There exists a very unfortunate and dangerous phenomenon wherein blame – or actually, hate – is assigned to a marginalized group because they are believed to be somehow complicit in a crisis or conflict elsewhere.
This phenomenon, known as scapegoating, is a form of prejudice that involves blaming a particular group for a problem or issue that is not their fault, or that they have little or no control over. Scapegoating serves as a way to divert attention from the real causes of the problem, or to vent frustration and anger on a convenient target. It naturally leads to the demonization of a group, serving to rationalize atrocities, wars, genocides, and persecutions.
The leap of logic is fast – and extremely harmful.
Demonization is the process of portraying a person or a group as evil, immoral, or subhuman, in order to justify hatred, violence, or oppression against them. Demonization often relies on stereotypes, propaganda, misinformation, or dehumanization, which strips away the humanity and individuality of the scapegoated group.
It is important to recognize that demonization can also create a sense of fear, threat, or moral panic, which can motivate people to act against the perceived enemy, further perpetuating discrimination and prejudice. In some cases, localized events can indeed lead to world-wide hatred of a particular group.
Not surprisingly, the current Israel-Hamas conflict has incited both increased antisemitic and Islamophobic sentiments. Other recent well-known examples of this rise in racism and discrimination include:
Anti-Russian sentiment as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war
Wet’suwet’en blockades sparked a wave of Indigenous abuse
Black Lives Matter protests led to lots of anti-Black racism.
What we see, unfortunately, is that there are certain people who, in supporting or justifying the actions of one group, take out their own frustrations and hate on others.
World history teems with examples of this practice.
During times of economic or political stress, European rulers routinely identified Jewish residents as sources of their region’s difficulties. The accused found themselves driven out, assaulted, dispossessed of property, or simply exterminated. The Holocaust is the infamous modern case.
With a similar spirit, American leaders blamed people of Chinese ancestry for the economic recession in the 1880s. As employment became scarce, they vilified Chinese immigrants and denied them entry to this country for the following 70 years. Japanese-Americans and Japanese-Canadians were “interned” during World War II when those of German and Italian ancestry were not. More recently, Arab-Americans and Arab-Canadians have felt the pain of social stigma. Indeed, it is the essence of being a minority that one finds himself accused of being a conspicuous example—and more than that, cause—of society’s failings.
It is important to recognize that crises are often complex and multifaceted, and that assigning blame to a particular group is rarely an effective solution. In fact, it only serves to broaden the web of hate.
Stereotyping is, of course, the handmaiden of scapegoating in that it assumes that all like people are, well…..alike, which we know is ludicrous just by looking at white folks.
Yet again, the leap of logic is fast – and extremely harmful.
What we really should be doing is working to better understand the root causes of the crisis and developing solutions that address these underlying issues in a constructive and inclusive manner – especially when we are far from the source. Moreover, and more importantly, it is our collective responsibility to stand up against hate and discrimination, promote inclusion and respect for diversity, and work towards a more equitable society.
We know this.
And we need to do better. For all our sakes.
See also
By ANTI-RACISM DAILY
By MEIRA E. SCHNEIDER-ATIK
A military reoccupation will only incur further mass casualties at a time when Israel is still counting its dead, and take an unimaginable toll on Palestinian lives. By RUTH MARGALIT
Fueled by the conflict between Israel and Gaza and stoked by extremists, hate speech has spiked on social media platforms such as X, Facebook and Instagram, researchers said.
By SHEERA FRENKEL and STEVEN LEE MYERS
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