Scapegoat

The scapegoat was a goat that was driven off into the wilderness as part of the ceremonies of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, in Judaism during the times of the Temple in Jerusalem. The rite is described in Leviticus 16. The word also refers, in modern parlance, to one who is blamed for misfortunes, often as a way of distracting attention from the real causes.

Scapegoating

Figuratively, a scapegoat is someone selected to bear blame for a calamity. Scapegoating is the act of holding a person, group of people, or thing responsible for a multitude of problems. This is also known as a frameup.

Related Topics:
Blame - Calamity - Frameup

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Political/Sociological Scapegoating

Scapegoating is an important tool of propaganda; for example, the Jews were singled out in Nazi propaganda as the source of Germany's economic woes and political collapse .

Related Topics:
Propaganda - Jew - Nazi - Germany

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Scapegoating is often more devastating when applied to a minority group as they are inherently less able to defend themselves. A tactic often employed is to characterize an entire group of individuals according to the unethical or immoral conduct of a small number of individuals belonging to that group.

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"Scapegoated" groups throughout history have included almost every imaginable group of people: adherents of different religion, people of different race or nation or political belief, people differing in behaviour of majority. However, scapegoating may also be applied to organizations, such as governments, corporations, or various political groups.

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In industrialised societies, scapegoating of traditional minority groups is increasingly frowned upon. In the extreme, this may result in socially-enforced rules regarding speech, as in political correctness.

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Compare: moral panic; hue and cry; witchhunt, shoot the messenger

Related Topics:
Moral panic - Hue and cry - Witchhunt - Shoot the messenger

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Scapegoating in sports

In sports, scapegoats are common. In baseball, Bill Buckner is blamed for losing the 1986 World Series due to a critical error. In American football, Scott Norwood is blamed for losing the Super Bowl for the Buffalo Bills during Super Bowl XXV by missing a key field goal. Andrés Escobar, a Colombian football player, was shot dead after he scored an own goal that knocked his team out of the 1994 World Cup. The fact that fans of the Chicago Cubs tell of a Curse of the Billy Goat to explain why their team has not won a National League pennant since 1945 should be viewed as a coincidence of language, regardless of how many fans may believe the story.

Related Topics:
Sports - Baseball - Bill Buckner - 1986 World Series - American football - Scott Norwood - Super Bowl - Buffalo Bills - Super Bowl XXV - Andrés Escobar - Football - Own goal - Chicago Cubs - National League - 1945

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In 2005, ESPN Classic created the series The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame..., in which it examines why the conceived scapegoat(s) should, in fact, not be held responsible.

Related Topics:
2005 - ESPN Classic - The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame...

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Scapegoating in Psychoanalytic Theory

Psychoanalytic Theory believes that unwanted thoughts and feelings can be unconsciously projected onto another who becomes a scapegoat for ones own problems. This concept can be extended to projection by groups. In this case the chosen individual, or group, becomes the scapegoat for the group's problems.

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