stm
-Russ