SCAPEGOAT/edit

CHOSEN:

 a strong goat who was up to the task of bearing the burden. 

So it is in families: the targeted individual is often the most accomplished. 

https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/blameless-burden-scapegoating-in-dysfunctional-families-0130174

/selected from the herd

-sent forth into the wilderness 

for reasons having to do with 

the sins of others.

-the goat found itself alone 

in the wilderness, isolated from

 its herd, in unknown territory

 suddenly forced to fend for itself. It faced dangers/fr predators

/difficulty finding 

food/shelter.

It lived the 

insecurity of

a herd animal

without a herd.

In a family system, the selection process is less overt/ consensual and habitual shunning.

It becomes an unspoken code of behavior: 

one person is chosen to bear the brunt of any psychological discomfort experienced by the family as a whole.

the target of family scape-goating is also

 often the 

strongest/

 healthiest

 member of 

the family. 

a strong goat who was up 

to the task of bearing the burden. 

the targeted individual is often the most accomplished. 

The goat needs to 
be strong enough to suffer in order that the tribe members do not.

the scapegoat   /innocent of all charges/she is no

 different from 

anyone else in her 

range of faults.

dysfunctional family members 

 rejection of her accomplishments/

  character and actions is actually a result of their own unresolved issues.

You may fail to understand the way you are being treated. 

It is difficult for the scapegoat to believe that her family would treat her in this unconscionable manner if she were not guilty of some grave sin. 

The reasons she is given for being mis-

treated seem petty

shallow & biased.

It's difficult for 

her to believe

 these small 

ofenses could warrant such  condemnation.

She doubts her own version of reality, since consensus in her own 
family supports a narrative different
 from her own about who she is 
and what she does or has done.

🤔(amongst peers)She learns
if she tries to sort this out, she 
will be accused of 
“playing the victim”;

-being a “drama queen.

-being selfish,  

settlement of the full weight of banishment on her/she is alone/has accepted a fate that doesn't make 
sense to her.

At this point 

 she make her peace with leaving behind  family that's
failing her  
so completely. 

if she is strong and well-supported 
with friends, she may be able to do this. 

She will pay a lifelong price for 
sins she did not commit,

-painful to extract oneself 
from one’s family. 

"Sad to be all alone in the world"

-Mrs Meers 

It's cruel 

for a family 

to scapegoat

 a member.

Some bullied children go on to become bullies themselves.

Some develop 

social skills to

 challenge or

divert bullying.

The scars of 

having been bullied may show up in many ways for years to come.

Others don't survive,

driven 

to suicide.

You aren't likely to be able to intervene in a dysfunctional system that treats one of its members like this.

Try to find a counselor who 

can help unravel the fictions that undermind the truth abt your life & abt who you are. 

support can help free you from 

the binding ties of 

-shame 

-guilt

-pain

that you did 

not create &

 which aren't 

justified.