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 What Is Scapegoating?  -  A Simple Explanation of Human Behaviour

Scapegoating is something most of us have witnessed, even if we have never named it.

At its simplest, scapegoating occurs when a group places blame for a problem on one individual. The person may be partly responsible, or not responsible at all — but they become the focus of the group’s frustration, anxiety, or confusion.

In that moment, something subtle takes place.

The problem feels clearer.
The tension seems to ease.
The group regains a sense of order.

But the deeper issue is rarely resolved.

Rene Girard - Scapegoat Theory explanation


Why Do People Scapegoat?

When uncertainty enters a situation, people naturally look for explanations.

  • Why is this happening?
  • Who is responsible?
  • What can be done?

In the absence of clear answers, groups often settle on a person rather than a problem.

It is easier to point than to pause.
Easier to assign blame than to live with uncertainty.

Over time, small observations begin to gather:

  • a comment repeated
  • a behaviour noticed
  • a suspicion shared

Before long, a pattern seems to emerge — and one person quietly becomes the centre of it.

A Helpful Insight from René Girard

The French thinker René Girard spent much of his life studying this very pattern.

He described what is now often called the Scapegoat Theory.

Girard observed that when communities experience tension or fear, they often restore a sense of unity by directing blame toward a single individual — a scapegoat.

What is striking is that the scapegoat need not be guilty.

What matters is that the group’s anxiety finds a focus.

Once that happens, the group often feels a sense of relief — as though the problem has been contained.

Everyday Examples of Scapegoating

Scapegoating is not limited to dramatic situations. It appears in ordinary life more often than we realise.

1. In the Workplace

A project begins to fail. Deadlines are missed. Communication breaks down.

Gradually, attention settles on one person — perhaps someone less confident, or less established.

The complexity of the situation fades, and the problem becomes: “It’s because of them.”

2. In Families

Tension builds over time — stress, misunderstandings, unspoken frustrations.

One member of the family becomes the “difficult one,” the one everyone points to when something goes wrong.

Yet the deeper dynamics within the family remain unchanged.

3. In Public Life

When societies feel uncertain or under pressure, the same pattern can emerge on a larger scale.

Groups look for someone to blame — an individual, a leader, or even an entire group of people — as a way of restoring a sense of control.

Why It Matters

Scapegoating feels like a solution.

But it often hides the real issue rather than addressing it.

It allows a group to move forward without truly understanding what has gone wrong.

And it can cause real harm to the person who becomes the focus of blame.

A Personal Reflection

I first became aware of this pattern long before I had a name for it.

It was in a small farming community, where a quiet shift in atmosphere led people to begin searching for someone to blame. At the time, I simply observed what was happening.

Only years later did I recognise how closely that experience reflected what René Girard had described.

I’ve written about that moment in a separate reflection:

👉 Scapegoats, Suspicion, and Truth 

A Final Thought

Understanding scapegoating does not mean we stop making judgments or holding people accountable.

But it may help us pause before rushing to conclusions.

Sometimes the question is not simply:

“Who is to blame?”

But:

“What is really happening beneath the surface?”

Some lives unfold between worlds, learning the language of both - I grew up in South Africa in a world far more complex than the one many people think they know. My life unfolded between cultures — from farms in the old Transvaal Province to KwaZulu-Natal, where I became fluent in Zulu, to working in townships around Durban during turbulent years and subsequently in a rural district in ministry during the final decade before South Africa’s democratic transition. Running quietly through those years was a journey of faith that eventually carried me far from Africa. What began as a five-year stay in the United Kingdom became an unintended exile, and today I live on the west coast of Scotland. My memoir, From My Tribe to Yours, is a personal letter across cultures — sharing the South Africa I experienced, that few in Western countries knew, from within. READ MORE:https://www.theafricanoddity.com/author-south-africa-memoir.html

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