UNITED STATES—I think a better name would have been: The Black Sheep Scapegoat ~ I Dub Thee LESSER THAN Syndrome!
Trevor Todd wrote about black sheep/scapegoat syndrome after noticing it in many estate disputes. His observations are so accurate: “The ruler of the family… assigns both label and blame. Siblings often simply buy in… so as not to become the target, and then ultimately as believers of the alleged faults…”
It is believed that the origin of the term scapegoat comes from a Jewish tradition of having a priest place” all of the sins onto a goat, and then “exile” the goat, who took the people’s sin with it.
This family therapy view contends that some families NEED to have a scapegoat, to hide the other family member’s dysfunctions by focusing only on the selected scapegoat and his or her dysfunction. That would certainly go hand in hand with family loyalty ideal, and how Author Jocelyn Green believes that “the reason we turn someone into our scapegoat is because we assume they’ll never leave us.”
A counselor from Austin, Texas says that scapegoats are often “truth tellers” of things others cannot say. This may be because the individual perceives the act of labeling as what predetermined him or her to become the scapegoat, and wants to tell of the dysfunctions or illegal behavior that “made me this way.”
In the end, when others consider the Leviticus version, they think that the scapegoat is the luckier of the two goats, as the other is kept and killed while the scapegoat gets exiled, but GETS AWAY.
To comprehend how the Scapegoat Syndrome can DESTROY a child’s future you must understand that humans are like computers at birth, with a BLANK SLATE (read further: Tabula Rasa) that needs to be programmed by the parenting figure. Therefore it is only logical that this syndrome, like many others, is something indoctrinated into chosen individuals with true CULT-LIKE tactics!
One of the biggest known ways of cult indoctrination is through GROUPTHINK behavior, sometimes compared to the French term, folie a deux (insanity of two). We know that the bigger the group, and in this case the bigger the family, the easier it is to force groupthink onto those with otherwise strong minds. This makes it easy to equate being the scapegoat as a punishment no one wants and therefore eager to conform to the behavior the group endorses.
Social environment influences psychological growth, and during the crucial years of psychosocial development NOTHING will have more affect than the child’s living environment. This website for adult children of “difficult & toxic” parents claim that the parents will become “producers, directors, and casting agents for the entire production” aka the scapegoat CHILD’S LIFE!
This is because the entire self-schema of the ostracized/scapegoated child is will most likely be so riddled with irrational beliefs that they will not be able to function as an individual, most likely just ONE MORE human with a man-made disability.
Going back to the computer being equated to a programmable mind, the self-schema IS the hard drive/mind. It can be hard to understand, but I think there is a way to explain it…
If self-schema is the way we think AND respond (hard drive), and self-concept is a thought or a notion (individual programs on the hard drive), then the schema is loaded with concepts (good and bad cookies, viruses, maleware) like self-identity, self-esteem, self-image and then self-regulatory values to help juggle thinking vs responding.
The perpetrators of conduct that damages the self-schema of a growing child should be criticized openly for the pain they have inflicted on the unwilling scapegoat. In a perfect world they would be charged with a crime for their mentally disabling actions, just as anyone else would be if their actions physically disabled another person.
If you or a loved one identify as a scapegoat or black sheep, click here.
Have you been scapegoated as a way to silence the victim? A COMMON TACTIC! Click here!
Are you a scapegoat convinced you are “worthless, defective and have no rights?” You are not alone.
