@dietotaku Hmm...
Let's deconstruct that idea via a test:
Would you feel any different if an Indigenous culture restricted immigration to their lands for the express reason of wanting to preserve their culture and way of life?
How about if an African country or, say, China did the same thing?
... or what if that Indigenous culture restricted immigration in an attempt to safeguard their lineage against erasure by dilution in the global gene pool?
It's not necessarily rooted in racist hatred.
@dietotaku While there are plenty of assholes who oppose immigration due to being hateful racists, seems to me at least as often opposition to immigration is rooted in a fear of erasure by dilution - both culturally and biologically - *without* hatred of the "other".
Which, if you think about it too hard, is not difficult to empathize with; people cling to the familiar, they resist change, & many if not most are deeply afraid of one day waking up to a world they no longer recognize as "theirs".
@IrelandTorin i still qualify that as racism. the nazis were "afraid of erasure by dilution" too, and you'll seldom find a racist willing to admit they hate other races. simply being intolerant of their presence, for any reason, qualifies as bigotry.
@dietotaku I'd say there is a significant difference.
The Nazis detested the fact that other ethnic groups even *existed*, let alone within their borders.
There is a difference between being intolerant of the presence of others (which is clearly racist) & being tolerant of whoever's already there but not inviting more outsiders; one seeks a racist "ideal" society, the other simply seeks to avoid change.
Not being a xenophobe does not automatically make one a xenophile, & vice versa.
@IrelandTorin what you're describing sounds like either racism or xenophobia, maybe both but definitely not neither. not to mention I don't think I've ever encountered someone who is opposed to all new immigrants but tolerant of the ones already here - they're always "THE COUNTRY'S FULL!" as well as "GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM!" and seeking to avoid change is not exactly an admirable quality either.
@IrelandTorin it's more like they'd like to see it limited to other countries and cultures that look like them. like Trump wanting to completely shut down all Hispanic immigration but wondering how to get more Scandinavians to move here.
you also don't have to be loud in order to be hateful.
and I do find seeking to avoid change detestable. but I guess that's what makes me a progressive instead of a both-sidesing fence-sitter.