Scapegoating
From Wikinfo
Scapegoating is the act of creating a scapegoat; that is, a person, group of people, or thing that is irrationally held responsible for a multitude of problems.
Scapegoating is an important tool of propaganda. For example, in Nazi Germany the Jews were singled out as the source of Germany's economic woes and political collapse.
Scapegoating is often more devastating when applied to a minority group, as they will by definition be in the minority, and thus find it difficult to defend themselves. A tactic often employed is to characterize an entire group of individuals according to the unethical or immoral conduct of a small number of individuals belonging to the group.
American atheists and agnostics sometimes face prejudice although Atheism and Agnosticism are not technically Crimes. There are moral problems in the United States, like casual sex, Alcohol and illegal drug abuse and other crime. Atheists, to lesser extent agnostics are easy scapegoats. Examples of humanists leading moral lives are often ignored. United States Mass media mostly feature atheists who can be seen as immoral. Atheists are sometimes vilified and treated harshly. Some atheists may to see themselves in the Stereotype and lose confidence in their capacity to be moral. Others make a point of practicing moral humanism.
Some other common "scapegoated" groups of individuals throughout history have been blacks, immigrants, Communists, Capitalists, women, white men, the poor, the rich and gypsies.
In industrialized societies, scapegoating of traditional minority groups is increasingly frowned upon. In the extreme, this may result in socially enforced rules regarding speech, as in political correctness.
Scapegoating may be applied to organizations. For example, corporations or governments are seen by some as responsible for an exaggerated multitude of social problems. Political correctness may be a contributing factor in the development of such beliefs regarding corporations, particularly where a highly developed sense of tolerance towards traditional minority groups clashes with a continued (and some would say unjustified) need to lay blame.
Compare: moral panic; hue and cry; witchhunt
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Scapegoating" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scapegoating, used under the GNU Free Documentation License
