Scapegoating
You will believe you are doing the right thing
The following is a comment from my latest video on Bob Moran’s cartoon that broke the internet.
It hits the nail on the head. As I’ve spoken about and written about before, the Jewish people have been designated the role of society’s scapegoat. This happens in family systems all the time— I’ve experienced it myself.
The scapegoat is a vessel for the tension and conflict in a family, or at scale, in society. When tensions become elevated, as they have during the past few years, people seek a cathartic release. They do this unconsciously. They release their inter-rivalries by displacing their resentment onto the scapegoat.
The scapegoat is either dealt with by exile or violence, at worst, murder. It is a ritual sacrifice.
Girard alludes to the reason the Jewish people sacrificed goats (book of Leviticus, where the term scapegoat comes from) was to end the pre-civilizational practice of human ritual sacrifice.
Girard argued that Jesus was the “lamb of God” precisely because He was put on earth to show humanity the nature of its violence — to end the scapegoating mechanism before it escalated into violence, by showing them the truth— that it is the victim who is innocent, and the mob who is guilty.
The only way to end the scapegoating mechanism in action is to shine a light on it. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
If you’re unaware of the scapegoating, it is because you are a part of it.
As René Girard said, “If you scapegoat someone, it's a third party that will be aware of it. It won't be you. Because you will believe you are doing the right thing.”
You will believe you are doing the right thing. This is an essential insight.
Scapegoats are always the victim, but the mob projects their guilt onto them and turns them into the guilty. They side with the perpetrator, because they identify with the perpetrator. Existential guilt and shame are part of this projective identification.
Watch my video here:
To learn more about René Girard’s insights on this, you can read here:
The Nature of Violence
“Why is there so much violence in our midst? No question is more debated today. And none produces more disappointing answers.” - René Girard, One by Whom Scandal Comes There is a secret hidden since the foundation of the world that describes the nature of violence. According to a wise man born in Avignon on Christmas Day, 1923, the root of humanity’s vio…
Short excerpt from my recent podcast with
where we discussed this:The HIDDEN MECHANISM Behind Mobbing | Norman Fenton & Kate Wand
All about projection & its relationship with family systems and narcissism:
How To Survive In A Narcissistic Society with Nathalie Martinek PhD & Kate Wand
Hello Kate,
This entire situation has been really disheartening for me because many of the people in the "freedom movement" have fallen into this trap. It's utterly despicable to me. Many of these people I connected with during the Freedom Convoy and such, but ever since October 7th, they kept harping on and on about Jews. And I was like, sorry what?
I'm happy to see that there are other people from the "freedom movement" like yourself who are seeing what this situation really is: scapegoating.
As a Christian, I am especially bothered by those who also claim to be Christian and yet continue to support this gross nonsense.
It's truly troubling stuff.
I pray that you keep up the good work, Kate.
Thank you
A wonderful clear analysis Kate, thank you.
No body likes a nerd in the playground specially if he fights back.