#73. Displaced Aggression 101

Everyone is familiar with the tale of a man who was criticized by his boss. Arriving home, the man yells at his wife who yells at her son who yells at his younger brother who has no one around to blame. So he yells at the dog and kicks his innocent dog.

This story illustrates displaced aggression. The playground bully is another such example. Usually, he chooses a powerless, innocent kid in which to take out his aggression. The victim has become a scapegoat -- a term that goes back thousands of years.

It is recorded in the Old Testament book of Leviticus, chapter 16, where a goat is chosen to be a sacrifice, is symbolically burdened with the sins of the Jewish people, and thrown over a cliff to rid the nation of its guilt.

No, this is not a new phenomenon. When problems occur, people do not like to blame themselves. A scapegoat is a person or group that is forced to take the blame for happenings that are not their fault; in other words, someone upon which to express their displaced aggression.

Scapegoat Theory is a social, psychological term used when a person or group expresses prejudice toward another individual or group in order to vent their anger.

We can see a contemporary illustration of this in the George Zimmerman trial and its aftermath. The facts become irrelevant for, you see, scapegoating is not about the facts, but about pent up emotional stress -- which has heretofore found no release.

  I’m left recalling the words of the Master:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets. You stone to death those that God has sent to you. Many, many times I wanted to help your people. I wanted to gather them together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you did not let me.” (Matthew 23:37)

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