The Blame Game
“The best way to avoid becoming a scapegoat is to find one.” Warren Eyster. Scapegoating is used when a problem occurs and people start to look for a person to blame for their mishaps. People often choose a person that they think is powerless and cannot fight back. This theory is highlighted in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible which affected people on a much more individual status and in an event that terrorized America called 9/11 where a group of people were blamed. These events are prime references that show great accounts of scapegoating. The causes, effects, advantages and disadvantages of scapegoating can be illustrated in both Arthur Miller’s,The Crucible and the 9/11 terrorist attack.
Initially, scapegoating is often …show more content…
Tituba confesses to witchcraft as a last resort to be saved and Reverend Hale promises that he “... will protect [her]”(Miller,46) An advantage to confessing and blaming others Tituba is now saved from death. Reverend Hale at this point of the play has a lot of authority over the witch trials and his word of protection means a lot to Tituba. On the other hand, Tituba still ends up in jail and goes insane which is evident in her saying that she's going to fly back “...to Barbados, [when] the devil gets here withe the feathers and wings” (Miller,122). The disadvantages in this case of scapegoating are traumatic as Tituba is put in jail anyways and is losing her mind. In the long run, America benefited from 9/11 because it allowed us to “invade two countries, securing for ourselves massive amounts of oil and other minerals. It has allowed us to permanently station troops in the troublesome Middle East and in Afghanistan, thus permitting us to keep a better eye on China”(Brennan,1) In the aftermath of this tragic event Bush called a war on terrorism and this has been a benefit to America. So making the Muslims a scapegoat for 9/11 has proven to be beneficial in the long run giving us larger amounts of natural resources and more control in the world. In contrast, the price for this benefit has been great in the Muslim and Arab community. “Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the number of hate crimes directed against Arab Americans, Muslims, and Sikhs escalated dramatically”(Peterson,1). Americans were so greatly struck with grief of this consumingly tragic event that the only question people had was why and who would do this. Responsibility of the terrorist attack was placed on an extremist group Al Qaeda who were Muslim, but many Americans took out their aggression and frustrations toward their race as a whole. Consequently, blaming a person or a group for a tragic situation or
“The best way to avoid becoming a scapegoat is to find one.” Warren Eyster. Scapegoating is used when a problem occurs and people start to look for a person to blame for their mishaps. People often choose a person that they think is powerless and cannot fight back. This theory is highlighted in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible which affected people on a much more individual status and in an event that terrorized America called 9/11 where a group of people were blamed. These events are prime references that show great accounts of scapegoating. The causes, effects, advantages and disadvantages of scapegoating can be illustrated in both Arthur Miller’s,The Crucible and the 9/11 terrorist attack.
Initially, scapegoating is often …show more content…
Tituba confesses to witchcraft as a last resort to be saved and Reverend Hale promises that he “... will protect [her]”(Miller,46) An advantage to confessing and blaming others Tituba is now saved from death. Reverend Hale at this point of the play has a lot of authority over the witch trials and his word of protection means a lot to Tituba. On the other hand, Tituba still ends up in jail and goes insane which is evident in her saying that she's going to fly back “...to Barbados, [when] the devil gets here withe the feathers and wings” (Miller,122). The disadvantages in this case of scapegoating are traumatic as Tituba is put in jail anyways and is losing her mind. In the long run, America benefited from 9/11 because it allowed us to “invade two countries, securing for ourselves massive amounts of oil and other minerals. It has allowed us to permanently station troops in the troublesome Middle East and in Afghanistan, thus permitting us to keep a better eye on China”(Brennan,1) In the aftermath of this tragic event Bush called a war on terrorism and this has been a benefit to America. So making the Muslims a scapegoat for 9/11 has proven to be beneficial in the long run giving us larger amounts of natural resources and more control in the world. In contrast, the price for this benefit has been great in the Muslim and Arab community. “Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the number of hate crimes directed against Arab Americans, Muslims, and Sikhs escalated dramatically”(Peterson,1). Americans were so greatly struck with grief of this consumingly tragic event that the only question people had was why and who would do this. Responsibility of the terrorist attack was placed on an extremist group Al Qaeda who were Muslim, but many Americans took out their aggression and frustrations toward their race as a whole. Consequently, blaming a person or a group for a tragic situation or