Scapegoat: blame in one place.

“Scapegoat” is the denomination given to a person or group in which the blame and responsibility for one or several events are placed, and in this way, the participation of the rest is made invisible.

It is a very frequent phenomenon and a movement that is sometimes made unconsciously, projecting the blame onto a specific element of the group or social fabric, where all the demands and claims end up.

It is interesting to analyze this phenomenon that we see so frequently in a family, work, and group dynamics in general. The scapegoat is generally chosen for its difference. We have already mentioned in previous articles that for grouping, the difference is often synonymous with danger. The one who rebels or counteracts the tendencies of the majority is usually perceived by the rest as threatening. Why? Because, among other things, to show the difference is to invoke the possibility of loneliness, confronting the masses with aspects of themselves that they seek to keep hidden.

The illusion of full homogeneity: feeling that we are part of something, that we think and think, in the same way, generates tranquility and a feeling of containment. The different and rebellious position threatens this stability and for this reason, it has always been opposed.

The dynamic of the scapegoat is then presented in this way. A member of the group is located as the culprit, and from there, all criticism and claims point to it. This strategy is reassuring for the other parties, who by constantly criticizing that element avoids making their own responsibility visible.

In general, whenever criticism and complaints towards a single person are frequently reiterated in a human group, we can suspect that something of the phenomenon of the scapegoat is at stake. It is never a single person who is responsible for all the ills in a context in which several intervene. Human bonds imply shared responsibility, insofar as, even by default, intervention is taking place.

From the Jungian point of view, we could think that the shadow of that group is being projected on the scapegoat. Everything that the members reject of themselves or do not allow themselves to see, appears represented by that figure that would embody all the problems. 

This projection clumsily "resolves" the conflict. It allows others to comfortably criticize and judge another without having to deal with their own shadow aspects. But this type of framework usually requires elaboration, because either the links are broken, or the conflicts are so frequent that they make it difficult to continue this group dynamic.

Whoever occupies the place of scapegoat usually suffers constant contempt and disqualification and, in many cases, professional intervention is required in the group in order to make visible these dynamics that would otherwise continue to operate in the shadows.

Unfortunately, these dynamics are extremely frequent. They intervene in acts of discrimination and range from a micro context, such as within a family, to the most macro, in the social fabric itself. To a large extent, this mechanism is carried out due to ignorance and the little work of people on themselves. If one inquired more about one's own unconscious affairs, this tendency to project all evils outside would be reduced.

 

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