Scapegoating

Merriam-Webster defines “Scapegoat” as 1: a goat upon whose head are symbolically placed the sins of the people after which he is sent into the wilderness in the biblical ceremony for Yom Kippur 2 a: one that bears the blame for others; b : one that is the object of irrational hostility.

A scapegoat took upon the “sins” of the people and was sent into the wilderness as an offering to God. As a result, it was believed the people were freed of their sins and were thus able to start the New Year clean. The goats’ fate however, was dubious. The motivation to scapegoat is to relieve oneself of an intolerable feeling. When we take this feeling out on another person we may feel temporary relief, but the recipient may be left confused, angry, or with a mistaken belief that they did something wrong. They might wonder, “What did I do to deserve this?”

Scapegoating is a behavior we do all the time, but don’t often recognize it. When we have an uncomfortable feeling and are not willing to take responsibility for it by feeling it, we either find a scapegoat (i.e., a person ) to blame for the feeling or find a distraction to change what we’re feeling. We may believe we have good reason to blame this person, but to attack another, whether by word or action, does not make right what feels wrong.

If we are to reframe the ritual of scapegoating, we need to change our perspective about the meaning of “sin” and how “sins” are absolved. The ritual, practiced two thousand years ago by the Jewish People during Yom Kippur, is an outward symbol for an inner process. It was believed that animal sacrifices were required to receive God’s forgiveness, but in truth a sacrifice of such kind does not relieve us of guilt or take away our “sins.” Any negative feelings we may harbor about ourselves can only find absolution in the wilderness, where we make known to God the heavy burdens we carry. God does not require anything of us to receive God’s love. But we must let go of what we believe about ourselves to receive it. We do this by sharing vulnerably with God, letting nothing be hidden. The experience may feel very much like being in the wilderness, uncertain of what will happen and without any sense of control. But what we experience is nothing like we feared. We are not struck down by God’s “wrath”, but embraced by God’s love. Then we really feel ourselves renewed.