Scapegoating can apply in any arena where people socialize. Scapegoating selects the most sensitive and emotionally intelligent person within the system, and your only fault as the scapegoat, is being mentally and emotionally strong enough the bear the burden of such abuse. Being the scapegoat means that either consciously or unconsciously others have formed a discrediting campaign against you and have targeted you for shame, blame, rejection, humiliation, and abuse, to avoid looking at themselves and their own problems. As the scapegoat, you pose a threat to the system because you see through the dysfunction.
It is important to note that there is research that suggests that people who are mentally ill or emotionally unstable are far more likely to scapegoat others. And those who attack/target/pick the scapegoat do so in order to release their pent up frustrations and deep feelings of abandonment, ‘toxic shame’, or self-hatred.
Scapegoating does have biblical origins and refers to a goat set free into the wilderness to carry away the sins of the group on its small shoulders. It was not killed like its counterpart, the blood sacrifice. So, although it may not feel this way, there is freedom in being scapegoated.
People who are scapegoated tend to have the following traits. Do you relate to most, if not all, on the list?
- You are Highly Empathic – You have an ability to passionately understand, recognize, connect with, and share the emotions of others. And although you may be able to feel empathetic, that doesn’t automatically mean that you are an empath.
- You are an independent person.
- You are disrespected and discredited by those who should be your equal.
- You are held to a different standard.
- You are highly sensitive, including to other people’s energy.
- You are left out of events, and/or conversations.
- You are punished for telling the truth – Anytime you speak the truth, you are rebuked.
- You are resourceful.
- You are very creative – Empaths experience unfamiliar and often powerful emotions, which can make them more creative than most.
- You display honesty, vulnerability and have emotional strength.
- You don’t conform to family, workplace or system rules or patterns just for the sake of doing so.
- You point out issues that you feel need to be addressed.
- You question authority – You don’t question authority because you are trying to be difficult, but rather because you see through a flawed system.
- You receive little or no praise, support or encouragement for your accomplishments.
- You tend to be codependent – A codependent is someone whose feelings, thoughts, and actions revolve around another person. Empaths can have codependent tendencies but not all codependents are empaths.
- You tend to have a higher frequency/higher vibration than of those around you.
- Your character or reputation tends to get tarnished by others who speak poorly of you instead of facing their own dysfunction.
Being a scapegoat can be a rough role to play, but no matter how tough it is, it is a lot better than fitting in with the people who are doing the attacking. In order to heal from scapegoating, we need to face our past, acknowledge it, then take our focus off of it and forgive anyone we need to forgive, including ourselves. (Remember that forgiveness is about setting you free.) Let go of everything (and even everyone) that no longer serves your highest good. Acknowledge the patters, understand where they came from, and make changes to do better every day so that such patterns are not carried forward to others generations or to the people around you.
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