The Theory of Scapegoating in Order to Show that It Is still Present in the World - Coursework Example

Scapegoating The world is unequal; social inequality is often artificially created by people who benefit from it. Someof them want to feel powerful observing suffering of others. Some of them want to achieve extreme unity of people directing their actions against a certain person or a group of people. Despite the 21th century ethical and moral values, intentional oppression expressed in the form of scapegoating is still present in the world. Bitter past does not teach people to control their aggression and seek for logical explanations of any situation. In cases when people feel frustrated by their inability to have at least some certainty or control, they prefer to make someone responsible for all negative issues. Neither technological progress nor liberal philosophy can stop people from blaming others in their bad fate. At the same time, media represent scapegoating, racism and segregation as problems of the past. This essay will explore the theory of scapegoating in order to show that it is still present in the world. People need to be aware of real examples of social, political and legal exclusion experienced by different minority groups in the past and present societies in order to make a step forward and cope with them. Scapegoating: Theoretical Background According to Rothschild et al. scapegoating can be defined as “the act of blaming and often punishing a person or a group for a negative outcome that is due, at least in large part, to other causes” (1148). After the World War II, scapegoating was a popular topic of research in social psychology, history and political science. After the 50-s, the scope of research related to scapegoating reduced; however, the cases of scapegoating continued to appear. On the current stage of human development when scapegoating is considered to be immoral and wrong, the cases related to this social phenomenon become less obvious as they are illegal. Despite this fact, people manage to oppress minority groups by a number of means which are not regulated by the law. In some extreme cases like immigration, scapegoating uses legal pressure to regulate the inflows of immigrants and make the policies which would demotivate people from coming to the USA. The term scapegoating is derived from the biblical story where ancient Israelites had a special goat which carried their sins in the desert (Rothschild et al.). One of the most influential researchers of scapegoating Allport states that this phenomenon appears in the situation when defensive protection is needed. Blame replacement acts as a controller of a wide range of negative feelings such as inferiority, self-hatred or guilt (cited in Rothschild et al.). Labeling a target individual or group as an object scapegoating, people attribute such qualities as immorality or danger to them. As a result, people maintain their moral value by projecting unrelated negative qualities on others. Bilewicz & Krzeminski add that scapegoating is common in problematic groups and societies. Unable to find any logical explanation of their misfortunes, they choose a stereotypes minority groups which becomes responsible for the situation. Theoretically, scapegoating always targets a minority groups which is on the edge of the society. This group becomes an “approved enemy” due to the prominent difference it displays (Hersh). Scapegoating is also related to aggression and harm to scapegoats. They can be legally, politically and socially isolated in their community. In many cases scapegoats are expelled from their group or they are destroyed. Observing suffering of scapegoats people experience feeling of own value (Rothschild et al.). They restore their proud, ability to control the situation and the right to exercise power in their group. The study by Rothschild et al. outlines two reasons why people are so motivated to blame others in bad things that happen around them. The first reason is that people maintain “perceived personal moral value” by minimizing their personal sense of guilt (1148). The second reason states that when people fond a scapegoat, they create simple and understandable explanation for difficult issues around them. These two reasons always appear simultaneously. When people attempts to replace responsibility or blame on others, they become less self-critical (Rothschild et al.). Scapegoating is not an irrevocable process; in some cases people can do something to stop it before the actual violence happens. According to Hersh, recognition of scapegoats and shared experiences together with scapegoats foster understanding between different people. One more problem related to scapegoating is a bystander effect. Not all people are engaged in the process of scapegoating; some of them witness it and do nothing to stop it. If bystanders are motivated to become active in the process of undoing scapegoating, they need to spread the truth about scapegoats and call for understanding and inclusion of this group (Hersh). Currently, this scheme has been applied in some cases of small groups and individual scapegoating. It proves that social activism and community support can help people to cope with their defensive mechanism and face the reality as it is without hurting others. Anti-Semitism There are many historical and contemporary examples of