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.
In the Hebrew Bible
Two male goats were to be brought to the place of sacrifice along with a bull as part of the Korbanot ("sacrifices") in the Temple in Jerusalem. The high priest then cast lots for the two goats. One goat was offered as a burnt offering, as was the bull. The second goat was the scapegoat. The high priest placed his hands on the head of the goat and confessed the sins of the people of Israel. The goat was then led away into the wilderness, bearing the sins of the people with it, to be claimed by the fallen angel Azazel.
Christian view
In Christian theology, the story of the scapegoat in Leviticus is interpreted as a symbolic prefiguation of the self-sacrifice of Jesus, who takes the sins of humanity on his own head, having been driven into the 'wilderness' outside the city by order of the high priests.
Scapegoating
Figuratively, a scapegoat is someone selected arbitrarily to bear blame for a calamity. Scapegoating is the act of irrationally holding a person, group of people, or thing responsible for a multitude of problems.
Scapegoating is an important tool of propaganda. For example, in Nazi Germany the Jews were singled out as the source of Germany's economic woes and political collapse.
Scapegoating is often more devastating when applied to a minority group, as they will by definition be in the minority, and thus find it difficult 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 the group.
Some other common "scapegoated" groups of individuals throughout history have been blacks, immigrants, the Irish, Communists, capitalists, "witches", women, the poor, Jews, Censored page, the disabled and gypsies.
In industrialized 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.
Scapegoating may be applied to organizations. For example, corporations or governments are seen by some as responsible for an exaggerated multitude of social problems. Political correctness may be a contributing factor in the development of such beliefs regarding corporations, particularly where a highly developed sense of tolerance towards traditional minority groups clashes with a continued (and some would say unjustified) need to lay blame.
Compare: moral panic; hue and cry; witchhunt
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 football player in South America was once killed after he scored a own-goal on his team during the 1994 World Cup. Scapegoating is a key part of sports, and will likely continue to be for the forseeable future.
External link
- 'The Scapegoat' (1854) http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/pre-raphaelites/scapegoat/scapegoat.as
p , William Holman Hunt
Last updated: 02-08-2005 08:27:45
Last updated: 05-03-2005 17:50:55
