The Scapegoat Society

[carolinayellowdog]

http://www.scapegoat.demon.co.uk

provides some much-needed perspective on a dynamic seen at DU (as in life in general) on a daily basis. "A hostile social psychological routine by which people move blame and responsibility away from themselves and towards a target person or group." Some examples in current American life.

1. Gays. Although right-wing Christians deplore the general moral breakdown of society with special emphasis on sex, they concentrate an overwhelming proportion of their indignation on gays and lesbians. "We heterosexuals" are thus symbolically removed from any blame for sexual license, as "those homosexuals" become the bearers of guilt for society at large.
2. The French. Although most of the world was united in opposition to our Iraq invasion, which might inspire some feelings of self-doubt and insecurity, the pro-war faction in America pretended that the French were the sole bearers of blame. One single country was out of step with international opinion, and it wasn't France.
3. Liberal Democrats. Lieberman's recent pronouncements and the continuing litany of DLC claims make it clear: the Republicans deserve to be in power because Democrats are too liberal. This diverts hostility away from a seemingly overwhelming opponent and focuses it instead on a relatively weak target.
4. Pink tutu Democrats. On the other hand, some liberals focus all their blame on collaborationist Dems instead of Republicans, for similar reasons.
5. Southerners. Even though the entire US is tainted with racism and inequality, and Republican political power is strong in many states far from the South, advocating various anti-Southern strategies is a regular event at DU. From the extreme of "separate the South from the rest of the country and then we'll have a happy liberal US" to the more moderate "let's win by planning to carry no Southern states," the same scapegoating dynamic is evident.

All this strengthens the real enemy IMO.

CYD

[DarkPhenyx]

1. Very intersting.

Defiantely worth reading. There are lots of groups on both sides of the aisle who would do well to read this and take note. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[Mari333]

2. Boston U has been researching this phenomenon also

http://www.publiceye.org/Apocalyptic/Dances_with_Devils_1.htm#P130_34723
www.mille.org


Scapegoating on a societal level can be seen as a process whereby the hostility and aggression of an angry and frustrated group are directed away from a rational explanation of a conflict, and projected onto targets demonized by irrational claims of wrongdoing. As a result, the scapegoated group bears the blame for causing the conflict, while the scapegoaters feel a sense of innocence and increased unity. It is scapegoating whether the conflict is real or imaginary, the grievances are legitimate or illegitimate, or the target is wholly innocent or partially culpable. Scapegoating can be used as a rationale to justify the retention or acquisition of unfair power and privilege. <snip>

Fasinating stuff.

[DarkPhenyx]

3. Unfortunately when you percieve yourself...

...or your group, as the party which has been wronged, it is nigh unto impossible to admit, even to yourself, that you might have some hand in the way things happened, and how they currently are. It's much easier to blame someone else. Adolph Hitler and Herman Goering understood scapegoating perfectly. They were true artists when it came to applying it to forward their own agenda.

[carolinayellowdog]

4. Rove is playing us like a violin

Hey,

While up on a ladder painting and fretting about these DU Wars, I came to a realization. The only goddamn Yankee I hate is the fake Texan who stole the election. The reason I wasn't inundated with hatred from non-Southerners pre-Dubya is that under Clinton or Carter people couldn't be manipulated into thinking all Southerners were conservative, and under Reagan and Bush I people couldn't be manipulated into thinking all non-Southerners were liberal. But by insinuating a fake Southerner into the WH, Republicans have turned us all against one another on entirely false pretenses.

Everyone who attacks the South at DU over the Connecticut Yankee with the fake accent is an unwitting instrument of the BFEE. Know the real enemy people.

CYD