Scapegoating in its original form is a purging: an offloading of the community’s sins onto something else, which is expelled along with the guilt. The practice of transferring sins is universal to human experience. Hence the word ‘scapegoat’ hasn’t fallen out of use in 600 years. The question is why? Why do we need someone or something to project our failures or guilt onto? Luckily for me and you, dear reader, there are researchers and scientists who have been asking the same question. What they have found indicates something uncomfortable about which problems we choose to fight, and the ones we think can’t be won. Before I get into the research, let’s look at two major issues affecting humanity right now.
Storytelling for Change: Why Every Cause Needs a Villain
