scapegoats
Unfairly blamed parties
Scapegoats are people or groups blamed for problems they didn't cause or bear disproportionate responsibility for.
The term comes from an ancient ritual where a goat was symbolically loaded with the community's sins and driven into the wilderness.
Modern scapegoats absorb blame that should fall elsewhere: Immigrants became scapegoats for the economic downturn.
To scapegoat someone is to make them one.
Assign responsibility for wrongdoing
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
- faultImperfection or blame
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- deflectionChange in trajectory
responsibility · target · accusation · guilt · punishment · fall guy · patsy · whipping boy
Compensation for wrongdoing
- LeviticusHebrew scripture of rituals
- wildernessUncultivated, uninhabited natural region
- sinsViolations of moral law
- priestOne who performs sacraments
Yom Kippur · ritual · desert · expulsion · cleansing · purification · ceremony · ancient
Smaller part of whole
- immigrantsThose settling abroad
- refugeesPeople seeking safety elsewhere
- propagandaBiased information for influence
- populismPolitics favoring ordinary citizens
nationalism · demonization · othering · persecution · marginalized · vulnerable · rhetoric · demagogue
Terminated from employment
- demotedReduced in rank
- terminatedBrought to an end
- layoffTermination without cause
- whistleblowerInsider who reports misconduct
subordinate · junior · management · corporate · restructuring · investigation · audit · scandal
blame
Assign responsibility for wrongdoing
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
- faultImperfection or blame
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
deflection · responsibility · target · accusation · guilt · punishment · fall guy · patsy · whipping boy · finger-pointing
atonement
Compensation for wrongdoing
- LeviticusHebrew scripture of rituals
- wildernessUncultivated, uninhabited natural region
- sinsViolations of moral law
priest · Yom Kippur · ritual · desert · expulsion · cleansing · purification · ceremony · ancient · Hebrew
minority
Smaller part of whole
- immigrantsThose settling abroad
- refugeesPeople seeking safety elsewhere
- propagandaBiased information for influence
populism · nationalism · demonization · othering · persecution · marginalized · vulnerable · rhetoric · demagogue · fearmongering
fired
Terminated from employment
- demotedReduced in rank
- terminatedBrought to an end
- layoffTermination without cause
whistleblower · subordinate · junior · management · corporate · restructuring · investigation · audit · scandal · liability
- scapegoat ritualCeremony transferring sins symbolically