Scapegoating

Subject: Scapegoating

Scapegoating in its modern phase finds its root lies in the belief that responsibility lies somewhere else, that it's not a personal attribute for which we, individually are responsible.

As a society we have become very complex, a mixture of this and that, like a cake with all kinds of ingredients. Put in the wrong ingredient and the taste can be ruined, a little to much of this, a little to little of that and all the good work to produce a socially acceptable cake is spoilt.

The jury who gather to pass judgement on the viability of the cake are themselves drawn from all corners of the globe and bring with them their opinions gleaned from their experience. Opinions fruitful in that the background to those opinions is as varied in their respective societies, as people growing up here in this rainbow nation.

Today we are being verbally punished for not fully understanding the special needs of young black men growing up in turbulent families, surrounded by people who have already come off the rails, fathers and peers who see no room for advancement other than crime. The argument that they are ill treated by the authorities, especially the police in their apparent targeting of black youth in 'stop and search'. With a prison occupancy which wildly extenuates the numbers of black men in prison compared to the numbers of black people in the country.

One view is that by targeting black men it is natural that you will apprehend more of them and so statistically they are more likely to be up to no good, whilst the other view is that you have to target where you think most of the crime statistically emanates from. It's a 'which comes first the chicken or the egg' question.

Of course it's not purely a black thing and the sight of young white men who themselves are surrounded by people who lack the ambition normally gained through finding work, wherever it is available, not necessarily in ones own part of the country, even by leaving ones country to find your fortune elsewhere.

The current trend is to blame all situations in which people find themselves, on other extraneous factors. A lack of this a lack of that but rarely do we hear that it's down to a lack of something in the individual themselves. We prefer to find scapegoats.

The hurricane which has flattened some of the islands in the Caribbean has brought condemnation on the British because we didn't react quickly enough ! We were slow to send in the armed forces, apparently we should have emulated the French and been there before the hurricane arrived to help bolster the defences. 

Of course one is drawn to ask was there nothing the islanders could have done for themselves. The hurricanes are a seasonal feature, sometimes communities get away with it as the hurricanes bear away but potentially every year there is a risk of severe damage. 

Of course when we are hunkered down in our own miserable weather, living in the Caribbean seems idyllic and we would all like to be there, but even Richard Branson had to go into his cellar whilst the storm raged. I'm sure he also keeps his wine down there so it wasn't all bad.

The commonly held view that it's someone else's fault is so prevalent that it makes people impotent in taking action themselves and the  "rights" culture makes us look elsewhere for solutions. We constantly demand others become involved and that ultimately, we are 'owed' something better.