scapegoating. For instance, in Medieval Europe people tortured and executed women and rarely men who were claimed to be witches. Mentally ill, extremely poor or minority people were considered to be the only people to blame in all misfortunes. Jewish people were often treated stereotypically; they were claimed to be cunning and greedy. In the Medieval Europe they were accused by the Catholic Church for their connection with Satan and intention to destroy Christianity and rule the world (Jareh). Many years those stereotypes were exploited in European community with the purpose to find a scapegoat for various social issues, wars and epidemics. As a result, people in Europe had a negative attitude to them. According to Landau, the Holocaust was a logical continuation of those anti-Jewish attitudes. This infamous example of scapegoating took place not long ago; less than 100 years ago many Jewish died because of purely instrumental mechanism of scapegoating developed by Nazi in his philosophy. Not only Jewish people were involved in this process as scapegoats; gypsies, homosexuals and other minorities were considered to be guilty for everything (Landau). Hitler’s people were so eager to restore their national idea and pride after the failure in the First World War that they actively oppressed, harmed and killed everybody who did not fit the narrow definition of Arian race. Special ghettos were created where Jewish people lived. They were publically humiliated by the policies which forced them to wear special sign on their sleeves marking them as Jews. The situation became absurd when people decided that killing all Jewish population would solve all problems they have. Fortunately, Jewish people were resistant to oppressions and discrimination; some of them managed to survive and create a new home for away from their tormentors. Hostility towards Jewry was common in different parts of the world. According to Jareh, researchers single out 3 types of hostility. Realistic hostility is based on historic events such as war. Hostility towards Jewry in Palestine is a result of a long-lasting war where these two peoples become enemies (Jareh). Reactive hostility depends on the situation where it develops. In the Middle Ages when the first theory of Jewish conspiracy emerged, many Jews were engaged in trade. As a result, they had more money, power and better education than general population. People who struggled with disease and poverty blamed Jews in their misery claiming that they took advantage of them (Jareh). Finally, illusionary hostility is based on stereotypes, concerns, rumors and false beliefs shared by people. It is also referred as “diabolization” due to its destructive power and viral spreading (Jareh 2). Illusionary hostility is the most dangerous in its power. Long history of Jewry predetermines the presence of all three types of hostility in the modern Europe. For instance, the consequences of Holocaust are evident in Ukraine and Poland which were occupied by Nazi. Negative attitudes toward Jewish people still persist. After the collapse of the USSR, all post-Soviet countries faced deep economic recession and struggle for building their new political image. Constant failures of new government to restore and stabilize situation in those countries triggered the old idea of Jewish control and guilt accordingly (Bilewicz & Krzeminski). Jews are perceived as a group that conspires against Polish and Ukrainian people with a purpose to take advantage of them. This ideology becomes stronger in economically unsuccessful periods and weakens when the crisis passes. The internet research which lasted for 6 years showed that on the leaks of crisis the search requests for Jews and Jewish related issues on the wed increased (Bilewicz & Krzeminski). The content on the web also corresponded to common stereotypes about Jews which were blamed for everything. Anti-Semitic sentiment is present in the USA too. According to Jareh, the roots of anti-Semitism in the USA are a bit different from Europe. There were no medieval past shared by Jewish people and Native Americans in the USA. Many Jews who were oppressed in Europe immigrated to the States in the 20th century due to comparatively milder form of anti-Semitism observed in local people. Jewish people who migrated in the USA entered the world of business and competed with local people achieving certain success. It resulted in reactive anti-Semitism directed towards successful Jewry (Jareh). Moreover, illusionary hostility which aimed at destroying Jewry in Europe resulted in intensification of anti-Semitic attitudes in the USA. Scapegoating in the USA Current examples of scapegoating include common opinion that China rapid economic development is the cause of world’s global crisis (Ikenson). Chinese economic miracle and scandals related to low quality of good produced in China create a negative image for the country and its people. Chinese development is contrasted to world’s economic crisis which becomes the main reason why people think that Chinese people are responsible for their failure. According to Ikenson, this example of scapegoating is very controversial if to look at close economic ties and mutual benefits shared by the USA and China. According to Bakalian and Bozorgmehr, Arab people who live in the United States became scapegoats because people suspected that they wanted to