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The Scapegoat: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, One of those from whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, While we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.''|'''Isaiah'''}}
A scapegoat is one who, [[Silent Scapegoat|willingly]] or otherwise, takes the blame and/or punishment for something for which he or she wasn't responsible--though depending on where the [[Sliding Scale Long Name]] is, the relative innocence of said scapegoat will also vary. Any poor sap who runs afoul of a [[Powder Keg Crowd]] can become this, especially if they have [[Torches and Pitchforks]]; [[Zero
Sometimes, in a [[Distant Finale]], the scapegoat is finally cleared, if not in public, then at least in the eyes of those who cared for him or her and at least hoped, if not always believed, that they were innocent.
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* Viral takes a lot of this, mostly self-inflicted, in ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]''. Later on, {{spoiler|Rossiu}} uses {{spoiler|Simon}} as one.
* Suzaku from ''[[Code Geass]]'' is blamed for the murder of Clovis early on.
** A somewhat smaller example at the end of ''R1'' onward was when Lelouch met with his [[Too Good for This Sinful Earth]] half-sister Euphemia and agreed to back her phased democratization of Japan. An accidental chain of [[Diabolus Ex Machina]] brought on by [[Analogy Backfire]] [[Up to Eleven]] and random [[Power Incontinence]] causes Euphemia's bodyguard, Lelouch's best friend since childhood, to believe {{spoiler|1=he purposely [[Mind Rape]]d her, foisted public blame for a horrifying [[False
** Later on, Schneizel {{spoiler|uses the above accusation, among others (i. e. not warning them about FLEIJA, something he didn't believe because of Suzaku's apparent betrayal), to turn the Black Knights against their leader.}}
** Not to mention the end of the series, where {{spoiler|Nunnally reveals that she worked with Schneizel because she wanted to use [[Kill Sat|Damocles]] as the common enemy that would finally unite the whole world peacefully. Lelouch considered doing this, but decided that a mere object wouldn't hold peoples' hatred; [[Silent Scapegoat|a human being, on the other hand]]...}}
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== Video Games ==
* In ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'', Rufus Shinra tries to publicly execute Tifa and Barret, even though he knows they're not responsible for the accelerating disaster - because he feels that the people need a scapegoat, to help them rally behind Shinra to stop Sephiroth. (Fortunately, he used a rather... slow-acting gas, and some of his personnel had different views. Oh, and [[
* The US Marines are used as a scapegoat by Blackwatch in the game ''[[Prototype (Video Game)|Prototype]]''. A bit of [[Fridge Brilliance]] justifies the combat tactics in-game because of this: what's the best way to make sure the marines are highly visible during the destruction of New York? Use forms of warfare that result in high attrition, lots of collateral damage and see an overwhelming military force crashing through civilian areas. The Marines were also used as shock troops to absorb the brunt of the casualties, which accounts for the Blackwatch's relative rarity on the field in comparison with them.
** They get better in the end though, when they are credited for stopping the infection (which you actually did most of the job).
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** The Christians turned right around and blamed Nero for the fire. Possibly the most successful use of the "No, you did it!" defense in history.
* The Jews also got blamed for a great number of things throughout history, up to and including the death of Christ, the Blood Libel, the Black Death and others, leading to many pogroms against them.
* An actual goat is blamed for the Chicago Cubs' woes; similarly, [
** And once, blamed a poor fellow by the name of Steve Bartman. Fans labeled Bartman reaching for a foul ball, which Cubs player Moses Alou might have caught, for ruining their chances to win the pennant in 2003...despite the Cubs blowing a 3-0 lead in game 6, losing ''8-3'' and losing the following game 7.
* Communists have been a popular scapegoat group throughout the 20th century. Sometimes comically (in the United States), othertimes with pretty horrific consequences.
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[[Category:Blame Tropes]]
[[Category:The Scapegoat]]
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