Under what conditions do people look for scapegoats?

Question

By scapegoats, I mean when a person or group blame others or make them suffer in their place, not the type of goat.

Answer 1

In any situation where someone is unhappy with the outcome or proceedings, the unhappy person will try to find someone or something else to blame.  Conditions of extreme deprivation, stress, pain, humiliation, and so forth tend to produce more violent "scapegoat reactions," but we're all guilty of it to some degree.

Incidentally, the phrase "scapegoat" is said to come from an ancient Jewish ceremony during Yom Kippur, where the wrongs of the community were transferred to the goat and the goat was driven off into the wilderness, symbolizing atonement.

Answer 2

when you have messed up bad and are determend to put blame for it on a poor smuck who knows nothing about it

Answer 3

Dig up Lee Harvey Oswald and ask him, yes ?