destroy the USA and rule the world after 9/11 tragedy. Fear of terror, political instability and threat of violence triggered hatred directed to Arab people, their traditions, religion and culture. Media representations of Arab people often show them as aggressive, dangerous and violent people who pose the threat to domestic security of the USA. Another example of scapegoating in the USA is the attitude to immigrants who flood to the country with a single purpose to make their American dream come true. Obviously, scapegoating is considered to be unethical considering high ethical standards and rhetoric of equality and diversity. In reality, immigrants are blamed in many social issues such as poverty, crime rates, teen pregnancies etc. Due to generally lower economic status, immigrants are segregated from middle class Americans in poor in-city neighborhoods with high crime rates, bad education and lack of social support (Santa Ana). They are discriminated at work; employers can exploit them and take advantage of their low social status. For instance, they can work harder but remain underpaid or not paid at all. Illegal immigrants can be arrested and deported at any time; they have no social security or protection provided in cases when they are abused. American negative attitude to immigrants can be observed even in public media discourse. The study by Santa Ana reveals that many print media sources in Low Angeles addressed immigration issues in openly negative manner. Analyzing local newspapers and journals the author comes to the conclusion that the cognitive metaphor “IMMIGRANTS = ANIMALS” is frequently appears in anti-immigrant sentiment which is very typical for border areas in the USA (Santa Ana). Dehumanization of people leads to conscious negative attitude to them. At the same time, the other metaphor “NATION = HOME” shows the unity with which people perceive immigrants (Santa Ana). As a result, coming to the USA they become “animals” in the house. They have less rights, support and real opportunities for success in this country. Negative tropes which depict immigrants as army or danger and constant stress on poverty and crime related to ghettos only make the situation worse. This research shows a clear sign of immigrant scapegoating in the USA. As far as people think in metaphors, these media appeals have a strong impact on all people who perceive them. Reading print and web media, people already get not objective information with a negative point of view on immigrants which stresses their otherness and fosters hostility in people. After such a long-term influence, the cases of immigrant exploitation become logical in this context. If immigrants are dehumanized, people do not have a moral obligation to treat them equally to other people. New types of media like internet spread the information faster; it reaches different corners of the world in a moment delivering all these stereotypes to people. Conclusion In summary, scapegoating is complex social phenomenon which often has deep roots in history, politics, economics and culture. It appears every time when people cannot find a logical reason to explain their bad fate which is influenced by many external uncontrollable factors. Holocaust is the saddest example of scapegoating in the modern history because it had the main aim to destroy scapegoats physically. In other cases, dehumanization, humiliation, exclusion and isolation of scapegoats are used to restore the value, confidence and superiority of scapegoaters. Scapegoating is not the problem of the past; it is common today. American negative attitude to Chinese economic progress, immigrants and Arab people are only few examples of scapegoating in the modern world. People need to learn to cope with the lack of control and support people who happen to become scapegoats. As far as scapegoating is often based on illusionary hostility, they need to work hard to spread the truth and cope with their own passivity. Development of social psychology results in discovery of effective ways to deal with scapegoating. The first step towards the solution is to become aware that scapegoating still exists in the world which seems to be so ethical and moral. Works Cited Bakalian, Anny P., and Mehdi Bozorgmehr. Backlash 9/11: Middle Eastern and Muslim Americans Respond. Univ of California Press, 2009. Bilewicz, M., & I. Krzeminski. Anti-Semitism in Poland and Ukraine: The Belief in Jewish Control as a Mechanism of Scapegoating. International Journal of Conflict and Violence, 4(2), (2010): 234-243. Hersh, M. A. “Barriers to Ethical Behaviour and Stability: Stereotyping and Scapegoating as Pretexts for Avoiding Responsibility”. Annual Reviews in Control, 37(2), (2010): 365-381. Jaher, Frederic Cople. A Scapegoat in the New Wilderness: The Origins and Rise of Anti-Semitism in America. Harvard University Press, 1996. Ikenson, Daniel J. "Reading the Tea Leaves on US-China Economic Relations." CATO Institute. 2013. Landau, Ronnie. Studying the Holocaust: Issues, Readings and Documents. Routledge, 2002. Rothschild, Zachary K., et al. "A dual-motive model of scapegoating: displacing blame to reduce guilt or increase control." Journal of personality and social psychology 102.6 (2012): 1148. Santa Ana, Otto. "Like an Animal I was Treated: Anti-Immigrant Metaphor in US Public Discourse." Discourse & Society 10.2 (1999): 191-224. Read More