Scapegoating is blaming one person or group for problems while ignoring others’ responsibilities. It can be irrational and emotional, while properly assigning blame uses facts and logic. The term comes from an ancient Jewish ceremony. Scapegoats can be used defensively or offensively, and can lose power and status.
Scapegoating is the practice of blaming major problems on a single individual or group while ignoring the responsibilities of others. The individual or group who is blamed is known as the scapegoat, while the person or group who blames is the scapegoat. The term has negative connotations and can be considered an insult depending on its usage.
An argument that someone else is scapegoating is easy to identify. The scapegoat person mentions an individual or group and assigns them responsibility for the problem, then usually claims that their removal will help solve it. A typical scapegoat might sound like this: “(The scapegoat) was the person responsible when these problems started. (The scapegoat) caused the problem by their actions. Once that (the scapegoat) is out of the way, we can start fixing things.”
Properly assigning blame can sometimes feel like scapegoating, but it’s very different. The arguments involved in scapegoating can be irrational and often appeal to emotion; Properly assigning blame uses facts and logic. The scapegoat assigns all responsibility for a problem to a group or individual; Correctly assigning blame usually shows that there are many contributors to a problem, and exactly what each one did.
The scapegoat can be used both defensively and offensively. A person may act as a defensive scapegoat when he is partially responsible for a problem, but does not want his contribution known. By completely blaming someone else for a problem, the responsibility of the scapegoat may be hidden or may appear to be reduced to others. A person may become an offensive scapegoat when he has nothing to do with the problem, but gain an advantage over an opponent or rival if that person takes the blame. A scapegoat for a significant calamity can lose both power and status, even though they may be innocent or only partially guilty.
The term scapegoat comes from early religions, especially Judaism. In an ancient Jewish ceremony, the sins of the people were placed on a goat on the Day of Atonement, also known as Yom Kippur. The goat was then driven out of the village and away from the people or killed.
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